What Should You Do With Your Child's Daycare Artwork?

6 January 2021
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What should you do with the piles of art projects your preschooler brings home from daycare? From crafty collages to painted portraits, take a look at the top ways to store, save, or display your young child's imaginative artwork.

Create a Childcare Artwork Portfolio

Portfolios aren't just for professional artists. Buy a portfolio folder or use a scrapbook/photo album to make a chronological or category-based archive of your child's finest artwork. Start with either the first pieces of art your child made at their early learning center or come up with a way to categorize everything. Categories may include types of art (paintings, collages, drawings), seasons, or anything else that makes sense to you.

If you know the date your child created the painting, drawing, or other project, write it on the back. Place each item in a clear plastic folder or sleeve. Create one daycare art portfolio or make one for each year in child care.

Save the Artwork Digitally

While the cute collages and paint splatter masterpieces your child makes in pre-k can fit in a portfolio sleeve, three-dimensional clay sculptures and other similar art aren't easy to store in a file type of folder. Instead of flat files, save 3-D or other awkwardly shaped artwork digitally. This strategy is also ideal for children who bring home more artwork than their parents have room for.

Take photos of each creative craft, sculpture, or artwork. Create digital files to store the art or save the photos to an online storage site/cloud. After your digital art gallery is complete, ask your child to choose a few favorite pieces to save in real life. Display these items or store them in boxes and bins.

Reuse Old Artwork

What should you do with the precious pieces your child doesn't choose to save? After you photograph the items, reuse the art. Your child can cut up their old paintings to use for new collages, paint over drawings, or turn clay sculptures into abstract art.

Display Your Child's Masterpieces

Decorate your home with your child's pre-k artwork picks. Before you store or digitally save anything, display a few prime pieces. Doing so will add to the interior aesthetics of a family room or a kitchen display and it also gives your child a chance to show off their creativity. This can breed a sense of pride in their growing abilities.

To learn more, contact a daycare center that does a lot with art. They may have other ideas for you as well.