Toolbox
- 3-ring binder
- clear plastic page protectors
- many copies of the same image to color
Photos
Fig 1: Your simple supplies
Fig 2: Two example pages
Fig 3: Two example pages
Lots of parents struggle with how to save/store their children’s artwork. Do you throw it away (like my folks did)? Do you save it all and end up with a clutter nightmare? Or do you find some magical middle ground where you save your favorites, and then… put them in a box in the closet, never to be seen again? What you really want is a neat, organized way to view artwork through the years, so that you can marvel at how your children’s skills and creativity level have changed as they’ve grown. I’ve got just the solution for you.
Start with any standard-sized 3-ring binder. This can be anything from a simple white binder
or even a binder made of rich Italian leather
. Once you’ve got the binder, purchase a bunch of 8.5″ x 11″ top-loading plastic page protectors
You can see where I’m going with this, I’m sure — put the artwork your child creates into the page protectors in the binder. However, I want to take it one step further. I want your child to color the same picture every year. That’s right. The same picture.
If you print a bunch of copies of the same black-and-white picture and let your child color one of them every year, then put it into the album, you’ll have a fascinating collection by the time he’s grown. You’ll be able to see how he or she has developed motor skills, artistic talent, and creative expression. I suggest you coordinate the yearly coloring with the child’s birthday, which will make it even more valuable of a memento, and also make it easier to remember when to do it.
To help you out, I’ve created a blank coloring template (of a simple house) that you can use for your child’s album. You can print this directly from your browser (you’ll need the free Adobe Reader) or you can save it to your computer and print it later.
Of course you can also make your own template image, too, but be sure to pick something that will work for many years as your child grows older. (In other words, don’t pick a cartoon character that your child likes now, because she might not like it in 5 years.) I suggest you go ahead and print 20 or 30 copies out now, and put them all into the album, then let your child color one each year. (Better to have extras on hand!) Be sure to use a high-quality paper
To illustrate how adorable the results can be when you view your photos over the years, I’ve had several of the kids I know (all different ages) color my house picture and included photos of their artwork for you (Fig 2 and 3). I love the results!
9 comments so far:
What a great idea! I currently have a large pile of artwork that I need to go through, and perhaps this will motivate me. I also have some colorful plastic storage boxes that I plan to keep 1 for each year, just in case I can’t narrow it down that much.
And here’s an idea for display – magnetic photo frames (the 8 x 10 size) are a great way to display some of those creations on the refrigerator without the whole affect becoming too messy. With the slight difference in size, some trimming may be required.
I take digital pictures of a lot of the kids stuff, that way we can remember it, but I don’t have to store it! If I kept every scrap my two generate, we’d have to shovel out the house twice a year!
These are all good ideas. I kept my kids best pictures in a large storage box and gave the box to them when they moved to their own homes. My granddaughter displays her art at home in a magnetic frame.
I *really* like the idea of coloring the same picture each year as a way to see growth. I’m going to add a link to this page from my web site as a suggestion for a creative use for coloring pages. BTW, you’re invited to check out my collection of free printable coloring pages for kids and adults.
Lee, I took a look at your site and you do indeed have a nice collection of clip art images. I think a lot of them would be great to do the freezer paper stenciling that I am so fond of right now.
I also love the idea of using the same picture year after year to chart progress. And I think I may add in an ‘assignment’ every year that they draw the same thing. Like a gingerbread house, or a dog playing with a ball. It would be neat to see how their picture and thought process mature over the years.
I wanted to share an idea that we currently use for alot of our extra artwork. We save the best and use the rest (my kids are drawing fiends and make many pictures each week)to put on calendars that we give as gifts at the holidays. If you’re interested in the specifics I posted about it on my blog earlier this week, http://kidoozy.com/blog/?p=336
Thanks again for the tips!
Diane, the ‘asssignment’ addition is a great idea. I could see the binder with two pictures for each year… one colored and one drawn. How fun!
I love your calendar idea, too. I’m going to have to tell my sister about that one
Artwork also doubles well as wrapping paper with personality.
I love this idea with an album and a picture for each year, I would suggest though that along with a colored picture a self portrait would be a fabulous addition!
Great ideas, Kimberly. Thanks for sharing!