Wondering about tearing up workbooks vs. leaving them whole?

[mommy5]

I am thinking about making my 7 yr old his own binder for this coming school year. I am going to be using Singapore Math and supplement with some Math Mammoth. I also will be using some worksheets for handwriting and geography. We also have other books we use and the computer. My question is would you just print what is needed and put it filed into a folder by subject and then leave the workbooks whole or would you tear out all the sheets by week? I'm going to be doing 9 week terms so I could start the binder over after each term (4 terms total). What would you guys do? I like the idea of everything for the week being in one place ... but I'm not so sure.

[mommy5]

Well, I'm now realizing some people do the "binder" system and some people do a "file" system ... does anyone do both?

[MerryAtHope]

I also prefer to keep workbooks together. But what I use instead of a binder system for my child's work, is workboxes. This way anything they need--a reader, a text book, math books, rulers, pencils, manipulatives--anything at all for that subject can be kept in the box. Things stay so well organized this way. Here's pictures of ours. Merry :-)

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

I keep our workbooks together and put pages that I have copied or printed from the computer into binders for each subject.

[Amanda_Jo]

I do both.

I have 36 weekly hanging file folders, however I've found that instead of breaking up the work at the beginning of the year into 36 weeks I prefer working by quarters so that I can tweek and adjust if we get a bit off somewhere or if plans need to change. Inside each hanging file folder each child has a regular file folder and I have one for group work, teacher pages, etc. At the beginning of each unit (TOG, so about every 8-10 weeks) I take an afternoon to pull apart math, grammar, spelling, ETC and all other workbook pages and file it in the correct week and child's folder. I also look ahead and print out any science sheets and TOG sheets (such as literature and maps) we will need and place them in the appropriate folder.

Then, each weekend I take about an hour to pull out the hanging file folder and work on organizing our week into our individual binders. Since my husband has a variable schedule this helps me since some weeks we do 4 days, other weeks we may have a day or two with only a short time to do school and have the rest of the days be longer than usual. Each child's binder (and mine) have dividers labeled Mon-Fri and a "daily" divider. At the front of the binder I keep assignment sheets. I write down each days assignments (binder activities and also reading assignments and projects that may not be in the binder) and all worksheets are placed in the binder behind the correct day of the week.

At the end of the week I move completed work to binders. Each child has a 3 inch binder with subject (math, writing, science, etc) dividers where I keep the completed work.

On Monday morning we open our binders and get to work :001_smile:

[Ellie]

It's easier for children to write on a piece of paper that is lying flat on a table/desk. I vote for tearing the pages out. Alternatively, you can have the spine cut off and three-hole drill the book, put it in a three-ring notebook, take out each page for the dc to work on, then put it back in the notebook. You can do that even if the pages are perforated.

[Karen in CO]

This year I tore the workbooks up for my youngest. I put all of the workbooks in an expando-folio-thingy. Each weekend, I fill up 4 cute folders with the worksheets from each workbook that we'll be doing for each of the 4 days she does work at home. Then each school day, she just pulls out her folder for the day and has her worksheets ready. Easy Peasy. It is a lot less intimidation to do 5 worksheets than be faced with 5 workbooks.

Edited January 23, 2012 by Karen in CO

[Tigger]

I have the spines removed at Office Depot, three-hole punched, put it all into binders, by subject, and then remove the pages we'll need each week; once completed they go into DS's main binder, divided by subject, by date order. As we finish up a book, the binder is then empty, so it gets used for the next book in the subject.

 

Each "semester" (about every three months) I purge all into a large manila envelope and file away if needed for some reason at a later date, and just date it. Those envelopes are stored in a file box downstairs, each file box by school year.

 

I also have spines removed from IG's and TM's (if not spiral bound) and put those into their own binders too, by subject, so if we're traveling, I can grab only the pages I'll need while we're away and put them back when we're done. Saves a lot of weight for us when traveling.

 

When I'm using something from a download PDF, I'll print as needed, three-hole punch and keep ready for the week we're using the sheets, then add to DS's main binder by subject when complete.

