Kids Projects

[Anonymous]

I do lots of arts and crafts with my charges. One family displays the art projects for a long time and the other, well when I go to their house, I don’t see any. I’ve seen about 2 displayed but where are the rest of them? I’m not saying create a art museum at your house but at least act like you appreciate your kids (and my) hard work. Seriously, do parents just go home and throw the kids work away?

[Anonymous]

Sometimes, yes.

We had some designated spaces for the projects, but a lot of the time we didn't keep them. For the kids, it's about the process, not the finished product.

I have an app called Canvsly where I store and date photos of kid art projects.

[Anonymous]

I made a Gingerbread House with my charges one Xmas and the Mom told me she didnt have room for it to be displayed. They lived in a large 5 bedroom house. I took it to my Condo and had it there instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes, yes.

We had some designated spaces for the projects, but a lot of the time we didn't keep them. For the kids, it's about the process, not the finished product.

I have an app called Canvsly where I store and date photos of kid art projects.

It’s not about the finished product? Wow!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I made a Gingerbread House with my charges one Xmas and the Mom told me she didnt have room for it to be displayed. They lived in a large 5 bedroom house. I took it to my Condo and had it there instead.

That was nice of you- I’m sure you guys took your time, had fun and bonded over that. When I do the gingerbread house, the kids always love it!

I’’ve had older children tell me they didn’t care about their art because they’ve seen their mom or dad throw it away (when I was a teacher). I get not having the space but at least hold on to it for a couple of days or at least a week- don’t let your kid see you throwing it away either. You can revisit what they did/make, talk about it, engage with your kid(s) etc.

[Anonymous]

I do. I have a clothesline for each kid in the playroom that's about 3 feet. I only hang the best stuff and rotate it out as they do more.

I hate the look of kid projects. Sometimes I tell the kids I'm bringing them to work and then I throw them out there. I will never be someone slapping that crap on the refrigerator or framing a piece of paper with scribbles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I made a Gingerbread House with my charges one Xmas and the Mom told me she didnt have room for it to be displayed. They lived in a large 5 bedroom house. I took it to my Condo and had it there instead.

That was nice of you- I’m sure you guys took your time, had fun and bonded over that. When I do the gingerbread house, the kids always love it!

I’’ve had older children tell me they didn’t care about their art because they’ve seen their mom or dad throw it away (when I was a teacher). I get not having the space but at least hold on to it for a couple of days or at least a week- don’t let your kid see you throwing it away either. You can revisit what they did/make, talk about it, engage with your kid(s) etc.

Also 5 bedroom house here. They keep 2-6 things from school per year, everything else gets trashed immediately. I take pictures to document after being asked at the end of my first month why I don’t do anything creative with the kids. (I do: practice piano with older two and teach piano to younger, set up projects as well as just getting out coloring or crafting items and letting them go at it, cooking with kids, singing to and with kids, silly dancing and teaching actual dance moves, helping with school projects, etc.)

[Anonymous]

There is SO MUCH of this stuff in the first four years of life. Just how many hand prints with cute sayings do you want to hang in your house, nannies?

I'd be more likely to keep more of it if there were one project a month, not 10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is SO MUCH of this stuff in the first four years of life. Just how many hand prints with cute sayings do you want to hang in your house, nannies?

I'd be more likely to keep more of it if there were one project a month, not 10.

Keeping one a month would be an improvement. My youngest charge is now going to school, but even as a toddler, he would take things to his room to hide so he would have them later (until mom or dad found 1, then they would search the whole room and throw them out). My oldest charge doesn’t care about how the finished product looks anymore, because she knows it won’t be kept anyway.

It’s not about how things look or how many kids make. They know when their efforts are appreciated and when their efforts aren’t valued at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is SO MUCH of this stuff in the first four years of life. Just how many hand prints with cute sayings do you want to hang in your house, nannies?

I'd be more likely to keep more of it if there were one project a month, not 10.

