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Dealing with School Papers, Tests and Report Cards

If you have children, one child, or a house full, you are always finding tests, report card, school pictures and all types of art work are given to you but with the requirement that you keep them, never throwing them away.  What are you going to do with these papers, the stacks of work that your child did try so hard to complete, to get that good grade and to make you proud?

Many of us do have �baby� books, kids boxes, and even some are growing into the �child�s treasure chest� as they grow a little older.  Saving papers from your child�s best work completed in school along with their report cards, their pictures, their pictures of their friends and everything else can sometimes be overwhelming.

In this article, we are going to talk about some of the best ways that you can organize, control and work your way threw all of these papers that are given to you every day by your children.

One thing that you should always do, when your child gives you papers, is to put them on your desk or in a special drawer, or in your bag that you keep your special papers in for looking at later.  Even if you don�t have time to look through them right at this minute, your child will feel special because you are �saving� the papers, and you have made a special place for them in your �free� time and you will look over their papers when you have a chance.  It is important to your child�s self esteem and confidence that you don�t just throw these vital parts of their �daily work� away when they �see you do it�.

Organizing your child�s work, their life, their daily papers and everything else that falls your way from the school is going to help control the madness.  Articles, news clippings and weekly letters from your child�s teachers or school are probably items that you can pitch after you have read them.

Most children love to know what they are going to have for lunch, other children love being surprised and putting the calendar on the fridge for the month is an easy way to always know where it is, so they can reference it as needed.

Another thing that you can easily organize is the school pictures� that are taken for every grade level in school.  While some schools will only take photos once a year, others are known to have three, four or more school photos taken during the year.  Changing the photos that hang on the wall or that sit on the bookshelf, and putting the extras in the baby book �box or chest� is a start.  Give as many photos as you can to the child so that they can exchange with their friends and not feel left out while in school.

The little artworks that make it home from school, should be hung in the play room or in your child�s room. Special pieces can be put on the fridge, or you can take them to work and decorate your office if you have one.  A wall dedicated to your child�s artwork that is brought home from school will show the progress of your child through the year, and you ware going to make your child feel special. You don�t have to have fancy decorations for a child�s room to make your child feel special; you just have to use your imagination like they do!  If you don�t want to have tape all over the wall or tacks all through the drywall, install some type of corkboard or a long dry erase board that you can easily put up and take things down during the school year.  At the end of every year, you can clean off the wall, putting the most special items in your child�s memory box for when they grow older, and the rest you have to gently make disappear.  Your child might just surprise you and will understand knowing it is time to pitch old artwork so that they can create new ones!

As for tests, papers, and daily work that your child brings home � you are going to need some type of file drawer, binder or cabinet to keep all these goodies in.  Starting with a simply system of having your child put their stuff there for your review, and so you can sort through it later is a great start.  Putting all the tests in a binder and keeping them for just the school year reveals to both you and your child how much they have improved all year long.  Daily papers or simple busy work can be thrown out when they don�t notice you doing it.

If you like using binders, you can put holes in the tests and papers that you are going to keep, and use dividers between the months or quarters in the school year. As your binder gets full or you have over six months worth of papers, you can tell your child it is time to clean out the binder and they get a treat for filling the binder with such good work. Rewarding your child because they try hard will teach them that you do pay attention and that you do love them for trying so much in school, even if they are not all straight A�s.

What you do with your child�s school papers are really up to you can your child, just keep in mind that all they are really seeking is your approval and to know that you are proud of them for working so hard in school!