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How do you handle all the loose paper--worksheets, coloring pages, maps, etc.?


melissel
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We have never, never looked back at any worksheet that we've done in the past. I've tried keeping them in different ways--a folder, binders, a big stack on the table--and we just never refer back to them. Even the RightStart math journal--we kept it for awhile, but we never looked at any past pages, so I finally stopped keeping it and we've been working problems on scrap paper.

 

Does anyone just toss these papers after a few days? Do you have an easy alternate system for hanging onto them? We're filing this year and I love it, but I tried putting the pages back into the folder they came from, and it just seems to confuse me when I'm trying to get the fresh pages OUT of the folders.

 

I would love to hear how others handle this. TIA!

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We put all completed papers into a plastic type "in box". I don't know what they are called, but they are sold in office supply stores and most desks have them. The top has scrap paper that he can pull out and use anytime and the bottom is the inbox. A couple of times per month, I go through it and separate it by subject, three hole punch it and then put it into a binder dedicated to that subject. My son enjoys looking back at what he's accomplished sometimes. At the end of the year, we will have an open house where we will invite the grandparents and relatives to come and see all that he has done including special projects and art work. I also scan and photograph artwork to keep it digitally.

 

After the open house, I will take a few of his best things from each subject to create one binder book that we will keep to represent grade K. The rest will be recycled.

 

I don't want to throw things away right away because I don't want to give him the message that all of his work is for nothing.

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I keep everything, but not because I have to. We're military and the state I currently live in doesn't require any record keeping at all, but in the past other states have, so I keep it all.

I just separate the pages every week into subject and then put them in file jackets up in my closet. I have the file jackets bankers boxes. I don't keep the pages to refer to, but for some reason I just can't seem to toss them out. Once dh retires and we settle down, I'll most likely toss stuff if we live in a state that doesn't require me to keep anything.

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We have never, never looked back at any worksheet that we've done in the past. I've tried keeping them in different ways--a folder, binders, a big stack on the table--and we just never refer back to them. Even the RightStart math journal--we kept it for awhile, but we never looked at any past pages, so I finally stopped keeping it and we've been working problems on scrap paper.

 

Does anyone just toss these papers after a few days? Do you have an easy alternate system for hanging onto them? We're filing this year and I love it, but I tried putting the pages back into the folder they came from, and it just seems to confuse me when I'm trying to get the fresh pages OUT of the folders.

 

I would love to hear how others handle this. TIA!

 

Honestly??

 

History and science get put into completed binders...

IF they are beautifully done and something we will want to look at through the years...such as our homemade history pockets or science drawings.

 

Everything else gets filed...right into the woodstove. it os done...checked...poof!

 

I just do not have the room for 7 kids x 12 years of arithmetic pages or grammar worksheets.

 

Writing assignments usually get typed into word documents and filed on my computer. hard copies get tossed.

 

Faithe

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I don't want to throw things away right away because I don't want to give him the message that all of his work is for nothing.

 

Oh, this is such a good point. We're struggling a bit with the "let's just get this over with" mentality here, and I know I certainly contribute to it. Thank you for pointing this out to me.

 

I keep everything, but not because I have to. We're military and the state I currently live in doesn't require any record keeping at all, but in the past other states have, so I keep it all.

I just separate the pages every week into subject and then put them in file jackets up in my closet. I have the file jackets bankers boxes. I don't keep the pages to refer to, but for some reason I just can't seem to toss them out. Once dh retires and we settle down, I'll most likely toss stuff if we live in a state that doesn't require me to keep anything.

 

You know, every once in awhile DH and I talk about moving to Pennsylvania because it's so much cheaper, but then I think about the oversight, and the record-keeping, and the portfolios...and I remember the many reasons NJ is so nice after all!

 

Everything else gets filed...right into the woodstove. it os done...checked...poof!

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

I just do not have the room for 7 kids x 12 years of arithmetic pages or grammar worksheets.

 

Oh Faithe, just the idea of that makes me sweaty and shaky! I can barely HS two... I totally hear you.

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I have to keep everything, because my state requires a portfolio at the end of the year. I buy a bunch of those small 3-prong folders at Staples when they're a penny each in the summer, and the kids decorate those for various special subjects -- this year, they've each made one for the Middle Ages, one for butterflies, will make one for birds, etc. So all applicable papers go into those folders. I'll probably keep those folders, at least for a few years (after I temporarily take out a few to put in the portfolio to give to the school district).

 

Then other papers, like grammar sheets, or math sheets, or art projects, or whatever, go into hanging folders by month. At the end of the year, I'll pick a few to go into the portfolio and will probably get rid of most of the rest -- might keep some art projects, but probably not all the math sheets.

