Portfolios

Older children had more issues with keeping or getting rid of paper. We started homeschooling in Ohio; at the time we needed a binder of work samples to show to a certified teacher every year. So I made sorting papers part of school. They had to go through their drawer or crate at the end of every school year and decide. This gets thrown out; this goes into the portfolio; this goes into personal storage in child's bedroom. We had very limited space (four children to a bedroom), so they had to prune it a lot. This has been a useful skill. For the first year or two I would go through the papers with them. After that they decided. I reviewed their portfolios and occasionally would say, Do you have any math examples to add? or Do you need to put in this much art? We moved several times and I still have the portfolios, but the children mostly never looked at them again, either because they didn't think of it or because it was packed up. I should give them back their portfolios now that they're adults.

One son decided not to sort his papers at all; once he had six or so things in his portfolio, he dumped the rest into the trash can. This surprised me; I tend to save things, to the point of hoarding, because my parents saved things to use later, and because making the decision what to get rid of is hard. Of course, this acorn is also close to the tree: the other tree, my husband. My mother told me in astonishment, “Your husband opens the mail over the trash!” He dumped what wasn’t important without a second thought. Consequently I went into the trash and fished out one or two of my son’s drawings, for my memories. He didn’t draw or write much, choosing instead to do everything verbally. Good thing I caught some!