What schoolwork do you save, and how do you store it?

[funschooler5]

Every year I struggle with what to save and what to throw away. I'd love to hear how some of you organize old school work. Do you keep workbooks? Handwriting worksheets? Right now I have a hanging file folder for each of my kids, one for each school year. After eight years of homeschooling, my file cabinet is full! I need a new system, and a way to store the really old stuff for when my kids grow up.

 

We don't have to show portfolios in my state (just periodic testing) but I still feel like I should save their work in case we ever have to prove we actually did something. :001_smile: Maybe I'm just being paranoid, though.

[Daisy]

I don't have to show portolios either.

 

Here is what I keep.

 

1. Their history/science notebooks. These are like scrapbooks of what they've learned. They are in 3 ring binders and I just put them on a shelf in the living room when we finish. They love to go back and look through them over the years. Projects that they are sad to part with, we take pictures of and place into the binder also.

 

2. Then I go through the math, handwriting, grammar, etc. and I pull out 1 sample for about every 6 weeks of school. I also keep the best of the writing assignments and/or writing assignments that gave a good indication of the progress they made through-out the year. Each child's samples fit into a 10x12 manila envelope. I mark it with their name, grade, and school year and store it in a storage box.

 

3. In a cumulative file...

 

A yearly course of study and attendance record for each child.

 

A year-end summary that discusses what work they completed, where they excelled, what they struggled with, etc. Usually 1-2 pages typed and set up by subject. (I don't give grades).

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

My kids are still little, but I have put their preschool and kindergarten papers in plastic bags inside of plastic totes in our storage/attic space. I don't save everything- just the really precious or interesting things.

[NavyWifeandMommy]

We keep the yearly test and toss everything out. This year I may keep the notebooking journals and let DD toss them when she feels like it. I take lots of pictures so that's my record of schooling besides the yearly test.

[NanceXToo]

Well, so far I only homeschooled for part of third grade, and now just finished up all of fourth grade with my daughter. So at this point I can easily say I keep everything :)

 

Last year we did our own thing and the work was mostly in binders, some in folders, and I boxed it up and labeled it with my daughter's name and grade and the school year, and put it in my closet.

 

This year we're doing Oak Meadow so what we have are a bunch of "Main Lesson Books" plus printouts of photos from each outing we go on etc., and I know I'm going to want to keep it all. So when I am ready to start 5th grade, I'll box up all the fourth grade stuff, label it, and put it in my closet.

 

Of course, next year my son will start K, and she'll move on to 5, and then I'll have two of them through the years, but I know I won't be able to bring myself to throw any of it away. I'd rather box it, store it, have it all to look back on by myself, with her, maybe some day give it to the kids to do what they want with... I don't know :)

[MamaSheep]

:lurk5:

[Jolash]

Here in AL we aren't required to keep anything, except attendance records; and our church school requires 2 progress report each year. I keep all that together in a 'homeschool' hanging file folder and just clip each year's records together and file them there.

 

As far as work, I keep his math tests, history/science notebooks, and samples of all the rest - spelling tests, handwriting, language arts work etc. I store all these in plastic file boxes I ordered from Brylane Home.

 

HTH

[blessed3x]

My ds8 in just finishing the second grade, but so far I have simply used bankers boxes. I use one for each year and put our homeschoolers academic journal, his completed workbooks (usually mathematics), his binders and a few art projects. So far this has worked well for us.