School can mean lots of things for kids. Learning, socializing, playing, and growing are just a few of the words I use to describe school.
But, as a mom, school means dealing with a lot of stuff!
This includes papers, homework, school projects, art projects, and report cards, etc. Inevitably, I won’t be able to keep every single item that comes home from school. But the amount of items that I will need to keep can be overwhelming.
All of this stuff became a bigger deal last year because, for the first time, I had two kiddos in elementary school. I had a third grader and a kindergartener. This meant that the amount of things that came home doubled.
I had no real plan of what I was going to do with everything and I had two little boys who felt that everything was essential.
I realized that starting the school year off on the right foot was crucial. Therefore, I knew I needed to make things more manageable and to preserve and prioritize school-related items and information. So last summer, I decided to get organized.
I took the same approach I did with our finances and created an Organization Box for each child. This Organization Box costs about $15 to create and has made my life as a mom tremendously easier. I had several goals with the Organization Box. First, I wanted my Organization Box to be something that could last throughout their school years. Plus, I wanted to be able to find information such as report cards and field trip information without having to turn the house upside down looking for it. Here are some items I picked-up at Wal-Mart to use on my Organization Box:
Materials for Each Child’s Organization Box
Optional Sections:
- Report cards
- School pictures/Class pictures
- Grade Levels (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc)
- Awards and Achievements
- Field Trip Information
- Important Notes from School
Some of the sections can be emptied once the activity takes place, such as a field trip or class activity. Having a folder for these sections though helps keep the kitchen counters and refrigerators clear of school papers.
After labeling all of the sections, I used paint pens to label each child’s bin.