[tonersl]

It's easier for children to write on a piece of paper that is lying flat on a table/desk. I vote for tearing the pages out. Alternatively, you can have the spine cut off and three-hole drill the book, put it in a three-ring notebook, take out each page for the dc to work on, then put it back in the notebook. You can do that even if the pages are perforated.

 

:iagree:

This is what we do for our math workbooks (Horizons) because it is much easier for my kids to work on the flat pages and not have to fight with the binding. It also creates less "bulk" in my stack of work to be checked.

 

Good luck!

[kitten18]

It's easier for children to write on a piece of paper that is lying flat on a table/desk. I vote for tearing the pages out. Alternatively, you can have the spine cut off and three-hole drill the book, put it in a three-ring notebook, take out each page for the dc to work on, then put it back in the notebook. You can do that even if the pages are perforated.

:iagree:

I cut books apart with a ruler and a rotary cutter or an xacto knife (have to get some use out of the scrapbook supplies :D).

[Pen]

I used to leave them in, but then also decided that working with them out is easier to do.

 

I tear them out for the coming day only. And they go on the desk top as they are needed If they have no holes, I then punch them (or child does) and put them (or child puts them) in a binder by subject along with other work that fits that subject when work on them is done. If I had more than one child, I would have binders for each subject for each child. Putting things in the binders seems to be intrinsically satisfying, my son likes to do it, to put things in, to look through what has been done, and so on. They make the past work into more of a reference tool rather than just an archive.

 

A few subjects have more than one binder. History has a timeline/map binder separate from an all other work binder. Writing has a separate IEW binder, and another binder for non-IEW. The binders have a pocket part for pages not yet finished, and for pages not yet corrected (if that is needed). But some subjects have no binder. Reading does not, and geography is put away as part of history. Sometimes it is hard to decide where something goes. I suppose a time based binder or filing system would help with that, but over all I prefer the subject system (pages are put in in order so there is some chronology, and many pages get dated).

 

The only thing that gets filed is art so as not to punch holes and because the size of paper is often not binder sized. There is an art portfolio for that.

[Pen]

PS I am not starting a new binder (or art portfolio) each year, and so far nothing has gotten full, so I don't know what I'll do at that point. I suppose file the old and start a new one. We don't have that much of a difference in subjects year to year or "term to term". For example, just started a new level of math, but the binder continues right on. Levels switch according to completion, not year, or "term". That is also part of why I tear out the work of the day, not the week. Some days more is done than others. If a concept is easy, it may take only minutes. If hard, perhaps days. And I don't always anticipate in advance which will be which. Also, if kept at all, something like LOF work goes right in with MUS--unless the assignment is to draw a comic, in which case it went in with... comics...son decided that needed its whole own area--so it got a subsection of the main writing notebook (could have been put in art also).

 

We were at Waldorf for awhile and eventually maybe some work will be gathered and made into a "main lesson book" for certain topics, but so far that has not happened.

[tomandlorih]

I am going to try to do both:D I just discovered binders(This is our third week). I am still in the process of rounding up what I need to make it work. By subject in the binder(1 week at a time) would be easier.. but dd likes it by day which is harder since some workbook pages are on the back of the previous day and I have to switch at night. I have to correct the days work anyway, so it hasn't been a problem so far.

 

So I have just been tearing out the workbook pages I need for each week.. it was SO hard to start doing this since I would prefer the workbook intact but as I told my dh.. it's not like I am keeping the whole thing anyway so why not?? And it makes it easier for us to take school with us when everything she needs is in the binder.. not dragging along 4-5 workbooks.

 

But.. I would like to rip the rest of the workbooks up and file them by week so I can work ahead on her daily task lists and they are already separated and 3 hole punched for filling the binder each week. I'm hoping that by filing first.. it will save me time later.

