First Graders Papers Stacking Up!

Keep one of those plastic bins under the childs bed and at the end of the school semester keep the special stuff and MAKE PAPER out of the old. Kids love to see it is not junk just tossed away.
You just need a blender or food processer, and a bit of water to chop it up to a paste, then press it between two screens (just regular screens from the hardware store or an old screen, I stapled mine to an old frame and made the second one a bit smaller so they fit inside each other) You can use a cotton cloth and press out as much water as you can (nice and flat)or just leave the cloth on one side of the screen and let it dry in the laundry tub, outside or in the sink. Flip it over and when dry, its done! The paper is so cool, you can add herbs to make it colorfull and perfume to make it smell great. Cinnamon is my favorite! You can also iron the paper to get it to dry faster. It does take a few days.

We have a special spot on the wall for the kids' work for drawings, etc. from school/home. When it fills up, we put them in an old diaper box. Every few months or so, I go through it. We keep a sample of say a math sheet from the begining, middle, and end of the year to see how they progressed. We keep them in a three ring binder for show. The rest gets put into the trash. (I do that when they are not around or they will have a fit.)

I did the same for a bit with all 4 of my kids.But now I keep all the art work and the papers that show the most improvement.

Hi C.,
I am a school teacher, I teach K-6 in one room, and I know how much papers I send home with the kids! Especially the Kindergarten and First Graders! I would keep things that are especially good. If son does great and gets an extra star or a special note (good note!) from the teacher, keep that one for a couple weeks, hang it on the frig or something. As far as color sheets and things, the very best ones can be placed in a simple, inexpensive frame and displayed in the hall, child's room, or anywhere in the house! Putting them in a frame makes the child feel so special and keeps the house looking like there are random lose pages stuck up everywhere! After a few weeks or month, if your child has another great art piece, have him choose which other piece to take out and replace with the new piece. Children are often very proud of their work, but they also focus on the task at hand, so he is going to want to see his new picture more than the old one. Keep a scrap book of your favorite picture, worksheets, or letters. I still have a letter that my mom saved from when I was in 1st grade. Anyways, I hope this helps! Don't feel obligated to keep EVERYTHING! Do look at it to see how he is doing, but don't feel guilty for throwing it away.
Good Luck!
R.

I know this is a repeat of most of the people's posts on here, but I have a 12 year old that I just kept everything for, and before my younger ones were born we both had to go through everything and try to organize it better and it was terrible! So now with my twin kindergartners keeping everything just isn’t an option, if I don’t want to live in clutter, so here’s what I decided to do:

Each child has her own “paper box” we call them, which is a cheap plastic tub. It stays in an inconspicuous yet convenient location in her room.

Every day we go through the folders to see the little ones’ “mail”. They cannot bear to part with anything the day it comes home, so every single paper goes into the paper box. My 12 year old has been through having to go through years of “crap” to figure out what’s important so she’s a lot less sentimental and only keeps really special things.

At the end of the school year (we’d never have time to do it weekly or even monthly); we will take a day and have a good time going through the boxes. We will then be able to pick the “favorites” or the ones that seem representative of the school year. Those representative pieces will go in a folder with the school year that it represents, along with all their report cards for the year, into a separate tub that I keep their “keepsake” items in; their hospital bracelets, etc. I plan on doing some binders or scrapbooks for them when they are older and I have more time to do stuff like that. I do make notes on the things that go in the bin, if I need to remember a story along with an item or something, so that we don’t lose that, but mostly it’s just going over the papers each day and having them put EVERYTHING in the “paper box.” “Award Certificates”, thank you cards from parties and from the teacher, papers they draw at home, just everything. Large items, I take a picture of the girls with their item, and the item goes in the trash/recycle bin. I have to say, though, they are usually not willing to pitch things right away. A little time and a lot of new “masterpieces” give them a little more perspective and loosen up that hold that they have on the stuff. When it’s time to go through everything, what we do not keep goes in the recycle bin.

I also put the holiday things with the other holiday decorations; homemade ornaments go in with the Christmas decorations, paper Halloween pumpkins go in with that holiday’s decoration, etc. Someone else mentioned this, and we always get a kick out of seeing, for example, the handprint turkeys that everyone has made over the years.