Keeping one a month would be an improvement. My youngest charge is now going to school, but even as a toddler, he would take things to his room to hide so he would have them later (until mom or dad found 1, then they would search the whole room and throw them out). My oldest charge doesn’t care about how the finished product looks anymore, because she knows it won’t be kept anyway.

It’s not about how things look or how many kids make. They know when their efforts are appreciated and when their efforts aren’t valued at all.

Meh, my kids had a tendency to forget what they had done after they showed it to us that night. I'd let it stay up for a day or two and then take it down and store it for a week or so to see if they asked about it. They never did, not once, and then I'd secretly throw out the things that weren't worth saving and put the others into a storage box. We do the same with birthday cards, whatever. I HATE stuff lying around and hanging on the fridge but I'll deal with it for a short period of time if it's something that means something to them. But 99.9% of the time, once it got hung up they never mentioned it again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is SO MUCH of this stuff in the first four years of life. Just how many hand prints with cute sayings do you want to hang in your house, nannies?

I'd be more likely to keep more of it if there were one project a month, not 10.

Keeping one a month would be an improvement. My youngest charge is now going to school, but even as a toddler, he would take things to his room to hide so he would have them later (until mom or dad found 1, then they would search the whole room and throw them out). My oldest charge doesn’t care about how the finished product looks anymore, because she knows it won’t be kept anyway.

It’s not about how things look or how many kids make. They know when their efforts are appreciated and when their efforts aren’t valued at all.

Meh, my kids had a tendency to forget what they had done after they showed it to us that night. I'd let it stay up for a day or two and then take it down and store it for a week or so to see if they asked about it. They never did, not once, and then I'd secretly throw out the things that weren't worth saving and put the others into a storage box. We do the same with birthday cards, whatever. I HATE stuff lying around and hanging on the fridge but I'll deal with it for a short period of time if it's something that means something to them. But 99.9% of the time, once it got hung up they never mentioned it again.

At least you keep it for a day or 2. This family in particular throws it away, literally right away- the glue is still drying.

When they’re in school it’s a little different because 9/10 the art work is hung up for weeks at a time, so when parents are taking weeks maybe months worth of art work, I don’t expect them to hang or keep it. But to literally throw it out the same day is a slap in the face. And I’m not talking about hand prints or free painting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is SO MUCH of this stuff in the first four years of life. Just how many hand prints with cute sayings do you want to hang in your house, nannies?

I'd be more likely to keep more of it if there were one project a month, not 10.

Keeping one a month would be an improvement. My youngest charge is now going to school, but even as a toddler, he would take things to his room to hide so he would have them later (until mom or dad found 1, then they would search the whole room and throw them out). My oldest charge doesn’t care about how the finished product looks anymore, because she knows it won’t be kept anyway.

It’s not about how things look or how many kids make. They know when their efforts are appreciated and when their efforts aren’t valued at all.

Meh, my kids had a tendency to forget what they had done after they showed it to us that night. I'd let it stay up for a day or two and then take it down and store it for a week or so to see if they asked about it. They never did, not once, and then I'd secretly throw out the things that weren't worth saving and put the others into a storage box. We do the same with birthday cards, whatever. I HATE stuff lying around and hanging on the fridge but I'll deal with it for a short period of time if it's something that means something to them. But 99.9% of the time, once it got hung up they never mentioned it again.

At least you keep it for a day or 2. This family in particular throws it away, literally right away- the glue is still drying.

When they’re in school it’s a little different because 9/10 the art work is hung up for weeks at a time, so when parents are taking weeks maybe months worth of art work, I don’t expect them to hang or keep it. But to literally throw it out the same day is a slap in the face. And I’m not talking about hand prints or free painting.

Buy a binder to keep the art in and let the kid look through it when she wants, then. Sorry, I'm skeptical that the child is so broken-hearted about this. I think it's the nanny who wants her hard work appreciated, and finds the artwork more meaningful than it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is SO MUCH of this stuff in the first four years of life. Just how many hand prints with cute sayings do you want to hang in your house, nannies?

