Help me get organized!

[Baseballmom]

The paper monster has overtaken my homeschool. I have saved 8 years worth of school work for two children, I am talking every single worksheet. I am going through it and throwing most of it away. But, I need some oragnizing tips to get me started. I just feel like we could get so much more accomplished if we were more organized, so what are your best tips to help me overcome this disorganization?

[DollyM]

First, are you doing WTM notebooks and such? I had to abandon these because they took up too much space (very modest home and schooling area) and actually made me disorganized.

Second, you really do NOT need to save all that stuff. Do you make an annual portfolio of your student's work? It will help you capture "important memories" and assuage your guilt when you throw the "rest of it" into the dumpster.

Each year get each kid a very large 3-ring binder - they are pricey to purchase ones big enough ... but for me the price was worth it. Our binders (one per kid per year) hold all their "important stuff" that I want to show at our annual portfolio review and want to keep. I just restrict what we keep to what will fit into the binders. It's a good amount, so all the daily work sheets generally get tossed, but final written essays, nice drawings, especially well done lab sheets, etc. get captured. In Maryland we have to "show progress over time" so we keep a sample of work from Sept, Dec and May for each subject, but you may not even need this.

During the school year you need an inbox for the kids to deposit their daily completed work. Then, as you grade it you can file into the binder (tossing as you go, or like me, keeping it all "for now" and tossing when I make up the final binder.) Also, put a date stamp and ink pad near the inbox and have them stamp their work EVERY DAY with the current days' date. Then when the inbox falls on the floor you can recover. (Don't ask, trust me.)

I have other ideas but I'm overtime here today. Hope others come along to add helpful ideas. Mostly you just need to develop a system that works in your home.

[Jennifer in MI]

Each year, I make up a binder for each child. These are the really small binders - 1/2" maybe? I keep some of their best papers, a couple math tests, grammar tests, reading lists, etc. Just samples of their best work. It is not something I am required to do by law or anything, but I want my kids to have this record.

HTH!!

[Tea Party Girl]

Eight years!? Every worksheet?! Yikes! Forgive my intensity, but maybe it will help to know of someone on the other extreme.

Every summer I purge and I do not keep anything that isn't something they created, like art or writing. And even then, I'm ruthless. It is absolutely not worth the mess.

I am admittedly on the other extreme. I keep one large art portfolio of their best work (we're talking no more than a half dozen from the year) and one video storage box size per child for memorabilia. I plan to put their portfolios together when they leave home and I miss them terribly. They won't appreciate them until after they're 25 anyway...