Kids Paperwork from School...

I keep them in a notebook and every so often I go through it while she is sleeping. I keep some and toss others.

She is in first grade and today she pulled out her folder of preschool memories and ewwed and ahhhhed over it for a while.

I have a banker box (same one and this is 12th year) I keep on the top shelf in my pantry. As work comes in, I toss it in the banker box. At the end of the school year, I go through, sort, throw out, save.

I will say that in grades 9-11 so far, daughter has often gone back to the box to retrieve papers she needs to study or reference. SO, I throw nothing out until the end of school. She also goes through this (at high school level) and will pass her notes on AP classes, etc to someone coming into the class for their references.

In the end, I have 1 large envelope, usually of things I saved from the year.

I have a huge pantry and this box just sits on the top shelf all year. No clutter because it is all contained in that box until we go through it.

We put some of it on the fridge.. Then replace it every week.. Decide whether to save it or throw it away..(while the child is not looking) Make sure to date it, place the child's name and age on it and what grade.

We also used to mail some of it to relatives (Grandparents, Aunts and uncles).. With a note, they are not responsible to keep it.. But thought they would enjoy it.

I then had a files folder that we placed them in.. At the end of the year I tried to keep an overview of the year to show progression.

you can punch 3 holes in it, and put it all in a binder.
Then at the end of the year, keep it or toss it.
There have been times, I have had to go back to some previous paper/school work, and thankfully I had it. Still.
Annually I toss it all at the end of the year.

if it's an "A" or 100% - it goes on the door to the den for a week...

other than that? I don't save it. I would have filled up three bankers boxes if I did that...

I save things like - What I want to be...things I like about myself, etc.

My M. is doing a book for them and I send her their report cards, pictures and work like that - 100%, etc.

I toss most of it (not in front of the kids of course!) Certain things go up on the fridge for a while, like an awesome test score or picture. I only hold onto the most special items long term, first sentences/stories, Mother's Day poems, etc.

My daughter is only in preschool, but she does art everyday. I usually keep stuff with her hand or foot prints on it in a notebook, everything else usually gets tossed. As she gets older, I will probably take a picture of her work and keep a digital notebook of writings and other more in depth work that she will do. I figured with the digital notebook, I can possibly scrapbook some of her writings with pictures of her throughout the year.

I save meaningful (as in they didn't just use a coloring page) art and essays ever so often to see how they progress (usually only about once a quarter or a main paper). Everything else gets recycled instantly. I know it seems harsh but there's soooooooo much. They do art at home too and it's usually more creative than at school so those get put on the fridge until it degrades to a papery mess. I know you feel bad initially but trust me, there's more to come. Better a nice clean home than feel bad and let it all pile up. And it depends on the kids too. Some kids are really into seeing their old stuff but my boys are not into it. It's like, yeah, I did that last year... why do you still have it M.? *sniff*

I keep the good stuff and get rid of the rest. Your heart will tell you what is fabulous and what isn't. I too put it in folders and store it away. I keep yearly files and put stuff in the year it belongs in. I also make yearly art books with a regular old 3 ring binder. Get a 3 hole punch and punch the art work and put it in the binder. Decorate and label the binder according to the year.
I did this until the 3rd grade. That's when everything is sweet and you want to keep it. Beyond that it becomes work. You can do the same for tests and such.

i have my daughters in a xerox box. that way when she is older she can look through and see all the things she did over the year and how far she has came :)

I don't have a child in school, but from a former teacher's point of view, I would file it in cronologial order just for your record. If something comes up - a teacher wants to do testing on your child, there is a discrepancy in a grade, a teacher wants to hold your child back, and so forth - you have your documentation right there in your hand. Toss it all at the end of the year. (Keep maybe a couple papers for your child's memory box)

I keep the ones that show best their writing or abilities or something like that (my daughter is in 1st) I put them in a bin to keep forever. The ones that come home that are just word finds, or drawing a line, or some other non descript page, I toss - after we've talked about it and after bed time, of course.

We put some on the fridge and we have a cork board in the playroom for others, esp art work.

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I toss everything except for the cool drawings/pics and stories. Those I keep in their own folders. =)

I have been trying to figure this out myself. Kids generate a lot of stuff! Here is a link to something that was helpful to me AND made me feel like I am not alone in the overwhelming feeling that I have with respect to this.

www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2012/02/getting-organized-with-...

Good luck!
Cyndi

Look at it with my children. Praise them for their excellent work. If it is something they want to save, they can put it on the refrigerator or bulletin board if there is room. If not, they must choose something to remove from display to trash, then they can hang up the chosen work. I trash everything else. They know that I value their hard work. I teach AP English, but I hate clutter. We don't have any clutter in the house, and I'm not sentimental. I have tons of pictures on my laptop, and in frames. I don't want a bunch of paper.

ETA: My boys are 8 and 14, and they haven't been scarred by this so far. ;)

Goes into a file tray in a cupboard. At the end of each school year, I go through the papers, keep a sampling of their best work as well as any creative writing and art work. I put together a 3 prong folder for each year of school. It includes awards which are slipped into plastic sheet protectors rather than punching holes in them. I throw in a few photos of school activities. Large art goes into an art portfolio.