I don't always agree and as a retired public school teacher (in Ma) IK have trouble with homeschooling. But I find your writing fascinating. Keep it up.
“I think for children the joy is often in the moment of creation, not in the ownership of the creation forever more.” I agree! I have started doing some very basic arts and crafting in the evenings in order to use another part of my brain (the part that is not full of words) and the joy is in creation. I just throw it away afterwards. There’s a real freedom in this- a bit like Julia Cameron telling people to throw away their morning pages.
This is exactly my method also, but with both children producing paperwork throughout every day we have two culls - one weekly where the child themselves gets to recycle anything they don’t want to keep - and then the long term one where they are definitely not present. Distance definitely helps. And some of the notes they write I try and take a photo in the moment so they don’t get lost in a sea of doodles and drawings.
I definitely need to do this…my oldest have an entire drawer of drawings in our desk that he’s been filling for the last two years, and it’s getting very full. I was planning on using a binder and plastic protective sheets to keep the drawings in!
I have the child who gives me a picture, and I'll hang on to it for a few days before throwing it away. She then asks me about it 2 weeks later. Cue the guilt... Haven't quite figured out how to respond to that one.
That is really tough. One thing I do when putting things away is label the box with the date. That way I know that it’s been 6 months (or whatever) with nobody showing any interest in the contents, so I feel it can safely exit the house. You could try dating the pictures so you know when their time has come!
I don't always agree and as a retired public school teacher (in Ma) IK have trouble with homeschooling. But I find your writing fascinating. Keep it up.
“I think for children the joy is often in the moment of creation, not in the ownership of the creation forever more.” I agree! I have started doing some very basic arts and crafting in the evenings in order to use another part of my brain (the part that is not full of words) and the joy is in creation. I just throw it away afterwards. There’s a real freedom in this- a bit like Julia Cameron telling people to throw away their morning pages.
This is exactly my method also, but with both children producing paperwork throughout every day we have two culls - one weekly where the child themselves gets to recycle anything they don’t want to keep - and then the long term one where they are definitely not present. Distance definitely helps. And some of the notes they write I try and take a photo in the moment so they don’t get lost in a sea of doodles and drawings.
I definitely need to do this…my oldest have an entire drawer of drawings in our desk that he’s been filling for the last two years, and it’s getting very full. I was planning on using a binder and plastic protective sheets to keep the drawings in!
Two years! There’ll be some treasures in there! (And hopefully some trash too for your sake!)
Yes to this! I also will scan, shrink, and print precious artwork to mount in my planners.
Here's an idea, if wanted, about the piles of artwork treasures! https://substack.com/@shadowlands/note/c-176201873
I have the child who gives me a picture, and I'll hang on to it for a few days before throwing it away. She then asks me about it 2 weeks later. Cue the guilt... Haven't quite figured out how to respond to that one.
That is really tough. One thing I do when putting things away is label the box with the date. That way I know that it’s been 6 months (or whatever) with nobody showing any interest in the contents, so I feel it can safely exit the house. You could try dating the pictures so you know when their time has come!