Oh my goodness! School has started back again, and my only question is: When are schools going to go paperless?! Wow! Everyday my boys bring home papers. Yes, most of it is school work, but there are also newsletters, sign-up sheets, notifications, artwork, etc.
But, seriously, I know most of this stuff is necessary for my kids to learn, and I am all for it. The key to all this is managing the paper once it gets home. I read everything that comes home with my boys. I want to see how they did on all of their work at school, monitor their progress, and make sure they are doing well. Do I need to keep every piece of school work that they bring home. NO! Once I have looked at it, reviewed it with them, and am sure that there is no follow-up work required with it, it goes straight into the recycle bin.
Do I need to hang every 100 or A that they get on the fridge? NO! I praise them for their hard work, they get a high-five and a hug, and it still goes in the recycle bin. If it is a project that they worked especially hard on, we will keep it around for a week or so to show off to friends and grandparents, but then it goes away. I know this sounds harsh, but it is necessary. If I kept every piece of paper, or even just the ones with good grades, every piece of artwork, etc., my house would be overwhelmed with paper. I would rather teach my kids now that just because we don't have the piece of paper, doesn't mean that they didn't earn that grade, and that we aren't still proud of them. We have the memory, it will be reflected on their report cards (which we DO keep!).
I do keep a box of special pieces that my kids have done at school. But, the criteria for me keeping them is that they have to be unique, they have to mean something to my kids, and that they show their personality in them.
As far as the other paper that comes home from school (i.e. the newsletters, notifications, etc.), I read the information, put any pertinent dates on the family calendar, write any additional information ("bring watermelon slices to class party") on the white board next to the calendar, enter any e-mail addresses or phone numbers into my contacts on my phone, and then recycle the piece of paper. I admit, I used to put all these different pieces of paper on the fridge for reference, but then they get lost or buried behind the more recent ones. The only papers that are on the fridge now are ones that need to be signed and returned to the school.
I was only kidding about schools going paperless. I still love paper and pencils, new school supplies, pencil boxes, notebooks, etc. But, as a parent whose counter top can get covered in paper in a matter of days, I wonder how far off we are from kids doing their work on netbooks, and it being e-mailed to us! It will probably happen sooner than we think. (And, honestly, I will be a little sad).
