“Who wants yesterday’s papers? Nobody in the world.”
The Rolling Stones, Yesterday’s Papers
Finding a way to manage our kids’ creations, crafts, notes, and drawings is a challenge – an adorable challenge! 😊 The amount of paper that moves through our home is … incredible. More than we could have ever imagined! Watching our kids explore creativity is exciting and we encourage them in this whenever they are feeling inspired. This means, however, that we have had to create a system for managing all of the paper!
This sounds simple, but it turns out, it’s not. 😜 There are a number of factors we’ve found need to be considered when managing our kids’ creations. We have sifted them down to these three key questions: why, when, and how. Taking a look at the deeper meaning and significance of creativity itself also helps as we learn to navigate and manage our kids’ creations.
Affirm our kids that their creations are special
Our definition of what makes something valuable is the first factor to consider as we manage our kids’ creations. Every person is in a different place on the spectrum of sentimentality. Some find it easy to part with the things their children have made and others find it more difficult. Those who have young kids will know, however, that almost every paper or creation is “special” and is intended to be kept forever. 🙃Sometimes we chuckle at how sweet or silly it is that our child believes a little piece of art they’ve created holds any value at all. The most recent one that comes to mind is a McDonalds French fry box. Brynlee saved it, configured it into a new shape, reinforced it with lots and lots of tape, and then decorated it with stickers.
When we were cleaning out her bedside table together one day (also referred to as her “collection drawer” 🤪), we came across said McDonald’s French fry box creation. I affirmed how neat her ideas were and how well she taped it up and decorated it. I then made the gentle suggestion to put it into the garbage. This way she could make space for some new creations she was working on. Of course you can imagine … immediate tears. “We can’t throw this away, it’s special!” From my adult perspective, I easily dismissed this little creation (I literally saw garbage, a Mcdonalds French fry box that should be in the trash). But to Brynlee this was a piece of art she had spent time on, thoughtfully designed and decorated.
We imitate our Creator through our creativity
Not all creations are made equal, but the process and experience of creating holds value that we cannot measure. The very first verse of the Bible reveals that God is Creator, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Being a Creator is who He is. We are made in His image and so it is a part of who we are, too – creators.
When our kids have worked on a craft, a drawing, any kind of creation, and poured their hearts into it, we need to be careful to not flippantly dismiss their efforts or the art itself. Acknowledging the depth of experience and the inherent value in the act of creating will help us build into their identity as beloved and manage their art with care.
Why should we keep (or not keep) a creation, craft, note, or drawing?
Sometimes, for kids and adults, the act of creating is actually more important than the result. It’s exciting, engaging, fun, and connective! Understanding why our childrens’ creations are important to them will help us affirm their creative process, build into their confidence as creators, and connect with them as humans. The reality remains, however, that we cannot keep every one of their creations forever, even though they may want to.
Our kids’ experience of creating art is meaningful regardless of the “quality” or “appeal” of the outcome. However, as adults, we can add a broader view and understanding of what will still be deemed as special in the long run. Maybe the most important thing is not whether a physical item is kept, but whether we have taken the opportunity to connect! Before we try to teach a lesson about “letting go” of a thing, let’s remember to embrace the person.
Some reasons our kids’ creations feel special
One thing to look for is what kinds of creations your child is making regularly. If they are colouring a page from their colouring books every single day, you may want to remember this season by keeping one of their favourite colouring sheets. Our daughter went through a stage of covering entire pages with, probably a hundred stickers, just absolutely saturating the sheet 🤣 Kind of silly, but we wanted to keep one of those pages to remember her “sticker phase.”
Our other daughter went through a sweet (and excessive) note-making phase. She used sticky notes and wrote note after note to each of the members of our family. Sometimes these were as simple as “To Archer, Love Selah” with lots and lots of hearts. They were very sweet – we wanted to keep a couple of them. Maybe you have noticed a huge improvement in your child’s printing in their schoolwork. Your child probably won’t want to keep their English worksheet, but it might be special to you. Considering why you want to keep certain creations might help you in choosing a representative sample, and decluttering the rest (photos will do for those)!
Timing matters: When we decide whether to keep our kids’ creations will help bring clarity
To our kids, most crafts, notes and drawings will be deemed “special” on the day they are created. If your child has taken time to thoughtfully colour a picture and then proudly present it to you as a gift, it’s not a good idea to put that particular paper in the recycling the same day. Yes, unfortunately we did learn that one through experience. 🫣
Even if you know that you will not be keeping a particular paper in the long run, it helps to keep it for a time. Then you can either subtly move it on out of the house, or discuss it later with your child. The significance of some creations will fade with time .While they may not even consider recycling some creations the day-of, they may feel differently in a couple weeks. It’s pretty likely that the kids will have created some more art in the interim, and guess which becomes the most “special” creation now? 🙂
How to manage, organize, and sift through our kids’ creations
Here is a simple system that has helped manage kids’ papers in our home!
- Have a specific place your kids can file and store their creations.
- In our home, we have a drawer where all of the papers and creations go. Selah brings a lot of worksheets and art home from school. This drawer is where she puts them when she unloads her backpack. Brynlee also puts her artwork in the drawer when she is done creating.
- When the drawer is full, find some time to “process” all the papers.
- We do this without the kids around and bring them into the process a little later. It can become fun when there is actually a moment to enjoy it!
- Sort all the artwork so that there is a pile of each child’s creations.
- To save this step, you could also have a separate drawer or bin for each child to file and store their creations right from the get-go. Right now, our kids file all their papers in the same drawer.
- Go through the papers and make four piles: 1. Keep. 2. Photograph. 3. Recycle. 4. Trash
- Decide which creations you want to keep. We typically keep this quite sparse. It took some time to feel ok about recycling or throwing away the majority of our kids’ creations, but having the photo helps those of us who are more innately sentimental.
- Recycle / toss all the papers that you do not want to keep or record electronically.
- Take a photo of the creations that you do want to keep electronically, but do not want to continue to store.
- Once you’ve taken the photos, add these to the recycle or trash piles.
- At this point, you can choose to invite your child into the process.
- It’s another opportunity to affirm them and their creativity! Also, when they’re ready for it, it’s healthy for them to join in the decision process of letting go.
How to store our kids’ creations
- Store the artwork and schoolwork that you want to keep in a folder for each child.
- We like using folders with a zipper to keep all the papers and crafts contained and organized. Our aim is to keep it to one folder per year, per child.
- Place the folders back in the drawer (or other specific place) so the kids can continue to store on top of it.
- At the end of each school year, we place these files in each child’s memory bin that we keep in storage and reset for the next year.
A simple way
to manage our kids’
artwork, crafts, notes,
drawings & schoolwork.
Balancing affirmation and guidance
Giving our kids a chance to make some selections of what to keep helps them feel a sense of control. It also creates an opportunity for some good conversations with our kids about the value of material things. It’s delicate to balance valuing our kids’ creativity and celebrating their creations, while also guiding them to hold possessions and material things loosely. With some minor organization, and a little kid-coaching on what Ben might call “process routing”(not to them 😉) we can actually keep good records of creations, declutter the home, and have some meaningful moments in the process!
Encouragement
The point is to affirm the creators without getting buried in the creations. How can you use technology to remember special creations your child has made without adding a new bin to the storage shelf every year? How can you create a moment to intentionally affirm your child’s identity as a creator?
Much love from,
Brianna and Ben
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