How Much Do You Let The Kids Take Home?

[originalkat]

I always have free art materials on the shelf and the kids constantly draw, color, cut etc...
So each day the kids have tons of stuff they made like 10 pictures they cut out of a magazine, fans or airplanes they folded, a stack of papers they colored, misc rocks or weeds they picked up outside. Sometimes it seems like too much! I havent really put restrictions on them (all preschool age). Whatever they make/color/collect they just put in their box to take home. Sometimes the parents seem slightly annoyed that they always have so much "junk" to take home.

So, do you have this problem? Do you restrict what or how much the kids take home each day?

[daycarediva]

No, I don't limit. I do have the kids bring in a shoe box in June, we decorate them, inside and out, and the kids can collect their 'treasures' in them. (we call them treasure boxes) the kids bring them home at the end of summer every year. Misc rocks, nuts, seeds, little leaves, flowers, random scraps of paper, that sort of thing all go in their treasure bins, and then home in Sept. Helps minimize them bringing home things like empty snail shells daily. ::

[originalkat]

No, I don't limit. I do have the kids bring in a shoe box in June, we decorate them, inside and out, and the kids can collect their 'treasures' in them. (we call them treasure boxes) the kids bring them home at the end of summer every year. Misc rocks, nuts, seeds, little leaves, flowers, random scraps of paper, that sort of thing all go in their treasure bins, and then home in Sept. Helps minimize them bringing home things like empty snail shells daily. ::

That is a good idea. I would just have to find a place to store them.

[Blackcat31]

I limit them. Far too many of them are "hoarders" and take out certain supplies and/or materials "to finish at home" or because their bff has that stuff or .....

My kids are each limited to 5 pages/sheets/projects per day. The ones under 3 usually use the art materials on a shared page or one big sheet of paper spread across the table like a table cloth so they don't have much to bring home.

My older ones usually do 1-3 art projects/creations or pages in the morning and will sometimes do 1-2 more in the afternoon.

I believe art materials should be available at all times, but I don't agree that kids should simply have an endless supply of paper and materials because they tend to get wasteful if it's a free for all.

For me, limiting the number of pages/projects per day usually helps support their decision making skills as well as encourage them to think a bit deeper about what it is they want to create/do.

[Cradle2crayons]

I don't limit to a specific number unless its the white paper they use to free draw or printd coloring sheets. Be ause yes, they'll make one mark with a crayon, call it finished, and get another sheet .

But other than that, no I don't limit. We use ziplock bags to collect their treasures in and I send them home on their last day of the week.

[Heidi]

Do any of you use "recycled" materials?

Make a list of things the kids can bring from home.

Egg cartons, paper towel and toilet paper rolls, the last bit of foil on the roll, scraps of ribbon or wrapping paper, or fabric, etc.


I really like the treasure box idea!

[Blackcat31]

Do any of you use "recycled" materials?

Make a list of things the kids can bring from home.

Egg cartons, paper towel and toilet paper rolls, the last bit of foil on the roll, scraps of ribbon or wrapping paper, or fabric, etc.


I really like the treasure box idea!

We use 75%+ recycled materials.

We use:

newspaper, magazines, empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls, jars, plastic containers, fabric, tin foil, plastic wrap, wrapping paper, contact paper, tissue paper, tissue boxes, ribbons, buttons, plastic bags, water bottles, baby food jars etc....

and my FAVORITE recycled item right now is those styrofoam trays that meat comes on...we wash them and use them for EVERYTHING!!!

I also live in a town that has a paper mill plant. The plant makes paper that Playboy, Time and Reader's Digest print their magazines on. A couple of my DCP's work there and bring me GIANT rolls of paper for the kids. Can't beat that freebie!!

The rolls of paper I get are similar to these... but MUCH larger and longer...



like these ones... I get them when there is only about 1/3 of the roll left.

[Heidi]

We use 75%+ recycled materials.

We use:

newspaper, magazines, empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls, jars, plastic containers, fabric, tin foil, plastic wrap, wrapping paper, contact paper, tissue paper, tissue boxes, ribbons, buttons, plastic bags, water bottles, baby food jars etc....

and my FAVORITE recycled item right now is those styrofoam trays that meat comes on...we wash them and use them for EVERYTHING!!!

