How much of your kids school work do you keep?

rosieben

when my kids were small (now 35+) I kept specials and funny / nice artwork, news books and sports day certificates etc. I kept their stuff in metal trunks in the attic and as the kids grew up they each took charge of their own trunk and the memory stuff they wanted to keep. When my dd left home she sorted through it and threw some out but as she was throwing it I was rescuing! I have a certificate she won for the egg and spoon race when she was about 7 which I'm going to scrap into some sort of pic for her birthday this year (hope she doesn't read this! ); my dgd is always winning sporty stuff, so I'd like to remind my dd that she won some races too

When I left grammar school I kept all school mags, my tie (rarely worn) and my felt hat (never worn and with definites creases where it was folded in quarters and stuffed in my blazer pocket! ) as well as reports, autograph books, cards and letters. I looked for it some months later and my mother said she had thrown it out, 'it was just rubbish!'

edited to add - I have every card the kids have ever made for me, which is quite a pile. and always were kept separate from the kids stuff; I will sort them and pass them onto the kids at some point.

lala1974

Thanks everyone,

What great ideas! I'm thinking of getting DD and DS to join me in looking at the work, recycling the stuff that they don't feel attached to and letting them photograph the pics of things they'd like to have a memory of.

I'll give them the chance to keep their Top 5 or 10 to display in their rooms then they can replace them with new ones that they bring home if they want to.

Thanks again :A:A:A


Lala x

rosieben

forgot to say that I've also scanned a lot of my dgd's artwork and dd kept the originals

aliadds

I used to keep special things like pieces of pottery and paintings. But I'm afraid I was ruthless when I moved house and threw out everything from my school days and the childrens (they're young men now!). I did give them the opportunity to keep things but they weren't fussed about it! I might have kept them had they still been children.
I keep very little these days and try and be minimal. I guess it's all down to the individual really.
I even put my wedding dress out with the recycling when I moved!:eek:

westcoastscot

I still have most of ours! Mine are grown now, but as we home-schooled I got into the habit of hanging onto everything. I love to look back through it now and then, it brings back such lovely memories. I have a box of my own things, including letters from a dear grandpa long since departed (to be honest, I don't really remember him as a person) .
If I had young children now I would go down the route of having a dedicated wall space, and then a digital photo album on the laptop.
The walls of my home are full of art-work, stitchings and goodies my children have made for me over the years, and each is precious.
WCS

westcoastscot

Mrs Tittlemouse you sound so like me - this past christmas I was too ill to dress the house (ill indeed then!) and my eldest came home to do it for me. I decided to just have a tree, leaving my usual "santa's grotto" this year - so advised to just put on what he fancied. EVERYTHING went on that tree! it was groaning! he said he couldn't bear to leave anything off, which included the grinch on the top with his santa suit on and the toilet-roll santas that usually sit on the mantelpiece over christmas perched on branches
:rotfl: It was a sight to behold and I loved it!!!!!!!!
WCS

beemuzed

I kept so much of my own two DS art and craft work. Things like Christmas decs are kept in the decoration box and reappear from time to time! Wish I'd cleared loads years ago - we lost DS1 at 16 (20 yrs ago) and now I can't throw any of his stuff away.
My DIL arrived a few weeks ago with a carrier of DGD's "treasured projects"!! What shall I do now???? Maybe I'll take the suggestion above and scan onto the computer!

hart44

I have only kept my youngest 2's clay or sewing projects because my 2 eldest (big gap between eldest, 30yrs old & 26yrs old and youngest 15yrs old & 9 yrs old lol) I kept boxes of their work & when they left home I gave them their work & all I got was ''what do I want with that lot of rubbish'' so it's not worth keeping.

Broke my heart to get rid of some things after displaying for a while but I know we dont have space to store it all and the younger ones will not want them later.

I still have the little multi coloured rabbit my 9 yr old made with Hamma pegs, even though it's arm fell off, for mothers day and we discovered he is colour blind lol.

esmf73

Even in the world of decluttering, smaller houses and recycling I think that we all need to have space for a smile. My DSs are 5 and 4 and I keep a lot of what they bring home - not everything, and the 4yr old has decorated his room with his pictures, but especially as they are starting to become recognisable drawings they're all special.

I can see myself in years to come sitting down to clear out a suitcase on a wet winters afternoon and my joy at finding what will be all these lost treasures. I have the stocking that my 5yr old made at his first nursery etc. These items don't just bring back memories of the children, but for me they bring back memories of where we were at the time.

We're a military family so move a lot - and the christmas card that my youngest made when he was in a greek nursery in Cyprus will forever bring back memories of the bright blue sky. Keep these memories, especially if they make you smile - smiles seem to be hard to come by these days.

rosieben

hart44 wrote: »

... and the younger ones will not want them later. ....

following on from my previous post - when my mother threw our things out most of my siblings wouldn't have cared tbh, but I was devastated. She burnt a huge box of very special cards that we had kept, sent to us by an aunt in america from the 40's, 50s and 60's. When I tackled her about the cards she said 'nobody wanted them' but she hadn't actually asked any of us! The point I'm trying to make - although I'm waffling! - is that it should have been my decision, not hers.

I've tried to encourage my dd not to throw away things that she thinks my dgd won't want to keep, dd is 11 now and able to make some of those decisions for herself, So it doesnt mean hanging onto things for ever, just until your littlies are older