Ideas for Displaying Kids School Work

Think about magnet boards instead of corkboards---I remember how my pushpins used to fall out and be in the carpet to get stepped on...not good for kids. = )

Kinders usually have huge amounts of art...you can't keep it all, don't even try. Just the best pieces.
I have one of my son's art projects in a display box/shadow box that has a hinged front that opens. I'm actually intending to keep this one project, but wanted to tell you about it, because it if you had things like that, you could just change the displayed art periodically. I got it at Michaels.
But Magnet boards are cool, and maybe better for larger pieces, like paintings.

I bought a storage/frame combination for my grandchildren's homes: L'il DaVinci Store & Display Art Cabinet by Dynamic Frames. Sold online just do a search. Different sizes available. Well loved by parents and grandchildren!

Kids want their art work where everyone can see it. They make it for Mommy and Daddy so I haven't seen a child yet put it in thier own room. The refirgerator is the most common place to put art work. Pottery Barn has very nice knobs and a wire from that to hang art work. It looks very nice and not tacky.
F.

got some great ideas, but I wanted to add another "permanent" idea to the list...
I saw this on HGTV (I think Doug did this, but it could have been someone else)

The took pictures of the pieces, and then turned those pictures into heat transfers, and ironed them onto pillow cases for the kids...
that way they had a personal pillowcase, and a permanent reminder of their favorite art pieces.

(I think Doug put four pieces onto one pillow case)
You can get the photo transfer paper at just about any craft store, and even some office supply stores (I even saw it at Fry's Electronics!)

Very Exciting! Nice of you to want to display. Expect a lot of art work.

I had cork but did not like push pins. I am now setting up a magnet one.
Last year for Kindergarten ad preschool,
I had a 3 plate holder stand mounted on the wall that I placed them on in the kitchen instead of plates. It held a variety of shapes and he was proud.
There was room for little sisters work..

Then every time a new one came home, I would move them into Art Portfolios I got at Aaron Brothers.

At the End of the Year, take photos of them, and scrapbook the photos. Otherwise you will be burried in art. You can also takes pieces of each with the date and make paper quilt...

You can recycyle if he is open to it...it is his art:)
Wrapping paper, collage, new art

Send to famly members as gifts just for fun...

Give to Senior Citezens homes for joy...

Frame a few..

lastly, Ikea has ropes with clips (so does Pottery Barn and other places but they are more expensive..

Going to add one thing..not all children love art in school because there is a pressure..it is the modeled art issue I often speak of ...my son's participation in art dwindled in K.
He is also a perfectionist. I would even post the ones he walked away from half way or crumbled if it was not right because I would tell him I loved his process and the crumbling stoppped.

He also did not like it in his one preschool BUT enjoys drawing and illustrating his own ideas..I learned to let it be because it stressed him out. You may have a little guy who loves to do the art they provide to the group but thought I would share our situation just in case. I posted all art, including the personal drawings and maps..A lot of map making and sign making at our house

Another way which could turn into something more permanent would be to make books out of photos plus your son's artwork and writing by having them either in plastic sleeves (buy in bulk at stationery or office supply stores) or having them actually put through a press that makes an airtight plastic covering on both sides and then using a hole punch, put rings through the sides of the pages to make books so the child can look through with you over and over and remember and talk about "when you were in kindergarten, first grade, just a baby etc.."

Some kindergarten teachers help make such books of the child's progress through the year, but not all children or parents are so lucky.

magnets on the frig are fun too to hold up the painting of the week or something special to be featured temporarily. It is fun to keep records of your child's creative process since so much of it just goes away like sand castles!!

Nice to be thinking ahead! N.

I have seen some plastic photo frames that can hold several sheets of paper so your son can choose a new picture every day. However, I don't remember where to get them.
I just scanned one of my son's drawings and e-mailed to all the grandparents and Uncles. I am considering trying it out as a computer desktop photo as well.

We use the Dignitet "curtain rod" from IKEA. It's not really a curtain rod, but instead a metal line with hooks that can be used to hold the pictures. IKEA had it on display in the kids section a few years ago and we've been using it ever since. I have a small one over the changing table that we admire when changing diapers and a long one going the length of the room where we hang the bigger pictures. Both of my kids love it - and it's cheap and easy!

Color copy and shrink to small magnet size. Glue magnets on the back and put on refrigerator/whiteboard. Now you can have an entire gallery of work instead of just 1 or two masterpieces.

Use large paintings as wrapping paper.

Take photos of the projects. Use as "wallpaper" on your computer screen. Photos also allow you to "keep" for of the artwork.

Some things you just can't part with. Buy large artist's portfolios to keep them in. Easy to just slip in a treasured artwork, cute essay, etc. Remember to write child's name, grade and year in pencil (ink will leak through eventually).

