Do You Keep ALL the Schoolwork, and for How Long

Oh, I remember having this dilemma! First I kept everything. Then I weeded out the stuff with lower grades. Eventually (he's 17 now) I pulled anything that didn't show his personality or showcase his personal achievements. This is how I plan to do it with my two young daughters, too.

I kept everything from my first son in kindergarten. Now I have 3 in school- the oldest in 5th grade- I would be overloaded with paper if I kept it all! I go through their Friday folders each week(when all their work is sent home) and only keep one or two if it is really worth saving- like a really good drawing or story. Even with that we get a lot. At the end of the year, my kids go through their art work and keep only the best- they get to choose- they all have a folder in which they can put their work.
~C.

I don't it's way to much. I keep what is important like holiday items, something really cute but everything else goes in the trash.

I only keep the really great stuff, spectacular projects and art. The rest I throw out.

No. But I agree with you, that it is hard to let some of those things go. :)
What I do (or rather, what I intended to do, but haven't quite yet), was to keep it all, then during the summer, weed through it and keep a few "special" things and toss the rest. A handmade craft, some drawings/artwork, some samples of writing, and any interesting stories. That sort of thing.
But I put it all in a drawer, and never got to it. Same thing happened the next year. Then I had 2 in school and it started all over again. These days I hardly keep anything...lol.

But I do think it is important to keep a few things. For example: I thought my son might be having some difficulties with his writing... I was able to go back starting with kindergarten and pull out samples of the development of his handwriting over time... (the "good" ones and the "bad" ones).

Once he got to about 3rd grade, I tend to only keep projects (like a science book he made displaying examples and information on all the animal groups: mammals, birds, amphibian, reptiles and fish. Then Science Project entries in 4th grade on up. Or written language arts assignments that were researched.

I worked as a Nanny for a family with 7 children. The mom was a Professor at a local college. She had a couple of tall file cabinets, 4 or more drawers, in her home office and each child had a drawer. She would look at each paper and then place it in the front of the drawer in hanging folders, including any papers that were about activities and such. That way if there was a question about a field trip or about picture day she had to only open the drawer and pull out that child's drawer and pull the paper. She had them labeled K-Fall, K-Spring, etc....or something similar.

When that child graduated from high school or moved out she gave them their things to do with what they wanted. Most sat for days reminiscing about their childhood and really enjoying them.

NO! It will drive you crazy, keeping everything! I only have one in preschool right now and I am already drowning in paper. I kept one thing from each holiday/project last year, which is still a lot of stuff. Some things I let my daughter have to play with or keep working on, then tossed them when she was done. I remember keeping holiday decorations I made in school for years, my mom would store them like she did her own and then that was what I used to decorate my room with. So things were kept, but used on a regular basis instead of just taking up space in a closet. I kept all the stories I wrote in elementary school in my desk at home, if your child has a table/desk/spot that they do their work at, figure out some organization and let them pick what is important to them to keep. (after you pull your fav one or two items :)

My children are older now. I kept too much. In their scrapbooks that I have made, I just include the BEST and most meaningful things on the pages, next to their photos from that year. I know it is tough deciding, though! Good luck!

www.mycmsite.com/marycluley

Probably not! Do you want it? You may need some of it, if you suspsect that your child has a learning issue, but samples of your area of concern may be enough. If you are just saving to be saving, pick your favorites, stick them in a scrap book, and recylcle the rest.

The problem will take care of itself in a few years. Your child will not bring you everything some day, you will find that they take ownership and you won't even know what they did in school or what the assingments looked like.

M.

I have two daughters, 14 and 11, there have been a LOT of projects and "first" coming home over the years. At first I wanted to keep it all..."wouldn't it be cute when they are 25 to look back at how they used to write their name?" I'd say to my self. We had boxes and boxes of "stuff".
Now it's so much easier...I wish we had digital back then! We use our laundry room as the "art room" they can hang anything they want there. Once it gets full, they have to decide what comes down and what goes up. I do not make any decisions about it.
We take a digital picture of everything they want to keep. We scan stories etc if they want to keep them. The rule in the house is...Bring it home and in 7 days it has to go digital or it gets recycled.
We then put everything on CDs.
My youngest some days will sit in front of the computer for an hour or more looking at her old work.
It is great.
Now for mementos etc (you Know those fav stuffed animals etc) they each get one rubbermade container. They keep stuff like their first communion candles, Their scrapbook from kindergarten, their CDs of school projects, stuff like that. It is neat and tidy and again, they get to choose.
I remember when we converted everything to digital, my daughters made really great choices of what they wanted to keep and what they could get rid of.
When you are doing this, keep in mind that what is precious to them today, really won't be tomorrow. At the end of every school year, go through their stuff with them and have them decide what they need to keep and what they can recycle.
Have fun!

B.
Family Success Coach

think of them as leftovers.
i have to age leftovers for an appropriate amount of time before i can throw away food. do the same with school and artwork. keep what you absolutely can't bear to get rid of, but go through it every couple of years and be ruthless with the older stuff. seriously.
i don't follow my own advice, of course. i've still got boxes downstairs i've got to cull. i'm good for the first 10 minutes, and then my nostalgia override button fitzes out and i start drowning in 'awwwwwwwwwww'.
;) khairete
S.
ps another useful thing to do is to keep artwork and use it as wrapping paper. fond g-rents and aunts will LOVE getting a gift wrapped in a kindergartner's crayon drawing!

