Parent-Child Projects That Last:
Kids Corner

Aired on Superstation WGN
Saturday, January 8 and May 7, 2005
Show 201

It's a camel, or a really tall bird, or something, but it doesn't matter. It's your child's creation. It may never hang in the Louvre, but it's more precious to you than the Mona Lisa. By the time your little Picasso has reached high school, they have created hundreds of pieces of artwork, and if you're like me, you can't toss them out. But you can't save everything, or can you? Experts tell us that 80 percent of fires are caused by disorganization, not lack of space. So here's a great idea: grab a camera, either digital or film, and start snapping photos. Remember, the better the lighting, including your flash, and the bigger you can frame that artwork in your viewfinder, the better end result you're going to get. Then, take the film or digital media to your local photo finishing store. Besides the prints, you should have all of the shots put on a CD. And the really good stuff, have 5 x 7's or 8 x 10's made. Since the other work is all saved on a CD, you have an easy way to refer back to it at any time. Now, you're ready to create your child's life art book. With an art book, pretty much anything goes. The important thing is to use your creativity. Have your little artist help you. It's a great parent-child project. The 5 x 7's and 8 x 10's can be used as features in the art book, or you can frame and hang them on your walls. Creating an art book with your child has a lot of great benefits. Certainly a cleaner, less cluttered home is more enjoyable, but on top of that, studies have shown that children who participate in creative play with their parents develop better vocabularies and stronger thinking skills. Here are some other ideas: turn those "best of the best" shots into really fun screen savers for your computer or you can turn your child's art into T-shirts, mugs, calendars, you name it! With a few old-fashioned scrapbook skills and a dab of technology, you can keep the memories but lose the clutter and the stress.