When school is out, my children will bring home a ton of papers that they have completed during the year. I really hate to just throw these papers away, because my children have worked hard on them. What are parents supposed to do with all this end-of-the-year paper? - Drowning
Answer: The first thing that you and your children need to do with all these papers is to select the ones that represent their best work in each subject. These should be dated and saved in a binder, scrapbook or file folder. Not only will they provide great memories of your children's school days, they will also serve as a record of the progress that they are making in school. Should any academic problems arise in the future, these papers could be invaluable.
As far as the rest of the papers go, there are many ways in which they can be recycled. Look over the following list with your children and select the ones that are the most appealing in making use of all their hard work:
* Turn good papers that have only been used on one side into stationery. Close friends and relatives will appreciate the opportunity to see what your children have done in school when they receive letters from your family.
* Frame special papers as gifts for family members and for display in parents' offices. Include a small picture of the child as a reminder of who did the work.
* Staple several pages of schoolwork together to make a book for fond grandparents. School artwork can be used as the cover, or a cover can be created.
* Tape several papers together to be used as extra-special wrapping paper for family members. Some of the papers can be used right away to wrap Father's Day gifts.
* Have your children make a collage of their papers for display in your home.
* Display some of your children's work prominently in your home to show how much you value it.