The End of School Pile
If you have school-aged children, you know about the dreaded pile of schoolwork that comes home that last week of school. The actual amount varies from year to year, usually a lot less as the child gets older, but it’s inevitable and bound to be on the receiving end of your side-eye as you put off tackling it for “a better time”.
Well now’s the time!! Let’s tackle that pile together and free up the counters for summer fun!
Sort out your piles by child. I lay the piles out in age order so I don’t get confused about whose is whose.
Flip through and then recycle any worksheets that hold little personality or significance. The exception for this rule (for me) is that I try to keep one from the beginning of the year and one from the end for comparison sake. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.
Keep anything with a handprint/fingerprints/footprints on it. Your babies will never be that small again, so treasure those tiny prints that smell of tempera paint.
Keep report cards and photos of your children.
From what’s left, there are a few strategies to consider. First of all, I choose to recycle anything that is clearly a “thoughtless” piece of artwork. Whether it’s a random scribble or something that you know every single person in the class did identically (I’m talking to you Very Hungry Caterpillars), these tend to be easy decisions for me. I love to keep artwork that might end up on our wall (we have paintings from each of our children above our couch and occasionally change them out with new work). I enjoy holding onto a few pieces that show my child’s current interest. For example, my youngest is in a huge airplane/airline/airport phase. I am holding onto a few samples of these drawings as a way to remember this season. If you have gone through it all and still find the amount a bit cumbersome, ask your child to help you decide. You’d be surprised at how easily my kids can disconnect with a pile of papers at one time while during the school year I have to hide that scribbled page in the recycling bin so I don’t get in trouble! :)
Decide how you will save the work. I have a filing box labeled for each child with folders for each year. In the back of the box I keep a few larger items that can’t be filed like a piece of pottery for example. Filing the most recent work is a great time to go back into past folders and weed out anything that has lost it’s luster. Remind yourself that your child will likely not be thrilled if you hand them a Costco sized bin of old papers in 15 years. Keep what’s most special and keep it portable.
Create a system for new contributions. Some people put all their child’s work from school in a box throughout the year and tackle the entire collection at once. I prefer to do it as I go, knowing that I’ll do a deeper dive at the end of the year before filing it away. If space is limited you might find you like to do the same. If you are ADHD and want to make it as easy as possible, I suggest a box with no lid (one for each child) where papers can be tossed in until you schedule a time to give it attention.
BONUS: Throw your kids’ lunch boxes, backpacks, and any other school gear in the wash before you either store for the fall or donate.
As parents, everything our kids create is special. But if it’s all special, then nothing is special. How will you enjoy that beautiful painting of a field of wildflowers if it’s buried in between stacks of crinkled math worksheets? Take a little time now to ensure you have the good stuff easy to access later.
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