The kids are done school for the year. They arrive home after their last day and dump all their school supplies, artwork, notebooks, dirty gym clothes, and everything else. The last thing they want to do is sort through it all. However, by taking a bit of time to get organized at the end of the school year, you will save time, energy, and frustration when the school year starts again in September.
Things to Keep
Report Cards. Keep them in a designated folder in the filing cabinet. These are a record of achievement for your child. Also, if you move to a different province, or change school districts, you must show proof of education. You could submit a request to the previous school district but that can take several weeks to process.
Photos. Keep a photo of your child for each school year. Also, keep the class photo. Help your child write the names of classmates on the back of the class photo. You can also note which children were good friends.
Awards. In the folder with the report cards, keep certificates, awards for school work and extra-curricular activities (swimming lessons, piano lessons, etc.). This information may be needed as proof of completed prerequisites should the child wish to continue in the same activities at a different location. And, your child can look back on this and be proud of these accomplishments.
Administrative Information. At the end of the school year, the school may send information such as important dates for the following school year, book lists, etc. Keep this information in a file labelled “Back to School” so you’ll be sure to find it when you’re doing your back-to-school preparations.
Organizing School Stuff
As you go through the organizing process, create a list of the school supplies that you need to replace before school starts again. Store the list on your computer or smartphone. Store paper-based lists, in a “Back to School” file.
Clothes, Shoes, Backpacks, and Lunchboxes
Get rid of any shoes and clothes that are ripped, stained, or just worn out. Wash, dry, and fold any that are in good condition – especially if your kids wear school uniforms. If the uniform is not going to fit by next fall, see if your school accepts donations of gently used ones. Often parent groups will organize a uniform exchange just prior to the school year. By preparing the uniforms now, you will be ready for the event.
Clean out and wash backpacks, school bags, and lunchboxes. Make repairs if required. If the bags are beyond repair, toss them and add “get new school bags” to your back-to-school list.
Wash and dry snack containers. Ensure they are thoroughly dry before packing them away for the summer. Store snack containers with the lids off or they will have a stinky plastic smell by the fall.
School Supplies
Sort through the school supplies that your children bring home from school. Get rid of anything that is broken or unusable. Keep those items that your children may be able to use the following year such as rulers, scissors, pencil cases, or report covers. Put everything in a bin labelled “Back to School.” When you receive the list of required materials, “shop” in your own bin before heading to the store.
Keep the box fairly accessible so that whenever you find anything around the house (e.g. USB sticks, student ID, combination locks for lockers, etc.) you can add it to the “Back to School” bin. Then you’ll know exactly where to find the school supplies before school begins.
Artwork and Projects
Children put quite a bit of effort into their schoolwork. They have art projects, written reports, and presentations. It can be tempting to keep everything. First, ask your children what they want to keep. They will know what pieces they are most proud of. If they are having trouble deciding, suggest that they keep:
- Original artwork. Something unique they created themselves is more significant than just filling in a colouring book picture.
- Personalized projects. The essay about their grandparent’s immigration journey has more meaning than the same book report that was assigned to everyone in the class.
- Great Grades. They could keep any exams, tests, or projects on which they worked very hard and/or earned a good grade.
Make Memories
Sometimes projects and artwork are very large or too delicate to store for a long period of time. Poster paint on newsprint dries and flakes off. Macaroni glued to construction paper becomes unstuck. Paper maché dinosaurs fall apart. Rather than keep the actual artwork, make some memories instead by taking photos of the year’s projects. You could create a PowerPoint presentation, with the photos and include your child’s voice recordings as they tell the story of each piece. There are also smartphone apps available such as Keepy and Artkive that allow you to easily share projects with family, friends and on social media. Consider having your child hold or stand beside that artwork when you take the photo. Including the teacher in some photos is a nice touch too.
Records Management Tip: Quickly scan report cards and certificates to preserve a digital copy just in case anything ever happens to the originals.
Taking a few hours at the end of the school year to get organized will save time (and money) when you start to get ready for the next school year. If it all seems overwhelming, contact the Out of Chaos team. We’d be happy to help you create organizational solutions the whole family is happy with.
Image by Stefan Schweihofer from Pixabay