One thing we also do is talk a lot about recycling and how their papers will be used to make new paper, etc. They seem to like the idea that their stuff isn’t just garbage, but might turn into something else.

I really like the idea that someone mentioned about making NEW paper from the old, as well. I will definitely try that.

I like to keep one important item on the fridge each week and then recycle another one the next week and so on.

With the digital camera it is also so easy to capture images on the camera and then throw the original away. My daughter will even pose with some her things so I can capture her and her work as a bonus! You can still keep some things but you don't have to keep you everything.

Scan in what you want to keep and save it on your hard drive and get rid of the rest.
You will be able to save more artwork etc without all the bulk.
C.

Hi C.,

My DD is in K. and she as well comes home with TONS of papers. I wait until the end of the week and tell her to choose which ones she wants to keep and which ones she wants to toss. Then we punch holes in them and put them in a binder. Eventually at then end of the year we will label it as K. artwork. (A photo album works good to) Just an idea. :)

I have saved alot of things when my girls were in preschool but learned that every thing can't be saved. When we moved into our current house we decided that we would take their masterpieces of art and put them on the hallway wall. The hallway is the size of a small room where we have put their books and games. Every day they are excited about their items and there is tons from over the years. Only special items go on the wall. As for the math or work papers the only thing we save is spelling test which go on the fridge. Have 3 kids in school (nephew and 2 daughters) keeps things filled up. Hope this gives u an idea.

Hi C.!

I throw a lot of papers away, but of course I throw them where my kids can't see them. I keep only the projects that involve creativity and/or sharing about themselves. If you wanted to keep a couple papers to show how your child wrote numbers or colored at this age, that would make sense, but for me it just doesn't work to keep truckloads of papers. Some people keep everything and then after the child is finished with that grade, they sort through and save a few of the best projects.

K.

LOL I wonder the same thing as I go through my 7 yr old son's backpack every day. I know at 37 I had to ditch the papers my mom kept of mine- of course I don't remember everything cominghome like it seems to be now. I try to keep the art work, special projects and the tests. Of course- I can only pitch things while he is gone- or it really upsets him when he sees his stuff in the trash.

I'm a clutter bug so I've done the same thing, until this year. I look at what it is. How important it is. Was is a writing example or spelling test, or a great paper in Math? I keep just a few of everything. And the report card. I keep any art projects so they can see how they improved over the years. I don't keep just the best grades. I want them to be able to see that they did make mistakes but later corrected them. I keep the math timed tests so they can see their progress throughout the year.
I also have a box full of papers that I don't want to sort and have been keeping them, from the past.

My mom on the other hand only keep A papers and good art projects. Therefore, very few of my things were kept. My papers were always too sloppy to keep.

I got a computer paper box (any box will do) and put anything special into the box. if the child had something they really wanted to keep they could also put it in the box. Once the box became full we together would go thru the box and decide what we really wanted to keep and what we no longer thought was special anymore and could get rid of. It worked for us.
L.

You can not keep everything, oh my. I have a daughter in 4th and a son in 1st. It only gets worse. I mean that as they go on in school, they bring more stuff home. At first I chose what to keep and what to throw. This really upset my daughter and I thought it was not fair that I just threw away all her "hard work". Throwing things away with out their knowing can lead to trust issues some experts say, but anyway. Now I have a small basket for each child. We put all there papers in there for the week. On the weekends, we go through them and I let the children pick 2-3 things each that they would like to save. Sometimes they do not want to keep anything and sometimes they keep 3 things. This has worked well for us. I have some keepsakes from their school years, and they get to keep what is important to them. My children have really enjoyed it. Plus by using the baskets, it keeps the papers in one place all week and not all over the house. Good Luck in finding something that works for your family!!!

Hi C.,
I bought a binder & page protectors. Everything that is "special" goes in there for the school year. Everything else we sort through & put in a bin under his bed.

I don't want to raise a child who feels the need to keep everything so we talk it out & if he brings home 5 papers (none of which are "special") I will ask him which one he wants to keep the most. If he wants 2 from that day, I tell him okay but he has to get rid of a paper from a different day.

