Absent? Never Fear, Your Homework is Here!

I absolutely love, love, love Pinterest.  I had seen the Absent? idea on Pinterest several times, so, this past summer I decided to finally pin it.  I am so glad I did.  The idea is relatively simple.  Place the numbers 1-31 on hanging file folders for the days of the month, place the folders in a white crate, place a label identifying the crate on the outside...and eureka!  The responsibility of keeping up with students' assignments when they are absent is no longer on the teacher.  The student is responsible for collecting the assignments.  
I simply place any handouts and papers for the day in the hanging folder of the day of the month it happens to be.  The student will collect the assignments on their first day back.  

Pitfalls:  
~ Students HAVE to be trained to collect their own  assignments.  After 4 and 1/2 weeks of school, students are just now catching on to the routine.
~ If there is more than 1 assignment for the day, the assignments have to be separated.  (I place white dividers, the type you place in notebooks, between the different assignments for the day).
~ I teach 4th grade.  Students in lower grades may not be able to handle the responsibility.
~ Extra papers have to be taken out each month.  Still not a problem in my classroom.  I assign a student the responsibility of taking out the extra papers and recycling them to my math "scratch" paper crate.  Everyone wants to be the Absentee Monitor!

I have almost worked out all the kinks in the system and I am loving it. :)  

I also have a white crate right bride the Absent? crate that I use for graded work.  I list the names of my students on tabs of hanging folders and place the graded work in these hanging folders.  On Fridays, I hand out the graded work. Sometimes it gets stapled, sometimes it doesn't. :)