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I'm keeping most things for now, but will certainly not keep it all forever. I think I would always like to have a small portfolio for each year, for our own reasons, and in case we ever need it.

 

Right now I live in a state that I do not have to keep records, but we want to move somewhere that requires more accounting. I want to have some things that we have done saved, just in case.

 

Right now I use a regular 2 pocket folder and I use one for each subject. I save the sheet for math my son does each day, and when he takes the "tests" I just write his score on the folder. My son actually likes to look at what he has accomplished this year, and how "easy" the stuff was that he was doing the first week. :) I know he would be devastated if he saw me throw his work away. At the end of the year I will just save a few, and recycle the others (when he is in bed, of course. :001_smile:). And this is just math.

 

For history we have a 3 ring binder, and I may save a lot more of this. There is copywork, history pockets stuff, coloring, maps (we use SOTW) etc. Same for science.

 

Any workbooks that we do I am going to save for now, and I'll see how I feel as each year goes by. I plan to have a rubbermaid tote for past years' work, and I will save some for each child. I'm sure as time goes on I will get rid of more and more.

 

I have the desk apprentice, and put all "fresh" (not used yet) loose papers in hanging files by subject in the middle, and once they are completed they will go in the appropriate folders. The pocket folders are in the desk apprentice as well, and the three ring binders are on a shelf.

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I have a binder for each subject. Everything goes in there. When we complete either a book or a year (whichever comes first), we go through it and I let DD pick out her best work, which we scan-yes, even if she's really proud of that handwriting worksheet ;). We then toss it all and start over.

 

Since it's months removed, it doesn't seem to bother her. She also often will do writing or drawing on her own and ask me to put it into that subject's binder, and I always do.

 

It still takes a shelf, though-which is not bad with one kid, but might be a bit much if you have many.

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I don't throw anything out :D

 

Up until 5th grade, work is done in "Main Lesson Books" (Waldorf-inspired) - spiral bound artist's sketch pads. In the earliest years, it's just one or two books for all subjects, in the later elementary years it's a book per subject. At the end of the year, I pack everything up in a box, label it by grade, and store it in my closet. I figure it will be fun to look at down the road- either for my kids or myself.

 

From 5th grade on, work is done on regular looseleaf paper and everything is in one binder divided by subject. But not much of it is "workbook" type stuff as our curriculum is pretty hands on/creative- so there will be writing assignments mixed in with photographs of projects we've done or assignment related drawings and so on, and those get holepunched and added to the binder. Again, at the end of the year, the binder and any loose papers or any completed "workbook" type things gets boxed up, labeled with the grade, and stored.

 

I guess this might be harder if you have more kids and limited storage space, but as of right now, I only have two kids to do this for and I have the room to store the stuff, so why not?

 

P.S. We don't keep rough drafts of writing assignments, only final drafts.

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My children have big binders with tabs for each subject. Finished work must be filed in their binder, newest assignment on top.

 

With seven children, we can't have loose papers everywhere.

 

When binders get full, I use bull nose office clips (or paper clips if the stack is small) for each subject and drop the papers into a banker's box filing box. Sometimes, the whole binder goes into the box, especially if it is just time for a new binder. Each child has their own box. All finished workbooks also go in the box. It is a bit messy, but at least I will be able to find their work if I ever need to prove they did it.

 

I'm not very organized, but my kids are learning to file their papers. If they can't find a finished assignment when I ask for it, they get to do it over, same as for a teacher in school. This helps them remember to put papers in the right place in their notebooks, and not on their desks, or the floor, or their bin of books, etc.

 

A few things do just get thrown away, but I try to make sure that what we keep shows progress over time.

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It's not required in the state we reside in but...

 

I file into a 4" binder per child all their school work for that year...It's holepunched and filed.

 

Projects on paper are filed. Big project items are kept for 2-3 months but we do take pictures with them and their project and feel comfy tossing them out afterwards. I have kept some of their "firsts" and probably won't toss those for a long while...hehe! I do like to keep some of their handwriting things so they can see how far they've come!

 

The only project we have kept longer than a few months is the solar system we made....mainly because it's something we'll use for a good while :)

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Right now, I'm putting stuff in binders by subject - history, science, math, and language arts (with tabs to divide up WWE/spelling/handwriting). At the end of the "year" (or book), I plan to chunk everything. I scan a few things so I can have record of his progress (and also have comparative notes for when the next kids come through), but that would just be a few pieces from each subject, certainly not very many pages. Then it can all be chucked.

