Follow the Paper Trail

I just need to vent for a few minutes today. Okay? Thanks.

I love school. I love many of the people who decide to become school teachers. We all know they do it out of love for the kids and love of the profession, because it certainly isn't for the money. And I have to admit, I do love having a few hours during the day to get some things done around the house without the kids running around behind me undoing my work!

What I don't love? The thousands (okay - it just FEELS like thousands) of papers that come home everyday!

Half the time I can't figure out what's supposed to stay home and what's supposed to go back because my children don't pay attention to where they put the papers in their folders. The teachers have a system: one pocket is for home, one is for stuff that needs to go back to school. Not a complicated system, but apparently REALLY time consuming for a couple of boys, because they can't seem to be bothered to figure it out.

My job? I get to sift through the piles and try to discern what got turned in, what got forgotten, what's homework and what's just graded stuff for me to look at.

I am overwhelmed with the sheer volume of stuff that I have to look at everyday!! 6-10 pieces of paper per kid a day! How do people with lots of kids not drown in it!?

So I'm begging you, teachers...PLEASE! Can you quit sending home every scrap of paper my kids make a mark on? Just give me the highlights!! I need my sanity and my couterspace back.