 

+++ for us on tearing the workbooks apart:

1. Easier to transport/do school on the go.

2. DD likes the daily check off sheet and the work gets done with (much) less complaining.

3. Work gets done on a daily basis since it takes so little time for each thing when you aren't trying to catch up on 3 days at once! Which I think will help it stick in her brain better.

 

Sorry it's long and rambly.. but HTH and :bigear: for others ideas.. Lori

[chepyl]

We really only have math workbooks. I leave them whole. SM books are so small, it OS not much to pack and take of with me. I also don' t have to pull pahes, just grab Tue book when we head out.

 

Our AG for SOTW is in a three ring binder, but it was too bulky to give him the whole book. We only do thos at home.

[Jim]

To start the year I remove the bindings and hole punch all the pages. Each text has its own hanging folder. Each Sunday I retreive his notebook, remove the completed pages and upddate with the new page to bring him up to date as of the end of the week ahead.

 

His binder has a check-off sheet at the front and then a section for each book.

 

Last year I had the crazy idea that I would get ahead by matching the material for each week a month or two ahead. The idea was that when Sunday rolled around I would grab one clipped stack of paper and place it in his binder. Problem was that when I didn't complete all of his assignments the prior week I don't skip and I had to start mixing and matching, anyway. So I'm back to a years worth of work in hanging folders. Works for me/us.

 

Jim

[Hunter]

If a book is good, it's worth the price to rip it apart.

 

If a book turns out to be bad, then I don't care that I ripped it up for nothing.

 

I'm a book ripper! Not only do I like my pages flat and portable, but I often like to lay them out all around me to see the big picture of what I am studying.

 

As well as being a ripper, I'm a scribbler. I scribble all over everything I am reading.

 

I even cut apart and scribble all over expensive hard cover books.

[PeterPan]

After years of binders, I started taking my stuff over to Staples and getting it bound. Much better. If it's a big amount of stuff (like a year of MM), then I'll divide it into two books to keep it from getting too thick. They have a machine that can cut the binding off too.

[kristinannie]

I only tear out pages from our Miquon books. Otherwise, I leave the worksheets in there!

[MeganW]

I have FedEx/Kinko's cut the spines off & 3 hole punch. I then put huge rubber bands around each and file in drawers. I pull out about 2 weeks worth at a time & put them in each kid's binder. Miquon pages behind Miquon tab, Developing the Early Learner behind that tab, Handwriting Without Tears behind that tab, etc. etc. The best thing about this system is its portability. We can grab binders and pencil boxes and know that we have everything we need to be productive.

 

[meltf928]

For thick books, I have the spine removed and rebound spirally. I really wish that more of the thicker workbooks came spirally bound already. It costs about $2 for this. For thinner books like ETC, we keep them whole.

Each child has a hanging file box. Each day their completed work gets filed by subject. A few times a year, I purge and put together a portfolio of the good stuff. We do a lot of hands on artsy stuff for the younger ones and I like to keep those. For my older one, I only keep tests.

[NotAVampireLvr]

I plan to tear out on an as-needed basis for math... for reading/english/spelling a week at a time as I don't plan to jump ahead in those subjects at this point.

 

I like the idea of spiral bounds... I think I might try that!

[desertmum]

It's easier for children to write on a piece of paper that is lying flat on a table/desk. I vote for tearing the pages out. Alternatively, you can have the spine cut off and three-hole drill the book, put it in a three-ring notebook, take out each page for the dc to work on, then put it back in the notebook. You can do that even if the pages are perforated.

 

:iagree: I have been trying to use SM whole and I notice it is getting trickier for ds to keep the book open and write on the pages at the same time. So, I will be ripping up the workbook. Also, last week we went on holiday I noticed lugging a bunch of books around wasn't much fun.

[Heidi]

I tear my workbooks apart, three hole punch them, and put in a term's worth into their folder, not by week but by subject just in case we need to slow down or speed up one subject. I write the week number in the corners of the pages to show where we should be. At the end of the term I switch out the old and put in the new and write the week numbers in the corners.

