Archiving

How Children’s Drawings Can Preserve Family History

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Family history is often associated with old photographs, family trees, and stories passed down from parents to children. But sometimes something as simple as a child’s drawing can become a piece of family history. 

A drawing made by a child may appear ordinary for others, but for the family, it can be a memory. A memory of parents, siblings, grandparents, pets, homes, schools, or their favorite places. With these drawings children create a snapshot of their life and the world around them. A family home, for example, adults remember from photographs. But these photos hardly capture the little things like favorite trees in the garden, favorite chairs, family pets, or even the toys children love. These little details become the reminders of a particular period of a family that has changed and forgotten years later.

Children’s drawings are not just limited to the image itself. The story behind the drawing can be just as valuable. Who made it? How old were they? Who were they drawing? What were the circumstances? Was it a birthday, a holiday, a school assignment, or simply a gift for a parent? Little details can transform an ordinary colored paper into a personal historical record. 

As years go by, family life constantly changes. Children grow up, homes change, and family routines eventually become memories. A child’s drawing can offer a physical connection to one of those earlier moments. Of course, a single drawing cannot tell the complete history of a family. But family history is made up of countless small moments, stories, and memories. Children’s drawings can become one part of that larger collection. This can be done by ensuring the drawings are passed on and taken care of. We at CDIC-CIDE work towards keeping those memories preserved, as captured and expressed by children. We encourage going further and preserving the images over generations.

Today’s simple picture, tomorrow can help someone remember a person, place, home, or moment that otherwise would exist just in the back of the mind. Preserving, archiving, or even passing down children’s drawings is not simply about saving artwork. It can also be a way of preserving the small, ordinary details that make a family’s history uniquely its own, or shared in the broader cultural sphere.

Bonhomme was made by Charles in the early 2000s while still a preschooler.
Bonhomme was made by Charles in the early 2000s while still a preschooler.
Butterflies was made by Lisette (1933-2013) around 1940. She was Charles’ great-grandmother.
Butterflies was made by Lisette (1933-2013) around 1940. She was Charles’ great-grandmother.
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Arts and Literature

AI for Kids’ Books: Just an Empty Glass?

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Do you read books with your children? Imitate the different characters and animals from books’ visualizations? Do your children enjoy the storytime? I bet the answer’s yes to all the above! But children’s books aren’t just limited to a fun time. They are tools for children’s imagination, curiosity, and empathy. More than words, these books are filled with illustrations and visual content to help children connect emotionally with the stories.  

Before generative AI, children’s books were exclusively handwritten by writers, focusing more on emotional nuance, story rhythm, and children-appropriate language. Artists carefully created the illustrations using their preferred medium, be it watercolors, acrylics, or colored pencils. Handworks made sure the characters’ expressions align with words in the story. Even digital painting apps can achieve subtle expressions in drawings. Visually, these books look beautiful, funny, and even dreamy sometimes.

Every passing day, AI-generated content is flooding into our lives in every way. Children’s books are no exception to that. AI has heavily penetrated the children’s books market, often referred to by critics as ‘AI slop.’ Research conducted by Indicator found over 500 non-fiction books on Amazon that were either partially or fully generated by AI. Another study by Qiao Jin and Yi Yuan (International Journal of Child Computer Interaction, Vol. 46) found that children were more susceptible than parents to the disconnect between emotions conveyed by visuals and the text, while most parents were concerned about AI generating the text of the stories. Overall, AI-generated content can have inconsistencies, illogical concepts, a lack of emotional depth, and human connection.

However, if used wisely, you can fill the empty glass. One positive benefit that AI offers is the personalization. With AI at fingertips, people are making reading content that can connect with kids on a deeper emotional level. For example, mentioning the kid’s name or adding their favorite hobbies in the story itself. A research by Ihsan Seyit Ertems published in 2013, shows that personalization in kids’ books boosts their reading engagement by 3 to 5 times. Customizing the stories to create unusual twists and varied settings can spark imagination and make kids see the world in different ways. Especially for children who find books boring or frustrating, personalized content can be transformative.

