kids' school stuff

[Oliver's Mama]

my oldest will be starting kindergarten this fall, and I want to have a plan of attack ready for how to deal with the influx of artwork, pictures, memories, etc, so I don't find myself drowning in the stuff.  My mom kept a traditional school memory book for me growing up, but in all honesty, when I looked back it was kinda lame and I tossed it in a decluttering fit one time.  I've heard of moms taking photos of artwork, but I fear they'll just get lost as digital clutter and never amount to anything. Or I know there are portfolios to hold a select few items. 

Just wondering what is an:

1. easy

2. compact

3. memorable

way to archive his school years stuff.

thanks!

[Monkeygrrl]

You could actually take pictures of his stuff, put it in a specific folder, then at the end of the year upload it all to blurb dot come and make a photo book for that year. Super cool/special stuff you could keep in a file box, and at the end of the year go through the box to see if it's really all that special. If it's still awesome, it stays in the box in the file labeled "kinder". If not, it goes in the recycle can. 

.....says the mom who homeschools, doesn't keep any school/art work at all, and while she has a ton of photos, still hasn't put together the photo books for her kids like she wants to. 

:)

[The4OfUs]

For during the year, they each have a canvas basket that they unload their papers to every day when we get home (when the basket is full, it goes into a larger bag/basket upstairs) - well, they take them out and bring them to me to look at, and then I hand back to them and they have to put them in the basket.  Large artwork has its own spot in our offce.  I don't even touch the stuff until the year is over, so that I can get an overview and decide what to keep and what to toss.  I keep a few representative samples of writing, spelling, and math, a few teacher's newsletters, their report cards, any special recognitions or certificates, keep my favorite couple art pieces and then take pics of the rest of the art, and put what I'm keeping into an accordian file - I have one jumbo sized plastic envelope thingy to put any large art I want to keep, but I am really tough about it and don't keep everything, it has to be really special if it's large, to keep it.  It's not a fancy system, but practical and portable, and my style.  I've seen pretty boxes with file folders with cute labels on them for each year, with the kid's pic, etc. but that's not really my style as much. 

[The4OfUs]

Oh - I do like the idea of taking pictures of the kids' artwork and then at the end of their school career, turning it into a small photo book from like, snapfish or shutterfly or wherever.  That's realy cool., and a plan I have.