Every year,
children begin bringing home a hodgepodge of school papers that left unmanaged
can grow into a mountainous heap. To keep kids’ artwork, past assignments and
graded documents in check, parents should establish an effective paper
management system.
“The
biggest problem with kids’ papers is parents are sentimental and want to keep
most of what their child does. But that’s not practical, nor is it essential,”
says Kathy Schlegel, student academic coach and founder of Organized Enough LLC®, a coaching and consulting company. “To keep paper clutter under control, I suggest
parents toss the majority of what comes home. But retain a few items for record keeping
and nostalgic purposes.”
Elementary
school principal Charles Sheppard, agrees.
“It’s
a good idea to hold onto graded papers that may be in question through the end
of each marking period in case there is a discrepancy on the report card and
you need documentation to discuss it with the teacher,” he says. “At the end of
the marking period, throw away items that aren’t necessary or meaningful to
you. But hold on to a few really impressive pieces — stories your child has
written, select artwork and papers with encouraging comments. Put your child’s
age, grade and date on the backside of these so later he’ll have a sampling of
what he did.”
It may
also be helpful to retain some records for the duration of your child’s
academic career.
“None
of this is required by state, but sometimes things get destroyed or are missing
if a catastrophe occurs,” says Gail Ralph, a public school records analyst.
“Because of the unforeseen, parents should retain their child’s report cards,
battery tests and immunization records. If their child is eligible for special
education they should also maintain the past three years of individual
education plans, as well as any fact sheets that document medical evidence or
his initial diagnosis.”
Take photos
Robin
Elton holds onto report cards and select items for a keepsake binder she’s
planning to create for each of her children. Other pages are displayed and then
eventually recycled.
“When
papers come home from school we immediately decide what to display, what to
toss and what to reuse,” says the mother of three. “Each child has a bulletin
board in the hallway, so art work they are particularly proud of goes there and
is rotated at their discretion. Well-done schoolwork, tests and projects get
posted on the refrigerator and are cleared every Sunday as part of our weekly
cleaning. Things I really like I’ll frame and put up on the dining room wall.
As artwork ultimately finds its way to the recycling bin, the artist is
photographed with it and these pictures serve as a random slideshow on the
computer screen.”
Schlegel
thinks this is a good idea. “My whole philosophy is to keep it simple,” she
says. “Once items have run their display time, save only those papers you plan
to create a keepsake with. Slip them into clear sheet protectors — the ones
with three-hole punches — and place them in a binder. If you have a prolific
artist, take photographs of treasured works and either include them in your
keepsake binder or make a separate photo album. This is particularly good for
large pieces that would otherwise get crumpled.”
Binders
can even be used to create a chronological keepsake of your child’s academic
career.
“Each
year have your child fill a page with characteristics about that year: who his
teacher is, his favorite subject, accomplishments or awards, best friends and
what he wants to be when he grows up. Include a pocket folder for each year
where you can store report cards and a few other special mementos,” says
Sheppard.
READ MORE: 9 tips to conquer kid clutter
Recycle
Then
recycle what you can. Use blank-sided papers for making lists or other
sketches. Turn large artwork into wrapping paper for boxes or use as tissue
paper in bags. Place colorful designs behind framed photographs to serve as
matting. Elton does this and more.
“Colorful
artwork goes into a file drawer and is eventually used to create greeting cards
and post cards. And scribble drawing we cut, stamp initials on the blank side
and then bind with ribbon and give as note pads to family and friends,” she
says.
Elton
has even taught her son Jacob to put otherwise discarded artwork to literary
use.
“When
he was younger, he drew a lot of pictures of different birds, so I bound those
pages and created a bird book, and he really liked that,” she continues. “This
past year at school he started drawing a series of original Indiana Jones
characters and it carried over into the summer. Now that he’s done a lot of
pages, he plans to make them into a comic book.”
Most
important teach your child how to continually downsize paper piles by helping
him learn which items are of true lasting value and which ones can be quickly
discarded. In doing so, he will begin a life-long habit of clutter-free living
that will benefit him for years to come.
Denise
Yearian is the former editor of two parenting magazines and the mother of three
children.