As a teacher, I didn’t think too much about the work I was sending home. I was glad to send home folders and collections of writing, hoping the students were proud to share their work with family. As to where it went at home…no idea. Now I am on the other side of the fence and getting buried under “Look what I did, Mama!” crafts, art, pictures and writing. Time to organize!
Last year I received a folder of Daisy’s work and photos of her in daycare. It was lovingly put together by her room teachers and makes all of us happy to flick through it.
They used cardstock in plastic sheet protectors and added photos and crafts on top of the card. This inspired me to continue the effort. Twice a month or so the pile of work gets sorted into three piles:
- Keep
- Photograph
- Recycle
Asking a four year old to help with this can be a challenge as she wants to keep everything. Every time we do it she is getting better at letting things go. As for the photographs of work she can part with but wants to remember, I keep a folder on my desktop for each month and then each academic year. Eventually, a CD can be burned or a USB added to the collection
The pile of artwork, which comes home every few days, now has a contained home and does not overflow its basket!
We have an easy to maintain record of the girls’ work to keep. We add dates and comments to explain the work if necessary. We love finding out how Daisy entertained her preschool room. Her teachers often send home notes to share a comment Daisy has made that entertained. These are treasured and also stuck into the folder. With these notes comes the realization that our daughter is spending less time with us and more time with her peers. Realization and acceptance are two different things!
What do you do to organize the ‘bring home’ or ‘send home’ work chaos?