At the end of the year, I give him a camera & let him take pictures of whatever papers he thinks he will miss. We always keep the ones that he is most proud of, like the turkey handprint. So far, this seems to work for us.
Good luck!
T.

I totally understand that, as I had the same thing going on and another Pre-K Childs papers too. I unpack the backpacks with them when I get home (If they unpack before I get home with their Dad, I can't even figure out whos homework is whos.) We then quickly review the items, so I can sense how important the papers are to them. After the kids go to bed I toss a lot of it and keep the rest in a double pocket folder (Separate one for each child).
If I do this in front of them they think every piece of paper is a treasure but if I do it after they go to bed they have never asked about anything I pitched. I would stash them somewhere the first couple of times because you never know, each child is unique! When their folders get full, I purge again.

Hi C.:
I personally keep everything that my son has ever colored, drew, etc. I have quite a few papers and report cards from when i was in elementary and middle school and the first time i came across them in a box i had fun looking over everything, not to mention the good grades and positive feedback that i got from my teachers. I have a problem throwing things away so eventually im going to start a scrab book with all of the papers. Try and find something of that sort to create with them if you just cant bring yourself to toss them away!
K.

I hear you on the papers piling up!! I don't think the doors or frig can hold any more papers! I have a basket in each boys room. At the end of the month we pick out several papers they really want to keep (you can decide on the amount to keep, maybe 5-10 papers). At the end of the school year we will go through everything again and narrow it down more. With art projects we pick out our favorites to keep, I write the dates on the back for future reference. For the art projects we are going to get rid of we hang them all on a door or the frig and take a picture of them. Then we still have a memory of all the work they did. I also have a smaller box/basket that holds all those paper books they make. Then they can take their book box anywhere in the houseor even in the car to read. Hope the ideas help!

When my oldest daughter was in Kindergarten I did the same thing. By the end of the school year I had 2 banana baxes full of school papers. I sorted them out by subject: like math, science,reading, art, family, church etc. Then I sorted through each of those piles. Art work shows cooridination and growth in different interests. If they wrote a story it tells about their thoughts at the time. Reading, math, spelling are important too. Family things they drew or things from church show different types of growth. If you are afraid something might get ruined, you can take a picture of the item, then dispose of it.
The memory is still there. I sorted through these things then asked my child which ones were most important to them and saved a few of those. I labeled the pictures with a year in school and their age at the time. If there was a story behind a picture I made sure to write it down as well. Now each child goes through their school papers with me at the end of the year and I put them in a manilla envelope and store them in an empty fruit box with their name on it. Sometimes it is fun for them to look through their papers of the past and see how they have grown. It is also a fun bonding time for me to have with each child. THats a real challenge. Good luck! Best to make it a memorable experienc if possible. P.

I have a big, 3-inch 3-ring binder with the clear cover sleeve. I put special art, touching things he writes, and every once in a while a representative piece of writing or drawing in there. At the end of last year I made a cover sheet for it and let him decorate it. Seasonal artwork gets put on the metal door between our kitchen and garage until the next season comes and we either pack up or recycle. I do recycle lots of the stuff that he brings home, but he's starting to understand that we can't keep every single paper.

What I did when my kids first started school and did neat projects I would save the ones that were very special, like poems to me. The rest of the projects I would pin up on the wall for a while, and when we were done enjoying it I would take my childs picture with it. It's much easier to save a bunch of pictures than the papers, and you also get the added bonus of seeing what your child looked like when they did the project.

Enjoy:)

In the beginning I did the same thing! I save the really neat artwork! Seasonal stuff if it will hold up and is extra cool I will pack away with that stuff for the next season. The majority of the artwork goes on the wall for several weeks and then some gets trashed. The actually work I save the excellent spelling tests and the firsts, like the first math worksheet, the first story they wrote. I like to save handwriting from the beginning of the year and the end. I'd say that about 75% of the stuff that comes home gets thrown away. The rest is placed in a box. I also found that when going through old school from two years ago I will even throw out more.