Hi R.,
A corkboard is a great idea. Another one is to put up a clothesline from wall to wall in his room and hang his work on that. If you want to take it a step farther, Oriental Trading Company had a beading catalog and they have a cute pattern to make your own clips for hanging stuff up. You can tailor them with his favorite colors.
Have fun!
T.
Pre-school teacher

I bought a picture frame on sale (actually it was a seaside scape with a GIANT scratch through it, but I pulled that out.) and covered a piece of board with fabric to match my daughter's room.

She uses that earthquake tack stuff to put up her work. She changes it as she sees fit.

Now, for the pieces I really love and cherish, I have put behind glass and hung on the family room wall. Hmmmm...seems like I haven't "loved" any art since she was 5 (3 yrs). I better get updating.

Also, I scan the pieces we both love and drop them in in iPhoto. When we have enough to fill a book, I send it off to iBook and order a few copies of the book. They make great gifts for grandparents and daddy's office coffee table too.

Stephanie

Take pictures of him with each artwork and display it in a collage/picture frame.

I'm not sure where you would get it, but a friend of mine has a metal track on their wall with round magnetic buttons. They put their kid's artwork up on that. It hangs in their kitchen and actually looks really cool. It is really easy to change the work because it's just hanging with magnets.

I actually just hang my kids' on the wall with thumbtacks. I have their better works of art all over the house. I attach them to neutral-colored posterboard and then hang them on the wall. And I actually framed my daughters first fingerpaint project that she did when she was two and it's up in her room.

I have my daughters art work from preschool hanging on a ribbon that is tied to plant hangers in the ceiling of her room. In each corner of her room there is a plant hanger. I tied one end of the ribbon on one hanger and then brought the other end to the other plant hanger. Then I clip the art work up with clothes pins from the craft store. It is really easy to rotate the art the she brings home.

I have 2 frames on our kitchen wall for just this purpose. They are inexpensive frames and the plexi easily pops out to quickly change the art in them as needed.

For my little guys art I have a few frames without the glass that I put it into. We change it each week. I am going to get like a cloths line paint it and hang his larger pictures from there.

We have a large magnet board in my daughters room for displaying art. Magnets seemed a safer alternative to tacks needed for a cork board. Also Ikea had a cool wire curtain hanger that my freind hung down her hall and attached the kids' are with clothes pins- very cool.

I put up a magnetic wipe board - I don't trust my son with thumb tacks yet! Our fridge is stainless steel so magnets don't stick so he loves having my old collection of magnets.
I hid the marker so he won't accidentally scribble on his walls.

Hey there! IKEA has a cool wire gizmo that's actually meant to hang curtains. It comes with perfect little clips to hang artwork from, and it's totally adjustable to any length. You just mount it on the wall and clip up the masterpieces.

We have two, one for each child, in their play area. Once it gets too full, we pull things down and put them in a bin under their bed.

We also take pictures of the big, 3-dimensional, way too glittery to save stuff instead of storing those after the 'art wall.'

Don't know if this link will work or not, but it's called the DIGNITET curtain wire.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60075295

Have fun!

I think a cute idea is to attach a long string or wire to the wall or ceiling, and then attach the art work to it with clothespins. IKEA has some of these already made up in a package. Enjoy :-)

good Morning R.: What an exciting time of adventure you are aabout to enter-- with a little one at school. Of course the refrigerator door or the dishwasher door is the one that has been used for years at our house.
But now that our several Grandchildren have things for me to display ( trust me Grandparents love that kind of stuff) I am having a clear plexie glass sheet attached to a wall in the kitchen and I will have it there. That way it is protected and yet very visable. Good Luck and have fun with your children and enjoy the memories that you will have. Nana G

My sister in law also had a special wall that she actually framed the artwork (the very special ones) and changed them out periocially.....my parents grwoing up....took one wall and corkboarded teh whole thing and we were able to put all of our stuff up!

Since my daughters artwork was so big and hard to store. I took pictures of them before throwing them away. But made a scrapbook of all her artwork in pics.

Ikea has lots of stuff for this. My favorite are metal boards with magnets so that you can easily change what is displayed with worrying about stepping on thumbtacks, cle
cleaning off tape gunk, or needing more time than you have.

My Pantry door in the kitchen is where I tape art work from the kids classroom. I have three kids so it fills up fast but they love it especially when they get to tape it up.

I have two toddlers in pre-school, I seen this idea in a parenting magazine and they had it as a room divider. I went to the dollar store they had scrapbook sheet protector (10 sheets for a $1). I bought two packets went to an office supply store to get rings. I don't know the exact type that they are called, but the ring opens up and locks back into place. I connected the sheets w/the rings. The reason I enjoyed this project was that you can make this as big or small as you would like. You can put your own touch on it you can add scrapbooking sheets of paper in the protector and even decorate it any way you would like! Have fun!

