Get the Books Onto Shelves
Can you really ever have too many books? Some children's books are real treasures, with memories of quiet "read-alouds". These are books you will definitely want to keep. But there might be some titles that have no sentimental value.
Collect the books that don't need to be saved. Some may just be too immature for your child. Collect the give-aways in a bag and donate ones in good condition to a nursery school, library, or child care center. Treasured "keepers" can be put out of reach or packed away.
Put the books that your child still reads and wants onto bookshelves for easy access. Decide how they'll be sorted, either by author, story, or title.
- Decide which books to keep.
- Sort the books alphabetically by title or author.
- Decide where to put them on shelves for reading later.
- Choose his or her favorite day care center or library to receive the reject books.
Your child can:
Sort and Organize All the Paperwork
I'll bet you can't bear to throw away even one paper that your child brought home from school. If your child is past 1st grade, that's really a lot of paper!
Choose a color for each child. Buy pocket folders and make labels for each one. Label one folder for each school year (Sara: Grade 1, Anne: Grade 2, and so on).
Use these colored folders to store the most wonderful artwork, A+ papers, school announcements and program notes that you have collected. They may not seem to be the work of a genius, but you'll be happy to have them after only a couple of years when you want to go down memory lane!
- Go through school papers and choose favorites to keep.
- Put all papers from one year in the appropriate file folder.
- Using photos or a special paper, create a cover page for each year's folder.
- Be sure to add pictures of their school, the teacher, best friends, sporting activities, awards, and plays. Remember artwork, and even computer disks with copies of pictures, poems, or essays they've written.
Your child can:
Once you and your children have gotten everything organized, you'll all be surprised how much more fun your time together is. If you have a chance to do something on short notice, they'll know just what clothes to wear. When you have time to read a favorite book, you'll know right where it is. And when you want to look back on the fun school years past, the papers and photos will be in the right place! Have fun!
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