 

Stuff we haven't done yet is neatly in hanging file folders by subject, so I can pull it out as needed each week and store in our 8-pocket weekly folder (labled with the days of the school week).

 

My house isn't that organized, but surprisingly, my school stuff is (HST+ helps a lot with that too - I don't have planning papers since it's all on the computer and I can chuck the printed assignment sheets as soon as we're done with them).

 

One question for those who use binders... How do you store them on the shelf?!? I have those 4 binders plus another couple binders for me (teacher's manuals printed off the computer), and since they're 1" binders not filled with 1" of stuff, they end up causing the whole book stack to collapse inward. It's quite annoying. Otherwise, I like using the binders - it's easy to put stuff away in them.

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Last year we took DC's history pages to Staples and had them soft bound into a book for each of them to keep. They want to do the same for this year. They like to go back and look through and discuss things.

 

I received a new scanner for my birthday this year to scan artwork, samples of handwriting from the beginning and end of the year to show progress, or for special projects. I imagine I will use more of this over time and perhaps add some of it into their yearly picture books (which I am trying to do). :lol:

 

I have to keep records so everything else is in binders for that year, or in files in the cabinet, the past two years I keep in boxes in storage until they can be recycled.

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I keep all the loose things in the front of my planner binder until the pocket gets full. Then I take some time to hole punch the stack and put it in the correct binder. 7 year old has a binder per subject where I keep her work. 5 year old has one binder with dividers for each subject. I also keep completed workbooks until the end of the year.

At the end of the year each child gets a 1/2 in. binder where I keep samples of their work. After looking through all the papers and choosing what goes in the binder I then recycle or burn the rest. The front sheet of that binder has a list of all the subjects studied that year, what curriculum we used, what workbooks/curriculum was completed and the date of each completion.

 

The only thing we get rid of immediately are math drill worksheets. DD7 does a drill sheet everyday. Once it is corrected the paper is used for and scrapwork needed that day.

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We have no reporting/portfolio requirements. I keep the their very best work in a flat-storage box in my closet. The kids have a 3x4-foot bulletin board in their room and they have room for a few of their favorite papers. If they want to keep a new thing, an old thing gets tossed. They make the decision. Everything else gets recycled/woodstoved. We take pictures of some items, and that helps them release it. We have very little storage space in this old house, and I'm making "streamlined" my keyword for homeschooling. :)

 

Edit: About the idea of showing the kids that their work has value -- I think it has merit, but I probably err more on the side of showing the kids that they don't need to keep something in order to keep the memory of it. We're trying to avoid an unhealthy attachment to possessions. We express immediate appreciate for the work, enjoy it, then move on. :)

 

Add edit: When they get older and we're talking writing and work samples for college, we'll devise some sort of system for setting those aside. When I was a reporter, I scanned all my stuff and kept it organized in my computer. Much easier than dealing with years of paper copies.

Edited by HistoryMom
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I'm not a saver at all. I don't like clutter, nor do I have the space for it (and I only have 3 children). So here's what we do...

Only the History (SOTW) pages are saved in the notebook for longer than the present academic year. Pretty much anything else like a daily fact sheet or Math problems, math tests, grammar work is graded, corrected and recycled. I only save a select few papers for the portfolio. I save anything in a bound workbook (like a spelling workout or latin for children) form for the current year only. During the summer clean out it all gets tossed/recycled.

Each child has a file folder for very special things or the very few cute papers I want to save.

Art and science projects or history hands-on get photographed and saved in the computer after enjoying it on display for a bit.

 

If you are legally okay to toss it out and you want to, it's okay not to save it!

 

Blessings!

KLA

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I turn half the binders spine out and half spine in. In practice, we're usually filing papers in all the binders at once anyway, so it really doesn't matter that it's harder to pull the inside ones out individually.

 

Brilliant!!! This solves an annoying problem for me! Thank you!

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We don't need to keep anything, but I do. However, reading through this thread has made me feel like an underachiever in that department, lol. I just put everything we do in a hanging file folder. When the folder is so full it's ridiculous, I go through and keep some beginning, middle, and end samples. Then I start over. At the end of the school year, I'll put all the ones I kept together in order. Art projects all stay together and we do a science notebook which we keep (instead of the minibooks recommended by Dr. Nebel, DD just draws a picture or two to illustrate each lesson, which then goes in the notebook). I haven't decided what to do about workbooks yet. We didn't have any last year.

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We don't have any loose papers here at all. Everything is in a binder for each week. All workbooks have the binding trimmed and hole punched, then each child's work is stuffed into the appropriate dividers a week or two at a time. When their worked is complete and has been checked and corrected, daily work is thrown away immediately, or at least at the end of the week.

