Intro and Kindergarten paperwork

ippichic · December 2012

Hello!

I'm somewhat of a regular in the May 2013 Mom's board. Expecting #2, but I thought I would join you ladies to see if anyone could make suggestions about a problem that DH and I haven't figured out yet.

My DS is in Kindergarten this year. We are literally overcome by the amount of paperwork that comes home from school every day. There are art projects, notes from the teacher, pretend homework, doodles, practice pages, schedules, more notes from the teacher, more schedules, etc. We have stacks of paper everywhere. We have given DS the responsibility to empty his paperwork folder after school and leave it on the counter so that we see it, but by the time we get home and dinner is cooking it's 6:30, dinner at 7, cleanup at 7:30, bath & pajamas at 8, in bed at 8:30. No one has even thought about those papers on the counter yet and I'm ready to just fall over (being 4 months pregnant). DH wakes up at 3:55AM, so he goes to bed when DS does.

The stack of paper we have from the school is at least 8 inches high and we're only half way through the school year, and we have missed several "projects" (show and tell type things) because we just haven't seen the memo.

Does anyone have a system for sorting through and categorizing school paperwork that doesn't require a hired hand or an addition to the house? I know this is only going to get worse from here. He's only in Kindergarten, and #2 is on the way... Thanks for any suggestions!

pitterpatter129 · December 2012

I'm the teacher who sorts all that paperwork by student to send it home! A secret: Sometimes I just want to do you a favor and trash it for you. You just have to sort right after school so it doesn't pile. Put notes from the teacher in a pile and cute art projects you want to keep in a folder and everything else in the trash. You can probably get a kindergardener to do that for you - I know my first graders are capable of sorting into piles. Just throw it all away after he's in bed so it's not traumatic.

For the notes that are important, maybe get a little corkboard and some tacks and tack it up or write the date on a calendar right then. I would just set aside the first ten min home fir this purpose everyday so it doesn't pile up.

Maybride2 · December 2012

I go through everything when he gets home and it goes into 3 piles - things that need immediate attention, things that I want to keep, things that can get tossed. The first pile is things like newsletters, permission slips, homework, etc........I read them right away so that I don't miss anything, put them on the fridge if they are important or keep them in the "pile of important things" on our computer desk. The most important thing is that I address those things right away, before going to bed, to get it done. The second pile goes in my son's "special box" upstairs, the artwork and projects that I adore and want to keep for sentimental reasons. The last box is stuff like worksheets and less important artwork......all of that goes into a bag next to his desk, as scrap paper for him to write on. Every now and then I empty that bag into our recycling.

ippichic · December 2012

Thanks gals. I think finding the space to put it is half the battle, right? We live in such tight quarters and have such a small kitchen with one of those islands that serves as a "catch all". We're planning a move between kindergarten and first grade (to make room for #2), so that will be on our wish list for the house - space for school papers and homework.

Thanks again!

CantWait2Be · December 2012

Thanks for this post. I have the same problem and appreciate the suggestions. Our kitchen table and island are drowning in papers. We too have pretty much no time to go thru papers or pretend homework together. Our evening schedule is like yours.

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Intro and Kindergarten paperwork

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