I completely understand where you're coming from! My son is also in 1st grade and I have just about every paper he brings home as well as a file box full of his Kindergarten stuff!
My suggestion is to get a file box (plastic) or a file cabinet and go through the papers and decide which ones you ABSOLUTELY have to keep. I haven't done this yet with Caleb's Kindergarten stuff yet because in March I found out I was pregnant with #2 and moved back in my Mom's house (long story). That's just my suggestion. Get some file folders too and you can put stuff from each grade in one to save his things. Hope that helps!

I scan the artwork and papers and email them to all the grandparents!! Then I separate them into a pile to keep and a pile to shred. I sell on ebay and use the shredded papers for mailing items, and also for packing personal items away. The rest I put in a binder and keep. If a project is too big to scan, take a photo of it. My kids make Lego "masterpieces" all the time and I take photos of those too!! The kids love it!!

Hi C.,
As a mother of three daughters (now ages 25, 23 and 21) and also a retired teacher, I have traveled down your paper path!! I used to save a LOT of their work-especially elementary things. As they got older, they sort of weeded some of it on their own. To save everyone's sanity, here is what I would propose.

Save your child's papers for one month. At the end of the month sit down with your child and go through all of the papers and decide which one is the Best. Establish some sort of rubric or criteria that is clear to you and your child what is worthy of saving. Then save that paper. File it in a place that your child will know is safe and that he has access to-like a file cabintet. At the end of the school year, decide which of the nine is the best and save that one. Learn (and teach your child) how to distinguish if the paper is just a practice paper or if it is a pretty good one (a test, or super comments that the teacher put on the paper.) Keep in mind that as the year progresses, your child will be improving. So if there is a "tie" for one particular month, save both, but know that by the end of the school year that there should be some awesome "saves".

It gets more difficult as there are "projects" and models, dioramas, etc. that take up space, collect dust and can be cumbersome to store. After storing them for the duration of the school year and before discarding them, take a picture of the project.

Then, during the summer, you and your child could put together a scrap book of some of his featured BEST work for first grade. The papers would fit because they are nice and flat, and the photos of the projects would be a good remembrance of first grade. Any other certificates, etc for that year would also be included in a neat "School Days" scrapbook.

As the years go by, your child will become more adept at self selecting work that he knows is his best.(Kind of like his own personal portfolio).

A month might be too long of a time to have a first grader to wait, so perhaps do it at the end of the week to stay on top of it. I know that "life" will get in the way to be so organized and regimented about this, but even if you do it periodically, it will help. Rainy days and snow days (and summer vacation) will be a good time to take a few minutes to save special work.

These are just a few suggestions, but perhaps you can tweak it and have it work for you. Everyone is different, so try it and see how it will evolve. Believe me, some of the things that I have saved from my daughters and have shown them later, they couldn't even remember that they did the work. (Of course they were a lot older,too) This will help to lighten your load and involve your child at knowing what they have done was their best. It is also a good tool to use and reflect on to see their own growth as they pass through each of the grades.

Good luck.
J.

C.,
When my children were that age we bought a storage tub that fit under the bed and any papers they wanted to keep were placed in the tub. They would go back and look through them often. When the box became full the kids would decide what would be recycled to make space for new papers.They especially liked their Sunday School papers.
Any papers that were very well done were posted in a prominent place. Things that I felt were for long term keeps were written papers that could be used to show progress and art that was more than cut and paste. I stored these articles in an accordian folder. My children are in High School now and each have 2 accordian folders and another small box that contains other awards that do not store well in the folder.

My mother, bless her heart, saved EVERYTHING. And I do mean everything. Every spelling test, worksheet, coloring sheet, report card, you name it. After 13 years of school, and three children, I can honestly say that the "junk" room in my folks' basement is 90% our school stuff. Do we care about it? Do they? No.

I pitch everything my son comes home with. Art projects stay on the wall until he says he's ready to throw them away. All worksheets that are no longer relevant (ie, he doesn't need to work on that skill anymore, a spelling test, etc) go straight to the garbage can after we've talked about it. I refuse to let clutter rule my home as it ruled my parents. Those papers just don't mean anything to me. The things that matter, like the Mother's Day poems with pictures he drew for me, or the Thanksgiving turkey with "I am thankful for.." are keepers; but otherwise, it's just clutter.