[Mommee & Baba]

I would have the spine removed, three hole punch and put into a binder OR have it spiral bound. I don't break up work into hanging file folders, binders, or worboxes anymore. Was the biggest flop in my house and wasted 3 weeks of my 6 week summer break the year before last.

 

I now keep everything either in a binder and just pull out the worksheet we're doing that day and put it back into the binder. I have found that having the history on the same shelf and the science books and workbooks all together was the best method for our home. I have everything planned out in my homeschool tracker and that's seemed to be the method that works for us best.

 

It's personal preference.

 

I thought the hanging files would be the great way to go, but it kept us too locked to the system. Even if I filed it by week, quarter, or even semester we'd somehow get out of the loop. Now we open up our books do what's on the planner and then we move on. We're not tied to anything or any file folders and no shuffling of papers around to make it work for us. Now it's a click away to adjust something in our schedule to work for us. Our workbooks and projects all sit happily on the shelf waiting to be completed. NO more re-arranging things a hundred times because something came up and we can't get to it.

[sweetpea3829]

Am I the only one that has my kids use dry erase on their workbook pages (math, specifically) so the workbook can be shared with everybody?

 

We're just starting out, so I spent the last few weeks using clear tape to cover the response areas of our Singapore Math workbooks.

 

Then somebody mentioned...why don't you just tear it out and put it in a dry erase pocket? DUH! So now I'm waiting for some dry erase pockets to arrive.

 

Is there a specific reason why you save the pages? Do they need to be submitted to the school department or anything?

[baybedaul]

I started using the file box this year and love it. I tore apart most of our workbooks (and have new appreciation for printable curriculums... I really like being able to print only the pages I want so that I can file them to my heart's content). We use a lot more of our resources this way. I filed the 36 weeks away and then I use a weekly binder with 5 pocket folders. Each weekend I take the upcoming weeks hanging folder and distribute the contents into the 5 day working folders (and then into workboxes each evening).

 

Singapore is the one workbook I didn't tear up because of the way the lessons fall back-to-back. But I really like the idea of at least getting it spiral bound... that spine on such a small book is really a beast.

[Mommee & Baba]

Am I the only one that has my kids use dry erase on their workbook pages (math, specifically) so the workbook can be shared with everybody?

 

We're just starting out, so I spent the last few weeks using clear tape to cover the response areas of our Singapore Math workbooks.

 

Then somebody mentioned...why don't you just tear it out and put it in a dry erase pocket? DUH! So now I'm waiting for some dry erase pockets to arrive.

 

Is there a specific reason why you save the pages? Do they need to be submitted to the school department or anything?

 

I actually have a binder for each of my children and I save ALL their school workbook pages in them for the entire school year. When we move on to our new school year I toss out what isn't keepsake material. This is just in case I'm asked by someone for proof of my children's school work. Which is probably not likely to happen, but just in case I want to cover my bases.

[Tigger]

 

Is there a specific reason why you save the pages? Do they need to be submitted to the school department or anything?

 

In MO I don't report what we do, just keep records and track of hours - I keep all of DS's work to show what he's done and his progress; he likes seeing his main binder grow thicker and thicker as the year progresses.

[NotAVampireLvr]

Is there a specific reason why you save the pages? Do they need to be submitted to the school department or anything?

 

Massachusetts is highly regulated so I'm saving all the workbooks for now. I'm sure I'll recycle them eventually, but will probably save for a year or so. I just want to cover my bases.... we have to submit a progress report, standardized testing or a portfolio at the end of each year. I'm not even sure how unschoolers get by in this state...

 

We've done the dry erase method with some kumon books and its worked really well. :)

[mystika1]

I like to have all of my sm materials spiral bound. I put the books in a ziplock bag and have my dd use a dry erase marker so that I can reuse it all with my youngest. For items that I purchase as a pdf I just print out a few months worth of work and put it in a binder. When my dd does a sheet I slip the page into the clear sleeve of the binder cover and have her use a dry erase marker on that. I used to use a file system but hated shifting things around when we needed to stop and review. This is working better.