Hi, im a new mom, due in oct. and im a Creative Memories consultant. I have a great way for you to display his school work and keep it as well, that way you can rotate what you see but keep it contained so he has a special place all his own. Creative Memoreis Keepsakes display is a black frame with white fabric display spaces. Take a look at these 2 links to see the pictues of the inside and out, hang just like a picture on a wall or can stand on a flat surface.
http://projectcenter.creativememories.com/photos/for_her_...

http://projectcenter.creativememories.com/photos/gift_ide...

I can have it sent directly to your house in less then a week. I will also offer you free shipping. Hope to her from you.

T. Reading
Creative Memories Consulant id#69548565

R.,
My mom saved everthing I ever made in boxes in the attic, which made me think... now what do I do with it. It still sits. I didn't want to do the same thing. I also have a 5 year old, and last year I posted all of his works on a wall. At the end of the year I took a picture of him in front of it, and then took everything down... now we can start over again this year. Now I don't feel bad for throwing it away, athough I wil save one of my favorite peices from every year though.

Corkboard for his wall is a great idea and if there is a favorite piece of artwork he's done that you love, you can frame it in an inexpensive black frame with white matte for the home office or family room. You can put it in an area that doesn't disturb the rest of your grown up motiff. I've seen it done on HGTV and it looks fantastic.

The corkboard idea works very well. When my kids were teenagers, we did one whole wall in each room in corkboard. That way, we confined all wall "postings" to that one wall, leaving no problem with holes in the wall. It was large enough for numerous posters, banners, etc, AND postings could be changed easily at will. Their friends could even occasionally post things. It was loved by all...

Hi,
That sounds like a GREAT idea. I have purchased in the past rolls of cork (sold @ home improvemnets stores...home depot,lowe's,michaels).
It may be easier to do if you framed it some how. We did something similar with chalkboard paint, on the back of a pocket door. All our messages get written on it......

A friend displays her kids art on a large wall in the family room. She has sectioned an area, painted it a deep burgundy then framed it using baseboard moulding. It looks like a gigantic picture frame, maybe 4'x 3'. The kids use push pins to hang art, tests and other things they are proud of.

In my house, after an art project has been replaced on the refrigerator, I hang it in my laundry room from the floor to ceiling. My girls are 8 & 12 and I still have kindergarten and preschool art. It makes doing laundry more fun when you can look around you and see everything from fingerpainting to an oragami cat to a cut out snowman.

A friend of mine got her husband to rig a wire in an alcove they have that they'd turned into an art area and she uses clothespins (the ones with the spring) that she had her kids paint to hang up the artwork. She has about 3 or 4 clothespins per child, so when they're full, something has to come down. The kids decide what goes up and what comes down. It's the coolest thing!!! :)

We have a small wall in the kitchen near the fridge where we put the kids stuff, I love it and so do they. Then I keep our favorites. I read an article in a magazine where you can use a fed-ex box for each year and archive them. Or start a scrap book or portfolio.

Choose a wall space that is not normally used (I have a wall against the stairs that is blank) and hang a string/clothesline and clip the art/classwork that you and your son are proud of. This way it is easy to rotate when new pieces come in. Also it can be high enough so the younger does not pull it down or tear the work. Enjoy Kinder! It is a fun grade.

I heard someone once say they did a collage on the inside of their garage door. It holds lots of art. Another idea is at the end of each school year, put all special pieces of work (art, writing, reports etc.) into that year's school backpack and save together. Each backpack can hold a year's worth of keepsakes to be looked at in the future. (and they don't all have to be flat).

we have an entry way leading up to our front door and we rotate 2-3 pieces of each kids art onto the walls and we call it the gallery! it is very nice and brightens the area and yet does not require finding a space in the house...our place is only 1200 sq. ft. good luck. always good to show off their efforts!

I made a traditional kite (diamond shaped out of colorful tissue paper)to hang on a wall in the boy's room. The kite tail was a long piece of string that was pinned against the wall. On the kite tail I put colorful clothes pins where the boys could attach their test papers and artwork. They really enjoyed it!

you have a ton of great ideas, but one I saw a friend of mine do and I plan on doing it for my kids:
She laminates the smaller art work and stores it in a binder. It is so neat to look through and see the kids work.
I like the frame idea. Framing their art makes it look so important.
I've seen people frame it and display it in the home. then change it out for newer pieces.
Oh and for the non-important big pieces you can use as gift wrap for presents. Of course grandparents like custom wrapping paper.

HI R.,

I have a neat display for my refrigerator. Take a plastic photo sleeve (largest size) and border it with foam sheeting in the color you like, for a frame. At the top, label it "Your last name Family Gallery" or "My Latest Masterpiece." Then attach magnets to the back, hidden under the frame. (Make sure you put the insert side on the side or on the top, so the art doesn't fall off.) Then decorate the frame with foam doodles or gems for a unique look. You will need a glue gun or those peel off circles of glue for this project.
N.