It’s easier to give in to the new technology, especially when it’s making your life easier. But we cannot solely rely on it. Moderation is the key. Generative AI should be a part of children’s reading material and not a replacement.

Below is my small attempt at creating a short comic story using AI. If you look closer, you can see it is not perfect; rather, it’s full of errors and irregularities. However, personalization made it better and maybe more engaging for a kid with a cat named ‘Dumpling.’

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Arts and Literature, Child development, History

Art Therapy for Kids

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Recently I came across this article published by the Children’s History Society (UK) in 2022: Child art in the historical record: A timeline. At the top of the short selection, it describes the world’s oldest parietal art recently found in Quesang, Tibet. More likely made by two children of ages 7 and 12, they were hand and foot impressions placed in soft travertine. The tracks were made roughly between 169,000 and 229,000 years ago. The deliberate nature of these impressions gives us a reason to believe that the oldest art was likely created by children. When I read more, I couldn’t stop thinking, what might have been the state of mind of these children while making these impressions? If these prints were really intentional, I would like to think they were just having fun.

Undoubtedly, there’s tons of research on what art does. But I think it comes down to happiness and ways to reach that happy state of mind. Margaret Naumberg (1890-1983), an American psychologist, is widely recognized as the pioneer of art therapy. She opened the nursery school called Walden, which people perceived as a movement to “free the arts.” The Walden School (New York City) implemented Freud’s theories to create art psychotherapy. Naumberg always emphasized “the development of children’s capacities,” not the “accumulation of knowledge,” and she implemented it in her teaching methods. Years of research show that art therapy helps boost cognition, concentration, self-awareness, emotional resilience, and motor skills, especially for individuals who find visual imagery more effective.

Now, I don’t have to tell you who finds visual expressions more effective. In their early years, children learn by touch, sounds, vision, and curiosity. Art therapy can help them regulate emotions and express themselves. The Internet offers countless art activities that can help support your children’s or even your emotional well-being.

At the end, it is important to note that art therapy is not a cure for anything. Art therapy works as a stress relief; it helps process the emotions. Like any other treatment, its effectiveness varies by individual. Take it as merely a tool but a powerful one that is best handled by specialists.

The Canadian Art Therapy Association will hold its 47th annual conference online this November. This year’s theme: Embodying Art and Healing Ecologies.

CATA’s 47th Annual Conference. Source: Canadian Art Therapy Association, 24 August 2026.

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Archiving, Arts and Literature, History

Truth and Reconciliation Day, 2026

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Every year on September 30, Canada looks back. Communities come together. Not to just remember, but to honor the children taken from their families, those who survived residential schools, and those who never came home. September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day.

One might wonder what this day has to do with children’s art. Keep reading to know.

Orange Shirt Day was inspired by a simple story. When Phyllis Webstad arrived at residential school in 1973, her new orange shirt, a gift from her grandmother, was taken away. That shirt became a symbol of everything that was stripped from Indigenous children. Their culture, language, family, and identity. Today, Orange Shirt Day is celebrated on September 30 because that is the time of year Indigenous children were taken from their homes to the residential schools.

When in residential schools, children made drawings. Not works of art, but honest, small, sometimes heartbreaking glimpses into a child’s daily life. These drawings brought truth to light about what they missed, what they feared, and what they hoped their life would be. 

An artist and art teacher, Robert Aller, taught at several residential schools. He encouraged students to draw. He also kept all their drawings. He kept them hidden from the school priest, who once instructed Aller to destroy the paintings. Years later, Aller’s family donated these artworks for an exhibition titled “There is Truth Here: Creativity and Resilience in Children’s Art from Indian Residential and Day Schools.” These historic artifacts are a witness to children’s experiences at these schools.