 

The only things I save are tests, compositions, or special science and history assignments. But daily math, grammar, spelling, etc... all get tossed. I saved absolutely everything for the first 6 years, and finally found great liberation in tossing what I didn't really need. I doubt I'll need the tests either, but for now I want to save a small sampling of what they accomplished. Texas doesn't require anything right now, so I don't have the state breathing down my neck.

 

Each child has enough to fill either one or two file folders at the end of each year. I type up a summary of courses, activities, extra curriculuars, and any standardized tests (like Iowa) and put it in that year's folder for each kid, then I'm done.

 

The following thread really helped me get a handle on all the papers and workbooks. It was the. most. helpful thing I've ever read on this forum. And, yes. I read the whole thing :)

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=189482

Edited by ThelmaLou
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We don't have any loose papers here at all. Everything is in a binder for each week. All workbooks have the binding trimmed and hole punched, then each child's work is stuffed into the appropriate dividers a week or two at a time. When their worked is complete and has been checked and corrected, daily work is thrown away immediately, or at least at the end of the week.

 

The only things I save are tests, compositions, or special science and history assignments. But daily math, grammar, spelling, etc... all get tossed. I saved absolutely everything for the first 6 years, and finally found great liberation in tossing what I didn't really need. I doubt I'll need the tests either, but for now I want to save a small sampling of what they accomplished. Texas doesn't require anything right now, so I don't have the state breathing down my neck.

 

Each child has enough to fill either one or two file folders at the end of each year. I type up a summary of courses, activities, extra curriculuars, and any standardized tests (like Iowa) and put it in that year's folder for each kid, then I'm done.

 

The following thread really helped me get a handle on all the papers and workbooks. It was the. most. helpful thing I've ever read on this forum. And, yes. I read the whole thing :)

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=189482

 

:lol: Thanks ThelmaLou! I already file a la that system :D It has helped me immensely in preparing schoolwork and getting it completed. For some reason I'm having so much trouble with the post-file part! I don't know why--it doesn't seem like it should be that hard. But I'm not an organized person by nature, so I struggle with the papers.

 

I've gotten lots of good ideas from this thread, thank you. I think I need to corral all my stray binders and give them jobs. I think I also need to take a lesson from the reason the filing system works for me (all prep work done in advance!) and three-hole-punch EVERYTHING as it goes into the file. That way, when it's completed during the course of the schoolday, I can just put it right into the binder immediately.

 

Thank you for the feedback, everyone. Your thought processes have helped me a lot.

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Call me paranoid but I keep absolutely everything, in case I one day have to "prove" that I've been educating my children. They each have 3-ring binders for History, Science and Language Arts (which has tabs for copywork, journal, spelling, writing, and grammar) and all related papers go into those. I also keep one 3-ring binder for each kid into which goes all tests, graded papers that don't belong anywhere else, report cards, placement/evaluation tests, photos of projects, reading lists, etc. At the end of the school year, everything will get put into large manilla envelopes, labeled appropriately, put into a plastic tote (along with the workbooks they've done), and stored in the basement indefinitely. So far it's a good system, although I need to get more consistent with where I put certain things (does that graded report on King Tut go in the history binder or in my records and grades binder?). :D

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My hole-puncher and I are close friends. :D Our state requires two reviews per year, for which I pull out about 2 samples of work per required subject area (there are 8). One year's worth of samples nicely fits in a 1/2" binder. I intend to save those indefinitely.

 

For our current work, everything that isn't contained in a workbook (for us, math, spelling, and grammar are WBs) is hole punched and lives in a 2" binder. For 1st grade, we have binders for WWE, memory work, history, and science. Art work goes on the walls for about 3 months then is photographed. The photos are saved in the 1/2" review binder as well. Now, I'm planning to save the history and science binders in entirety, simply because we're following TWTM cycles and so we'll revisit those topics in the future. I love the idea of having them actually bound into books, as I've noticed the holes of the early pages often tear.

 

But when we finish a workbook, it's recycled right away, along with most other loose papers. Like another poster mentioned, I try not to recycle stuff right away, simply because it does represent hard work. But at the same time, I know the binders will get out of control eventually as it is. I can't make it worse by keeping everything! :tongue_smilie:

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Most everything gets tossed into the recycling. A few things, like an actual graded math test I gave DD, might get saved, along with choice examples of her artwork. Her copywork and narrations are in notebooks. But handwriting sheets torn from their workbook and math practice on paper get tossed. We do most math problems on the chalk or dry erase board, so DD really has no concept that the practice is something that should be saved, kwim?

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