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Blog: The Pile High Club--how NOT to become a member
 End-of-year Kids Art Show
On Friday we held my children's End-of-Year Art Show. The kids LOVE doing this as much as I do, as it gives us a chance to purge the year's worth of art the kids have brought home without feeling guilty about throwing it in the trash.
I believe I have mentioned doing an art show for your kids in a previous blog, but I'll go over the details again briefly:
1. Collect your children's artwork in a bin all year long (one bin per child—no need to keep everything, just the "good stuff").
2. At the end of the school year, video-record your children holding up each piece of art and talking about it (because that's the cute part—their little voices and what was going through their minds that made them come up with drawing a "moustache shop"—my 4-year-old daughter actually drew this. Hilarious!).
3. As they go through the artwork, let them choose (along with your help) the 5 or 10 (max) BEST pieces to keep in their memory bin. The rest will be sold at the art show.
4. Send an e-vite inviting friends, neighbors, family, and teachers to the art show.
5. Buy that tacky tack at Office Depot to put up the artwork (so tape doesn't ruin it) or use easels or clips or whatever you can come up with.
6. Set up one section of the show with the DISPLAY art. This will allow them to display those 10 BEST pieces, which will not be for sale.
7. Set up another section of the house with the pieces for sale.
8. Use post-its to price the art. I let the kids price their own pieces from FREE to $3. There are a few FREE pieces always for the little kids who show up without money but want something. Most of the pieces were .25 cents - $1.00.
9. Serve snacks, juice for kids, and appetizers, wine/beer for adults (if you like).
I have to say this year's show was a hit. My son made about $13 and my daughter about $8. Both were lit up with pride as people walked around, gushed over their hard work and then shelled out cash-ola for their favorite pieces.
I will admit that there were two or three pieces that were really hard for me to let go out the door. It took every bit of self-control I had to not sneak out the door with the purchaser and buy it back from her. But part of the process of this art show is letting the KIDS decide which pieces of art THEY want to keep… not which pieces I want to keep. I would not have set a very good example if I had talked them into keeping all the pieces I wanted as well.
That's not to say I didn't keep anything I wanted. I did buy two pieces of the FOR SALE art that my kids didn't want (but I did). But I limited myself to two pieces, and those will be framed and displayed, not shoved back into a bin.
So plan an art show of your own for your children. It's fun and it teaches them prioritizing, self editing, and that you can't keep everything. Great life lessons… plus they get a little cash and you get to clear out some clutter, guilt-free. Please write in and let me know how it goes or if you did anything differently that I might like to adopt for next year's show.
Here's the link to my facebook page that has some of the photos of my kids in front of their art.
posted on: 5/31/2010 10:30:00 AM by Heather Lambie
category: Paper
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The Pile High Club--how NOT to become a member
by Heather Lambie
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About Heather:
My Husband - "Honey, how thin can you spread yourself before you're no longer there?" Me - "I don't know. But I'm in it to win it, so we may have to find out."
Heather's Website:
www.yourhomeeditor.com
Favorite Websites
- The Sartorialist
This site appeases my hunger for all things New York, reminds me of my time there, and gives me great ideas for unconventional looks.
- Toffee To Go
They are located in Tampa, very near me, but they deliver/ship nationally. They have THE BEST toffee EVER. It's buttery, salty, sweet--all my favorite things in one bite.
- The Container Store
I know this is a no-brainer for an organizer...but this place really turns me on!
- The Poetry Foundation
- Because I Said So (blog)
As a mom myself, this mom of 6 (!!!) has me in stitches.
- Michael Buble
If I wasn't happily married, I might be stalking him. Bar none, the best voice and best sense of humor!
Quotes That Move Me
- General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
"The truth of the matter is, you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it."
- Ivern Ball
"Most of us ask for advice when we know the answer but we want a different one."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The secret of education is respecting the pupil."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen."
- Abigail Van Buren
"The best index to a person's character is how he treats another person who can't do him good, and how he treats people who can't fight back."
- Dorothy Galyean
"Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere."
- Aristotle
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
- Mark Twain
"To be satisfied with what one has; that is wealth. As long as one sorely needs a certain additional amount, that man isn't rich."
- Jackie Kennedy
"If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do matters very much."
Places I'm Dying to Visit
- Hawaii
Any how, any way, any time.
- Los Cabos, Mexico
- China
- Japan
- Alaska (via cruise ship)
- Marbella, Spain
Places I've Already Been
- Australia (Sydney)
- New Zealand
- Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora
- London
- Paris
Spent only one day here (took the Chunnel from London when I was there) but it was one amazing, beautiful day where I walked the flea markets, visited the Louvre, people-watched and used all 6 senses to experience it.
- Trinidad & Tobago
My husband is from here, so we go several times a year to visit family.
- Italy (Milan, Vicenza)
- Jamaica
Things I'd Like To Do Before I Die
- Run a leg with the Olympic torch before the games begin
- See the monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico
- Ride a horse on the beach (in the water)
- See a prize fight (boxing) in Las Vegas
- Run the NYC Marathon
I ran the Disney Marathon in 2000 (pre-kids). Would love to run another post-kids, to prove I can.
- Have washboard abs.
- Eliminate self doubt.
- Own an apartment in Manhattan.
- Watch the ball drop in Times Square on New Year's Eve.
- Take an RV trip down the coast of California.
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