So, I've been getting stressed out about all of the paperwork coming home from the kids' school. I seriously had a stack about two inches thick! So here's what I decided to do:
I took a three ring binder and put in dividers labeled "school calendar", "To Return", "Super-boy", "Cindy-Lou Who", "Sports schedule" and "Miscellaneous". I may add more dividers as more papers come home. I am really hoping this will eliminate the stack on my bookshelf, kitchen table, and microwave cart. Does anyone else have a different/better suggestion?
This has caused me to wonder how moms do it. How do they stay organized? What about all of the stuff left over from last year? How about all of the crafts? I want my kids to have things to look at when they get older, but I don't want to be featured on "Hoarder's". So can you help me out with some school organization tips? Any and all are welcome!
The binder is a good idea Kendra! As for thr crafts, I kept everything of Abbys from pre-k and kindergarten, but this year I'm gonna pick and choose what to keep (with Abbys input), and what I don't keep I will take a picture of. Hope that helps!
ReplyDeleteOur children are each sent home Friday with a weekly folder. One side is labeled "return," the other "keep."
ReplyDeleteI go through the Return side immediately, sign anything that needs to be signed and put it back in the folder, folder in back pack.
Thankfully, our teachers do a good bit of emailing including the weekly class letter! It cuts down on a lot of papers.
The keep side is usually all the papers and lovely crafts they've done during the week. Most of the papers go in the recycle bin. The art may end up on the fridge for a bit. After that, if they want to keep it, any art that is on a standard sheet of paper can get slipped into a plastic sleeve inside of a 3 ring binder. Other projects that won't fit will get its picture taken and the picture put in the binder :) Of course there are some projects that are too cute/sweet/terrifically terrible to get rid of. If the child wants to keep it, they need to find a place for it in their room. If I want to keep it, it goes in a large plastic tub I have designated for kids memory stuff.
I select a few things from the beginning and end of each year to put in their memory books to have a visual record of how they're improving :)
Awesome suggestions! Thank you. Laura, I'm curious about if you have a binder for each year of crafts or just fill it until there's no room left. Because Natalie was doing so many crafts in Pre-K and K, I bought some of those jumbo size ziploc bags (the giganto ones) and used those to store her projects.
ReplyDeleteI bought both kids boxes from Hobby Lobby. They can fit under their beds. I don't save every picture or craft but the special ones I place in the box. I also put other special things in there that I hope they will want one day. The boxes are easy to open and slide in and out from the beds, so it is easy for them to look in there when they want to see their "treasures".
ReplyDeleteAs for the school paperwork, I am still trying to figure that one out!