Truth and Reconciliation is not just about this past. It is an ongoing process. For both children and adults. And art is one of the ways that process happens in real life. One great example of that is the artworks of children recovered and presented at the Indigenous History and Heritage Gathering in Winnipeg. Many of these survivors are glad that their drawings have finally emerged. For them, these drawings represent hope, a tool for healing, and cultural reclamation.

September 30 is one day on the calendar. But the conversation it opens does not have to end there. It should keep on healing the hearts, just like the children’s drawings that were saved from oblivion and that continue to inspire courage even today. Dialogue is key to the reconciliation process. Speakers from the Orange Shirt Society can visit your community. Reach out and share.

Request a speaker. Source: Orange Shirt Society, 16 August 2026
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Archiving, Child development

More Than a Drawing

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Connecting to Children’s Inner World Through Art

As soon as I opened the door to my friends’ home, her daughter came running towards me, eager to show the drawings she had made at her school. It was a new friendship for both of us. Months earlier, she barely spoke to me. So what changed in these months? Well, she recently learned that I am an artist. Our mutual interest in art became more than a creative activity. The little girl who once avoided conversation suddenly had a lot to say. Her drawings became a bridge between us, something that words could never achieve.

In that moment, I realized she wasn’t just showing me her drawing notebooks; she was inviting me into her world.

Photo: Srilekha Yarrapalem

For me, as an amateur artist, drawing was always about an outlet for creative and emotional growth. However, in recent years, I have learned that it can be an excellent way to communicate or connect with someone when words are not enough. Children, especially, often express themselves when they have paper and crayons in hand long before they learn to read or write.

However, a kid’s drawing doesn’t have to just be a drawing. Rather, it can be a story, a memory, or a dream manifested on paper through pastel colors. Displaying children’s artwork on a fridge or a wall shows them their creativity is valued, encouraging them to keep learning. Even when adults start a conversation around it, asking them about their drawing, listening to a child’s explanation, or better still, creating alongside them strengthens emotional bonds and builds trust and understanding.

I still remember the drawings I made as a child, a house in the hills, a winding river, baskets of fruits, and gardens filled with trees. Although the drawings themselves are long gone, the memories attached to them remain. Many children’s drawings meet a similar fate, tucked away in boxes or eventually discarded. Preserving these creations allows us to revisit these moments. Got kids’ art stashed away at home? Consider giving it a home in our archives. It’s one way to make sure our children’s voices can continue long after the colors are put away.

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Arts and Literature

The Ship of Tolerance: Learning Acceptance One Drawing at a Time

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A child’s brain is highly adaptable, constantly learning something, and making sense of the world through observation. Drawing comes naturally to them, helping them communicate and process emotions. When this art becomes a community experience, it can become a powerful tool for bringing people together. The same idea lies at the heart of the Ship of Tolerance, an initiative that transforms children’s artwork to connect the youth of different countries, cultures, and identities. 

The Ship of Tolerance is a nomadic art project initiated by artists Ilya and Emilia Kabakov in 2005 in Siwa, Egypt. People gathered on the shore of a small salt lake in the Sahara Desert, more than 300km from the nearest river. A team of engineers had come down from the UK to build the ship based on an ancient Egyptian traditional boat. A mix of locals, many of whom had never seen a boat, and students flown in from the UK decorated the boat with painted squares of fabric to make a patchwork sail.

The project aimed to initiate a discussion about tolerance in people’s daily lives and to promote cross-cultural understanding. The Kabakovs wanted this vessel to be a symbol of acceptance, not just passive co-existence but an active and dynamic commitment. Now, more than 20 years later, Ship of Tolerance has travelled to more than 10 countries including Italy, Switzerland, United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and now Canada.

The Ship of Tolerance uses a 13th century verse by the celebrated Persian Poet Saadi Shirazi to define its mission –

“Human beings are members of a whole,

In creation of one essence and soul.

If one member is afflicted with pain,

Other members uneasy will remain.

If you’ve no sympathy for human pain,

The name of human you cannot retain.”