I was in the same spot, and my son is only in Kindergarten, however I read a suggestion that I found to be GREAT! Take digital photos of the stuff you really like/want to save/etc. and throw away the rest. Then you can make a photo book of artwork from 1st grade, 2nd grade, etc. and not have all that clutter. The books are easy to make and you can do it on Shutterfly.com, Costco.com, tons of sites like that...Also http://www.PrintArtKids.com, here is what they do:

We all treasure our children's artwork. Sometimes the pieces are large and bulky and aren't easy to display or store. PrintArtKids makes it easy for you to share your child's artwork and photos with family and friends everywhere!

Simply choose a favorite from your kid’s art collection, a favorite photograph from your kid’s sporting event, family vacation or other special occasion, even your own artwork, and scan it or take a digital photo. Then, select the item(s) you wish to order and... (read more)
Mission:
To preserve your child's artwork with useful, high quality products that can be shared with family and friends.
Products:
Your child’s art (or your own artwork or favorite photographs) can be used to create Notepads, Note Cards, Notebooks, Journals, Invitations, Thank-You Notes, Birthday Cards, Holiday Cards, Postcards, Gift Labels, Return Address Labels and Cards for any occasion.

I just keep random things - most of the projects and cute artwork, and some of the schoolwork - things she got good grades on, but also a few that didn't get such good grades, and I throw the rest out. If my kids had a really cool project on a large poster board, I took a picture of that and threw it away. Keeping too many poster boards gets too cumbersome.

Hi M., my kids are now 18, 16, 13. I DID keep everything for awhile, but it got out of control.

Now I have one large bin for each kid. Obviously when they were younger I kept all the really cute art projects and such. Now I keep select important projects, report cards, and certificates, etc. and the highest grade big tests (tehehe).

So when they REALLY move out (one away at college doesn't count), they will each have a bin to take with them!

Keep what is precious to you and your child -- discard the rest. BUT when your child reaches middles school, keep everything for the entire year. Some teachers have a tendency to lose papers, and it's valuable to be able to show a "missing" assignment to a teacher if it affects a grade later on.

I was just asking SO about this last night! Thanks for the question

my daughter is in kindergarten and she get so much papers! Graded homework, and just other random stuff from the school. I have no where to put it all. I just can't keep it. So, I do get rid of it. Sometimes I feel bad, but if it's something that she worked extra hard on or an art project that she just loves, then I will keep it. But, I just can't keep everything. too much stuff!

With my oldest (now 10yrs old) I kept EVERYTHING, and yes, I am drowning in boxes. I have since taken to taking pictures of his artwork and uploading them, and scanning in exceptional poems and the final report card per year. The rest I pitch after everyone has had a chance to read it. Another thing I have done is to mail some great pages of school work to Grandparents and Godparents and other family members. That way they can see the kind of work that my sons are doing. They love it and proudly display the pages on their own refrigerators until we send them new ones.

Hello, My husand and I have four grown kids. It would have been impossible to keep everything. I found that it is important to keep the holiday things and pictures, as well as the "firsts". By this I mean the first math paper, spelling test, etc. These as well as an important item of each from each grade level.
Good luck with your precious family.
K. K.

I have a 6th grader and a kindergardener. I too found myself in this dilemma many years ago when my son was in kinder. First off, once they hit the 2nd grade the 'projects' they bring home is fewer. What I do with my daughter, which I started in preschool (in preparation) I have a special place in her bedroom where I hang everything she brings home. As the area gets full, I rotate with fresh artwork and throw away the older artwork. Anything that's extra special, I either scan or take a picture of her holding and it's preserved forever in my computer - out of the way.

I just keep the artwork and a worksheet if it's done really well.

No, otherwise my house would end up on that A&E show Hoarders. I only keep the special ones and even those are starting to get out of control.

I kept special papers. My daughter s 21 and she has all her work and projects from her kindergarten class in a portfolio on her closet shelf all neat and tidy. I did keep all report cards and drawings from all 3 children from kindergarten through high school, they are neatly tucked away in a hope chest. J.

I scan the good ones and trash the rest. Most of the good stuff is artwork at this point, so that is kind of fun. As they get older, most of the really juicy stuff with be on the computer (research reports on the rainforest, for example) so you won't have to keep the hard copies. I plan to make a coffee table book of my kids artwork, and just a file for the rest. At some point, I will give them a hard drive with all of their work on it.

I like to keep their artwork & stories or other little special things they have written. My oldest begins middle school next year, so I appreciate the advice to keep everything for one year.

I dont have anything from me when I was a kid and I do not care. But it was once nice to look at after a few years. So for my kids I got them each a big rummbermaid storage thing. All the art progets and things go in there. Unless it was made with food, that gets tossed. The worksheets get recycled, unless there is something exceptionally cute/special. About once per year we will go through it to see it we are ready to toss it.

NOOOOOOOOOOO !!!! Keep a few (very few) special papers/art work. I started out keeping almost everything, then trimmed that down, and down and down. My kids were 19 and 24 when my husband & I moved and downsized. I asked the kids what they wanted saved -- they looked at me like I'd beamed in from Mars. They wanted nothing, zip, zero; and couldn't believe I'd saved anything at all. lol. So, even though I had saved less each year, I went through 13 years each of accumulated stuff and ended up with a very small box of stuff for each one. They don't know I saved it, but one of these days I'll pass it on.
I really like the idea of taking pictures and tossing the papers; I wasn't smart enough to think of that myself.