Art Storage Box: How To Organize School Art Projects

by Chris Molnar on September 19th, 2011 | No Comments »

Organization—With school starting, it won't be too long before your little one begins bringing all their cute projects home. If you have a little one, especially in pre-school or kindergarten, they will certainly be doing their fair share of art projects. This is a popular way to pass time in preschool. This also helps to build up their motor skills and gives them an artistic way to express themselves.

All wonderful aspects of this activity, but as a parent you may wonder "where in the world will I put all of this stuff?" Only so many can go on the refrigerator, and you certainly don't want to part with any of your little darling's masterpieces. It's time to make an art storage box.

How To Create an Art Project Storage Box

You will need the following:

One empty box that can fit the little gems (we used an empty diaper box)
Plenty of construction paper or wrapping paper scraps
Scissors
Tape and glue
Markers, stickers, glitter, and any other decorations

Start with an empty box and either cut off the top flaps or, for an extra deep box, raise them all up and use packing tape and seal them together (I'd tape both the outside and inside - if your child is going to use it, it will need to withstand a lot of bumps!)

With your child involved, give them a bunch of paper and measure how much is needed to cover the outside of the box. If they are old enough, they can use scissors to make a variety of shapes. Measure the box to see how much construction paper is needed to cover the outside of the box. These are the easy first steps and they will love to be involved.

Once you measure out the amount of construction paper, you can show them how it will all line the outside. Let them help with gluing the construction paper and then helping you to line it up appropriately on the outside. This is also a great way to show them measurements and how to line things up properly. It may be a bit more work for you, but well worth it!

Make It Their Own

Just like the art projects inside, this box can be an extension of your little darling's personality. Let them have some fun decorating this fun little art project box. There is no right or wrong here! We helped our daughter to cut out shapes like hearts and circles. Let them choose the color of the construction paper, the shapes you use, and of course the types of decorations that they want to use.

Our daughter usually loves blue, but this day she was all into pink and purple (perhaps because Grandma was there that day, and her favorite is purple). From the construction paper that lined the outside to the decorations that we used, it was all very girlie. This is her personality and we celebrated it! Let your little Picasso go wild with how they decorate it, what they use, and how much fun this will be to use all school year long.

Functional Organization

We have a rule that each month we go through and decide which art projects that we get to keep and which we have to recycle. This art project box is the perfect place to hold onto memories and instill a bit of organization. Make sure you have a central spot for it, otherwise it'll quickly get lost in the clutter. We choose a corner by the wall and bed which used to hold an old toy she no longer plays with. It will carry her through this school year and give her something that she can store for years to come. What we plan is to store it downstairs once the school year is done and mark the year on it, then make a new one for the next school year. We'll likely also sneak a peek through the box years later and reminisce on the times gone by!

How do you organize all of the art projects that your kids bring home? How do you showcase their art? What will you do with all the cherished art projects your child brings home?

Chris's house is always threatening to become uninhabitable due to the clutter, but he and his wife manage to stay one step ahead. Hopefully this art box helps when the avalanche of cute kindergarten projects come home in their eldest daughter's backpack (a portion of the refrigerator has also been set aside for this purpose.)

Chris is editor of a party theme ideas website with articles on crafts, games and recipes for birthday parties. We've already put her stained glass butterfly craft from her birthday in the box.

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Chris Molnar

Chris's eldest daughter (5) knows that the word "Hawaii" equals a fun, sunny destination, even if she's not quite sure where it is. With the hot weather this summer and a couple tiki torches haunting his garage from last year, it's definitely time for another luau party. You can visit Chris on his Facebook page - drop by and say aloha!