Please tell me how you store your childrens school work from year to year. My oldest of three kids will be entering 1st grade this year and I realize that I already have saved too much of his stuff from pre school and kindergarden. I have an under the bed storage box full. I'd like to sort through it and keep the most special items and get ready for much more to come. Any great ideas that are easy and afordable?
I keep a small file bin in my office that I add 'collectables' to daily, then at the end of the year all the saved papers go in their backpack which is labeled with the school year and they go in the attic. They'll have backpacks for each grade when they grow up and can save/pitch what they want.
I used the under the bed boxes--the smaller size and have O. for each year so far (Nursery, Preschool, K, and 1st) The biggest mistake I made last year (1st grade) was keeping everything til the end of school then sorting it! Better to pitch out the ordinary every week or two. I had a MOUNTAIN of paper for the Paper Retriever! LOL
take a picture of it or scan it and save it like a photo. i did this with some of my art work from high school that i just didnt want to hold on to, but didnt want to forget either. ;)
There have been other great ideas on this site for this exact thing. Too bad I can't remember much of them. ugh
I do remember one lady saying she used binders, the real big ones, maybe one per child. And she'd keep some of the clear page protector envelopes in it, and dividers for each grade. If that didn't suffice, you could couple it with an underbed storage box for the overflow of perhaps larger craft or art projects that wouldn't fit in a binder.
Man, I wish I could remember some of the other ideas. It was a post about getting more organized in general, with all the kids stuff, activities, schedules, etc. And there were some great ideas on there... sorry I wasn't much help!
This is something we all face.
Here is what works for me - I'm sentimental, but not a scrapbooker.
I purchased each of my children a "school memories" book - especially made for keeping important school stuff. There is one pocketed page for each year where you can record all vital stats, tape on a school photo and write down all the favorites from that year. In the pocket you can keep the class photo, report cards and a few other things. Lillian Vernon online has a cute one. I personally like the one at Lake Shore Learning Store in St. Louis Park - you can see it online at www.LakeshoreLearning.com - search keepsake book school.
For all other important scrapbook type items, I have binders. Each of my children has 3 binders at any given time. One for photos (think past and leftover portraits & those misc. snapshots that people give you), one for their "best" and or "favorite" artwork and one binder for "memories". Each binder is easily filled by inserting into the clear plastic sheets. The "memories" book is divided into sections: Birthday memories, holidays, vacations and other. Slip the ticket stubs or birthday cards from Gramma in the correct section and you are done. When the binder is full, start another. It is really slick & easy. But organized. You'll love it.
Every year I buy a banker's box for each of my girls. I put their name, the school year and their teacher's name on it. Thats were I put all their papers for the year. At the end of the year, I take out the 'junk' (like newsletters etc) then I put on the lid and tape it up. I figure when they finish grade school, I will go through all the boxes and keep the really special stuff. I may scan some of the others and at least have a photo copy of it.
You've got some good suggestions here, but I thought I'd toss this in. Think back to your own childhood and what you remember and what you've forgotten that you wish you could remember. This has helped me make choices as I am keeping/tossing school work. I try to keep newsletters from the teachers that talk about what the kids are learning/doing. I keep anything that has a handprint on it (Thanksgiving turkeys, etc.). And I try to keep a sample of their handwriting from the beginning of the year and again at the end.
Right now I'm keeping everything in a plastic bin, but I am planning to keep a file folder with work from each year. However, this doesn't really work for large art projects.
Some people take photos of art projects and I am considering that idea.
My mom did this with my stuff, and when I got out of college, she loaded 8 huge storage boxes of stuff into my car and said "its yours now!" Then i had to wade through it all - I still have 3 decent sized boxes in my basement. I kept report cards, projects I remembers and loved doing, greeting cards form birthdays and special occassions, and photos, and awards, definitely not regular everyday assignments,worksheets, etc.
I would say digitize it - keep only very special things, and then take digital pictures of the rest and put them on Photo CDs to keep - will minimize clutter, but still keep the memories.
Good Luck, mine are 3.5 and 1.5 and I already find myself keeping things - special outfits, favorite rattles, and first scribbles, etc! It is hard not to get sentimentally attached to things, I think it is a natural human tendency.
Jessie
http://1stopbox.com/home.php
I have this for my kids and really like it.
I am going to start a scrap book with all the favorite items and continue to add to it.
