Day 19 - Something beginning with 's'

Ella's Fingerprint Snowmen, 2011

We have a lot of kid art in our house. A lot. They bring home things from school every day. They make things at home all the time. It's stacking up. Were I a hoarder, we would be buried alive under the kid art. Alas, I squished my hoarding tendencies during the Moving Years (i.e. college) because it's easier to move up and down three flights of stairs when you have less junk. Thus, I cannot keep all of the kid art.

I have a series of steps for stacking organizing it.

1. Each day I clean out their folders and put the art on the fridge in their designated artwork magnet clips. They like to see it and Luke likes to breathe life into his, chasing his sister with his letter B bumble bee or whatever. Sometimes Ella, nerd child that she is, needs to finish her work at home.

2. When the magnets start to fall off from the weight of it, I move the art to the shelf in the top of the hall closet where I keep their Keep Boxes.

3. When the pile on the top of the shelf starts to avalanche, I sort through it and throw away the things that I deem unworthy of saving and put the rest in the Keep Box.

4. Eventually, when the lid stops fitting on the Keep Box, I'll sort again and throw away more things unworthy of saving.

It has to be a process because it's hard for me to throw away their work. They are so proud of it, even Luke, who has so much help with his right now. He's so proud that he tells me, "I made a [insert letter of the week craft here]! Ms. Tristie help me!" (His teacher's name is Kristie. He can't say the "k" sound yet.) So, I drag it out in multiple steps, knowing that it's easier to throw away glued bits of paper and paint blots that are unicorns when some time has passed from the making of them.

In the end, I know I'll only keep the things that have their hand or footprints on them, or their very own handwriting. I'll keep the things that mark their development and remind me of their innocence.