I'd be more likely to keep more of it if there were one project a month, not 10.

Keeping one a month would be an improvement. My youngest charge is now going to school, but even as a toddler, he would take things to his room to hide so he would have them later (until mom or dad found 1, then they would search the whole room and throw them out). My oldest charge doesn’t care about how the finished product looks anymore, because she knows it won’t be kept anyway.

It’s not about how things look or how many kids make. They know when their efforts are appreciated and when their efforts aren’t valued at all.

Meh, my kids had a tendency to forget what they had done after they showed it to us that night. I'd let it stay up for a day or two and then take it down and store it for a week or so to see if they asked about it. They never did, not once, and then I'd secretly throw out the things that weren't worth saving and put the others into a storage box. We do the same with birthday cards, whatever. I HATE stuff lying around and hanging on the fridge but I'll deal with it for a short period of time if it's something that means something to them. But 99.9% of the time, once it got hung up they never mentioned it again.

At least you keep it for a day or 2. This family in particular throws it away, literally right away- the glue is still drying.

When they’re in school it’s a little different because 9/10 the art work is hung up for weeks at a time, so when parents are taking weeks maybe months worth of art work, I don’t expect them to hang or keep it. But to literally throw it out the same day is a slap in the face. And I’m not talking about hand prints or free painting.

Buy a binder to keep the art in and let the kid look through it when she wants, then. Sorry, I'm skeptical that the child is so broken-hearted about this. I think it's the nanny who wants her hard work appreciated, and finds the artwork more meaningful than it is.

It’s defiently not about the nanny wanting her work appreciated, at least not me personally. I may cut it out, lay out the materials and give direction, but the finished product is done by the kid(s). Since I’ve been a teacher over 10 years and just became a nanny, I didn’t realize how quickly parents throw away projects. That’s all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is SO MUCH of this stuff in the first four years of life. Just how many hand prints with cute sayings do you want to hang in your house, nannies?

I'd be more likely to keep more of it if there were one project a month, not 10.

Keeping one a month would be an improvement. My youngest charge is now going to school, but even as a toddler, he would take things to his room to hide so he would have them later (until mom or dad found 1, then they would search the whole room and throw them out). My oldest charge doesn’t care about how the finished product looks anymore, because she knows it won’t be kept anyway.

It’s not about how things look or how many kids make. They know when their efforts are appreciated and when their efforts aren’t valued at all.

Meh, my kids had a tendency to forget what they had done after they showed it to us that night. I'd let it stay up for a day or two and then take it down and store it for a week or so to see if they asked about it. They never did, not once, and then I'd secretly throw out the things that weren't worth saving and put the others into a storage box. We do the same with birthday cards, whatever. I HATE stuff lying around and hanging on the fridge but I'll deal with it for a short period of time if it's something that means something to them. But 99.9% of the time, once it got hung up they never mentioned it again.

At least you keep it for a day or 2. This family in particular throws it away, literally right away- the glue is still drying.

When they’re in school it’s a little different because 9/10 the art work is hung up for weeks at a time, so when parents are taking weeks maybe months worth of art work, I don’t expect them to hang or keep it. But to literally throw it out the same day is a slap in the face. And I’m not talking about hand prints or free painting.

Buy a binder to keep the art in and let the kid look through it when she wants, then. Sorry, I'm skeptical that the child is so broken-hearted about this. I think it's the nanny who wants her hard work appreciated, and finds the artwork more meaningful than it is.

It’s defiently not about the nanny wanting her work appreciated, at least not me personally. I may cut it out, lay out the materials and give direction, but the finished product is done by the kid(s). Since I’ve been a teacher over 10 years and just became a nanny, I didn’t realize how quickly parents throw away projects. That’s all.