The Ship of Tolerance celebrated its 20th anniversary here in Oakville, Canada in May, 2025. Over 2000 students participated in the workshops to construct the ship and raise the sail on May 31, 2025, in Gairloch Gardens. While talking with Oakville News, Emilia Kabakov said, “It is not about the ship. It’s about the conversation between children. It’s about their desire.”

Since the launch, more than 100,000 people have visited the ship. It will remain at Gairloch Gardens until the end of September 2026.

Ship of Tolerance, Oakville Art Galleries, June 2026. Source: CDIC-CIDE.org
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CDIC news

An AI generated bibliography

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It has already been a few years since we shared a human-made bibliography of works about children’s art. Here is a new short one compiled with the use of Consensus, an AI application created by Christian Salem and Eric Olson. EndNote by Clarivate was also used to create the PDF file.

We could have tried other AI tools, but we opted for this one because it focuses on researches assessed by peers, and published in scientific journals.

AI tools are proliferating and it is already daunting to figure out which one respond best to a given prompt. The subscription costs they require can also be prohibitive for benevolent organizations.

Feel free to share your suggestions, or your reviews of apps that you have tried. How many times today did you have to tell a machine that you are not a robot?

Partial login screen shot from my computer.
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CDIC news

9.58 seconds

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I had a great time presenting a workshop at the Salon du livre de Toronto last week. Students from Viola-Léger and René-Lamoureux elementary schools had fun exploring two aspects of their art: its ephemeral and lasting qualities, based on intent.

At first, the children were invited to draw, for the first time in their lives, a running character… while running. Amid laughters, they had to do so in 9.58 seconds, Husain Bolt’s 100m world record. I then invited them to put their drawings in a recycling box. Something every single one of them had done before, yet a few decided not to. We then shared our impressions about this unusual way of drawing and the resulting images. Some of which are posted here.

For the second part, I invited the participants to take a few minutes to draw a memory of their choice. That is how they could appreciate the huge difference brought about by the intent behind the graphic expression, and how it relates to our sense of self and our memory. Only two of around eighty participants were willing to put this drawing in the recycling box. That is with the request of posting it on this website (below).

The discussion that followed allowed the classmates, who knew each other well, to open up to others and deepen their mutual understanding. They could share their memories, like Dwayne who illustrated his first visit to the CN Tower, and Thevan who chose to illustrate an uncle’s backyard where fun family BBQs take place.

I also took the opportunity to give away some teddy bears, generously provided by our partner Visit.org. We are grateful for their contribution. I had the opportunity to distribute teddies at school events in Hamilton, Burlington and Waterloo these past few months.

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First Visit. Dwayne, 6 March 2026
BBQ at Uncle’s. Thevan, 6 March 2026.

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CDIC news

Together online

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Once a year we share basic statistics about our website. We are happy to say that the site has reached 1M hits and over 50K unique visitors in 2025. Although the bulk of visitors come from the USA, they are also from dozens of other countries on every continents.

We would like to thank our social media volunteers who make sure we have a strong presence on the main platforms. Thank you also to those who keep their newsletter subscription active. You are over 1800 worldwide.

You might already have noticed that we use a new home page. This is just the beginning. Based on current discussions, the website will likely be revamped in the coming months.

We also added some contents in Portuguese for our Lives in Verses project. There are already many poems and drawings on the project page. The project is taking a pause during the summer holiday in Brasil and will resume in February.

Website traffic in 2025. Source: CDIC-CIDE.
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CDIC news

December

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What is this little elf up to? Mailing a Christmas card, a donation, both? It’s been almost twenty years since Claire made this drawing, on a school activity sheet. It is now part of Gisèle Dallaire fonds in our collection.

Little did she know that her elf would someday ask for your help! Please donate. Help us preserve children’s art for the generations to come. Use our online donation form.

Elf expression, donate generously. Source: CDIC-CIDE, 27 November 2025.
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