Treasure Boxes - End of the Year Storage

This year, I'm committed to doing more writing.  I love writing, and I really love collaborating with other teachers.  I remember blogging back in about 2007, and how much fun it was collaborating and supporting fellow artists.  Cheers to you and all that you do for our kids.

 Now on to a year end post...When I taught kindergarten, we painstakingly made wonderful scrapbooks for each child.  While I enjoyed making them, and each kindergarten parent seemed to treasure them, it took an enormous amount of time to keep up for between 45 and 50 students.   Weekends in the month of May were spent trying to “catch up,” because it’s hard to keep up in the last few months of school when focusing on year end academics/testing.   Finally,  from wanting to spend more time with my family, especially on Memorial Weekend, I came up with this idea:  Treasure Boxes. 

I collect an art piece or two and a writing sample for each month of the year in a separate file for each child.   About three weeks before school is out, I send a letter home telling parents to be “on the lookout” for a box their child might want to decorate and keep their treasures.  This box can be as simple or as ornate as you want.  The only parameter is that it has to fit papers that are at least 9x12” as that is the size of most of our art projects.

The added bonus is that families get a more accurate picture of their first graders' abilities and gains as a learner.  Imagine looking at your child's beginning of the year's writing as a pile of letters, and then seeing your child write a persuasive letter at the end!  Or, imagine seeing a year's worth of self portraits side by side to see their development as an artist.  Sounds like an informal portfolio to me.  May this idea help save you some time and give your parents a better portrait of their child's first grade year!

 Here are some pictures of some of a couple of them that are simple & easy to make:

This one is made from a simple shirt box, spray painted and glued on jewels.  Katelynn adores this box and thinks it’s extra special…mom said she didn’t have much time to work on the project, and this is what she was able to create at the last minute.  Perfect for busy moms!

Grace made one from a simple plastic box for more long term, skinny storage, using stickers to cshow off her name and her favorite things!  I’ve seen people use a cake container from Walmart as well.  What matters most is that the kids love them.  And let me tell you, if they have a hand in decorating it, they’re more likely to be invested in it’s worth.  This easily fits under a bed or on a small closet shelf.

Lastly, some families just bring the boxes and decide that decorating a box during the summer gives their kids one little craft project for the summer!

ENJOY!   Marie

Grace made one from a simple plastic box for more long term, skinny storage, using stickers to create show off her name and her favorite things!  I’ve seen people use a cake container from Walmart as well.  What matters most is that the kids love them.  And let me tell you, if they have a hand in decorating it, they’re more likely to be invested in it’s worth.  This easily fits under a bed or on a small closet shelf.