You're still missing the point. YOU saw the process, worked on it with the kid, discussed how cute it was, etc., etc.. That is 90% of the meaningfulness of the project. ESPECIALLY the ones where you cut out the flower petals and then the kid glues them on or whatever. Without the process part, it's a not-very-appealing piece of gluey paper. I have one artsy kid whose projects even as a toddler showed some personality. I kept those. I kept projects that were unique, or just appealed to me for some reason for all of my kids (a big sunflower, a mosaic fish, paper plate ducks). I did make an effort to decorate their spaces with some of their art (the playroom, not their rooms) and I would encourage you to do the same, but, to tell the truth, I did it as much to make my nanny feel good as for the kids. I made different kinds of memories with the kids at that age, sometimes projects of our own. The paper assembly stuff, the painting project, plaster project ... didn't mean much to me.

And, I know you don't believe us, but I can attest to what the PP said: they never ask about them once they're gone. Not once. They are happy with the initial reaction, and then that's it. If your charge is sad, it's because you're asking about what happened to their projects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is SO MUCH of this stuff in the first four years of life. Just how many hand prints with cute sayings do you want to hang in your house, nannies?

I'd be more likely to keep more of it if there were one project a month, not 10.

Keeping one a month would be an improvement. My youngest charge is now going to school, but even as a toddler, he would take things to his room to hide so he would have them later (until mom or dad found 1, then they would search the whole room and throw them out). My oldest charge doesn’t care about how the finished product looks anymore, because she knows it won’t be kept anyway.

It’s not about how things look or how many kids make. They know when their efforts are appreciated and when their efforts aren’t valued at all.

Meh, my kids had a tendency to forget what they had done after they showed it to us that night. I'd let it stay up for a day or two and then take it down and store it for a week or so to see if they asked about it. They never did, not once, and then I'd secretly throw out the things that weren't worth saving and put the others into a storage box. We do the same with birthday cards, whatever. I HATE stuff lying around and hanging on the fridge but I'll deal with it for a short period of time if it's something that means something to them. But 99.9% of the time, once it got hung up they never mentioned it again.

At least you keep it for a day or 2. This family in particular throws it away, literally right away- the glue is still drying.

When they’re in school it’s a little different because 9/10 the art work is hung up for weeks at a time, so when parents are taking weeks maybe months worth of art work, I don’t expect them to hang or keep it. But to literally throw it out the same day is a slap in the face. And I’m not talking about hand prints or free painting.

Buy a binder to keep the art in and let the kid look through it when she wants, then. Sorry, I'm skeptical that the child is so broken-hearted about this. I think it's the nanny who wants her hard work appreciated, and finds the artwork more meaningful than it is.

It’s defiently not about the nanny wanting her work appreciated, at least not me personally. I may cut it out, lay out the materials and give direction, but the finished product is done by the kid(s). Since I’ve been a teacher over 10 years and just became a nanny, I didn’t realize how quickly parents throw away projects. That’s all.

You're still missing the point. YOU saw the process, worked on it with the kid, discussed how cute it was, etc., etc.. That is 90% of the meaningfulness of the project. ESPECIALLY the ones where you cut out the flower petals and then the kid glues them on or whatever. Without the process part, it's a not-very-appealing piece of gluey paper. I have one artsy kid whose projects even as a toddler showed some personality. I kept those. I kept projects that were unique, or just appealed to me for some reason for all of my kids (a big sunflower, a mosaic fish, paper plate ducks). I did make an effort to decorate their spaces with some of their art (the playroom, not their rooms) and I would encourage you to do the same, but, to tell the truth, I did it as much to make my nanny feel good as for the kids. I made different kinds of memories with the kids at that age, sometimes projects of our own. The paper assembly stuff, the painting project, plaster project ... didn't mean much to me.

And, I know you don't believe us, but I can attest to what the PP said: they never ask about them once they're gone. Not once. They are happy with the initial reaction, and then that's it. If your charge is sad, it's because you're asking about what happened to their projects.

I’ve seen kids run to their parents to show them their work. Do those parents go home and throw it in the trash? Again, it’s a simple questions from my observation. And why would I ask a child about art work that I know a parent through away?