DIY Parking Garage

Can this week just be over with already? School was a breeze today as everyone just had a day full of tests that flew on by. It left us with a great big gap in the morning and I asked them what they wanted to do. ART ART ART was the resounding answer. I pulled down the recycle bin (minus a couple wine bottles--I had a party this weekend!!) and let them have at it. Wouldn't you know that AMAZING things happen when you have 3 kids of different ages at work here? What started out as a game board (mimicking our race car sight words folder game), quickly turned into a parking garage. They started with paper towel and toilet paper tubes but didn't have enough. They moved on to Crystal Light (target brand) containers and realized they were short one. A little engineering work from them had them using 3 and just moving the third one to a more balanced location. As I watched 3 brains work, I was amazed at how homeschooling has brought them together. There was no bickering or putting down, they worked together, encouraged and even improved on ideas instead of laughing some off.

2 water bottle cases cardboard pieces, 3 Target Powder drink mix containers and 4 rulers all made this happen. They used 2 rulers to make each ramp! Construction paper was the first thing to be used as a ramp but they realized that it was far too flimsy. They had already been using the rulers to make parking spots, this was perfect. 

While the project didn't take them long to make, it certainly made a memory for me. Seeing my 3 kids work together like this made me realize just how much we are on the right path!

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Lost Art

Do you have a problem with storing artwork? That little part of you that feels bad when tiny drawings are tossed out? You don't want to become a hoarder but at the same time, you need to let some go, right? Well I have a system...(of course I do!). I have these BIG YEAR BINDERS where all the school work goes and larger art pieces and then they get labeled with the current school photo the year. At the end of the year, I file them into a large rubbermaid bin (Future post coming on this one). For the really neat and colorful pieces that evoke emotion or make me smile, I put those on our Gallery Wall (Future post coming on this one too!!!). Then there are those tiny little photos or just random ones done on the back of a menu at a restaurant or on a sheet of notebook paper. They would easily get tossed but they are art none-the-less!

I have a daily planner, my personal 'bible' of sorts. It goes with me everywhere and has everything tucked into it. It's stuffed with appointments, business cards, tickets, money...you name it! Without it, I would be lost. When the year is over, I keep them in my Rubbbermaid of memories for the year because it is fun to look back at. What is that I look back at exactly??? Well lost art of course!

Instead of throwing these little bits and pieces out, I tape them into old pages of my planner! This is yesterdays page, because I found these little guys in a notebook and in a pad of construction paper. Whenever I see tiny little pieces of drawings or something catches my eye in the van that has been curled up, I cut it out and tape it in. They are memories that would be tossed, it's awesome to see their faces light up when they see their old works treasured in a book that I always keep on me. If that planner page had something recurring or a note on it, I just copy it over to the next day or put it on a post it that can just stick on.

The smallest of photos on the back of a receipt is something that I want to treasure forever. The kids and I always get a kick of seeing who did what and how long ago. It's so fun to try and guess and just remember days past.

If a paper gets torn in the backpack or too curled up for the binders, we cut out the important parts and I tape it in. There is such a collage of items on these pages that it's a cheaply done scrapbook that still captures moments in our lives. When they make confetti with scissors, I even keep some of those and tape them in. It gives my past days some punch <3 p="">

How do you store your art? The bits and pieces? 

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