I also live in a town that has a paper mill plant. The plant makes paper that Playboy, Time and Reader's Digest print their magazines on. A couple of my DCP's work there and bring me GIANT rolls of paper for the kids. Can't beat that freebie!!

[Unregistered]

We use 75%+ recycled materials.

We use:

newspaper, magazines, empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls, jars, plastic containers, fabric, tin foil, plastic wrap, wrapping paper, contact paper, tissue paper, tissue boxes, ribbons, buttons, plastic bags, water bottles, baby food jars etc....

and my FAVORITE recycled item right now is those styrofoam trays that meat comes on...we wash them and use them for EVERYTHING!!!

I also live in a town that has a paper mill plant. The plant makes paper that Playboy, Time and Reader's Digest print their magazines on. A couple of my DCP's work there and bring me GIANT rolls of paper for the kids. Can't beat that freebie!!

The rolls of paper I get are similar to these... but MUCH larger and longer...

Please be very careful when using the styrofoam meat trays. They harbor all sorts of bacteria even after being washed. Washing alone doesn't take everything off, you actually need to be able to bleach them and sometimes that still doesn't work because it breaks it down.

If you really want to use them, ask the butcher at your local store and sometimes they will give you ones that haven't been used yet.

[Blackcat31]

Please be very careful when using the styrofoam meat trays. They harbor all sorts of bacteria even after being washed. Washing alone doesn't take everything off, you actually need to be able to bleach them and sometimes that still doesn't work because it breaks it down.

If you really want to use them, ask the butcher at your local store and sometimes they will give you ones that haven't been used yet.

Mine all get soaked in bleach before use.

The butchers here want you to pay for them.

It's easier for me to have parents bring them in.

I collect them, wash them with soap and water and then soak them over night in bleach water ...just to be sure.

I've also sprayed Lysol on them.

But I am not too terribly concerned because I don't use them for foods just for crafts.

[Cradle2crayons]

Mine all get soaked in bleach before use.

The butchers here want you to pay for them.

It's easier for me to have parents bring them in.

I collect them, wash them with soap and water and then soak them over night in bleach water ...just to be sure.

I've also sprayed Lysol on them.

But I am not too terribly concerned because I don't use them for foods just for crafts.

I reuse them too. I wash them in scalding hot soap and water. Then I soak them in very concentrated Odoban. Then I soak them in plain water. Then I freeze them for a week and I'm pretty sure after all that they are safe .

[Starburst]

If the parents don't like having to bring so many projects home everyday maybe try displaying the art work in your home for at least a week and then wait until friday to let them take it all home (thats what we did at my former dc job).

Or, at least for small or papersheet projects, maybe you can get a binder for each child with a bunch of clear sheet protectors and place their drawings in there as a portfolio and they can take it home at the end of the week or even at the end of the year (could be like a graduation memory book present). This way you can also lable/date it and they have it all in one nice place instead of scattered all over the place where it could get lost and damaged. This also teaches them about delayed gratification- instead of taking 4 or 5 projects home at once you get to take all your projects home at once as well as having it all neatly organized.

Its also really inexpensive, you can get the binders and clear sheets at the $1 store.

[WImom]

No, I don't limit. I do have the kids bring in a shoe box in June, we decorate them, inside and out, and the kids can collect their 'treasures' in them. (we call them treasure boxes) the kids bring them home at the end of summer every year. Misc rocks, nuts, seeds, little leaves, flowers, random scraps of paper, that sort of thing all go in their treasure bins, and then home in Sept. Helps minimize them bringing home things like empty snail shells daily. ::

I like this idea!! I might do something like this for paper. Maybe a folder to keep paper in. Some kids take home 10-12 sheets a day.

Regular art projects all go home that day or at the end of the theme if I'm displaying them.

[SilverSabre25]

Blackcat, I like the limit idea. My kiddos also tend to just create without mindfulness and that can be taxing on both time and materials.

[originalkat]

Blackcat, I like the limit idea. My kiddos also tend to just create without mindfulness and that can be taxing on both time and materials.

Yes, I think I might think about this for the fall (new rule when new kids start and old kids head to KG). In other words you arent allowed to scribble a couple of lines on a paper and get a new one.