Put away school supplies and prepare the space for summer

Start by taking everything out and inspecting it

Before putting anything away, start by taking everything out. Completely empty school bags, binders, and pencil cases. Spread everything out on a large surface (table, floor, bed) to get an overview of what you have.

During this step, inspect the condition of each item:

• 🖊️ Pencils and pens: test them, throw away those that no longer work, and group together what is still usable
• 📏 Rulers, scissors, erasers: check their general condition and replace what is too worn out
• 📓 Notebooks: check how many pages are left and keep those that still have space for next year
• 🎒 School bags: clean them thoroughly (shake out, wipe the inside, wash if possible) before storing them for the summer
• 🍱 Lunchboxes and water bottles: wash carefully, check closures and seals, and discard what is too damaged

This inspection prevents you from buying duplicate supplies at the start of the school year and gives you a clear picture of what will need to be replaced in August. To help you and easily involve children in this task, use this practical little trick!

Sort the year's work and creations

This step is often the longest and most emotional part. Filled notebooks, crafts, drawings, and projects of all kinds accumulate in impressive quantities during a school year, and keeping everything is not realistic. But it would also be a shame to simply throw everything away! Here is a balanced approach:

• Involve the child in sorting: from 5 or 6 years old, children can participate and choose what they care about
• Keep what has real emotional value: the first drawing of the year, the project they were particularly proud of, the card made for Mother's Day
• Create an annual portfolio: an envelope or binder per child, per school year, with a representative selection of their work
• Photograph what you don't keep: for bulky items or 3D crafts, a photo is enough to preserve the memory without cluttering the space
• Recycle the rest without guilt: a half-filled coloring book doesn't need to take up unnecessary space

Store supplies intelligently

Once sorted, store school supplies in a dedicated and clearly labeled place, ideally out of reach of young children to prevent new crayons from decorating the walls during the summer!

Some principles for effective storage:

• Group by category: all pencils together, all rulers together, all blank notebooks together
• Use transparent or labeled containers to easily find what you'll need in August
• Keep what will be reused next year separate from what will be used for summer creative activities
• Note what needs to be replaced now, while you have everything in front of you, rather than discovering it the week before school starts

Prepare the space for summer

Once school supplies are put away, the liberated space deserves a small reorganization to welcome summer. The workspace or homework desk can become a summer creative space, accessible, inspiring, and adapted to the season's activities.

Some ideas for transforming the space:

• Replace school notebooks with sketchbooks, personal journals, or reading books
• Place creative materials within reach: paint, clay, craft supplies
• Set up a small visible summer library: a selection of books chosen with the child for the summer
• Clear surfaces for ongoing projects: puzzles in progress, models under construction, herbariums

Involve children in the process

End-of-year organizing is an activity that children can, and should, do with you. They learn to organize themselves, take care of their belongings, and make choices based on what is valuable and what can be recycled or discarded. These are skills that will stay with them long after the last day of school.

A well-prepared space for summer is a space that invites you to fully enjoy the season, without the weight of the school year lingering in the corners. And in August, when it's time to prepare for the new school year, you'll know exactly where everything is. 🎒