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how to organize kids' school stuff at home

Today I am sharing how I organize our kid’s school work (projects, drawing, tests) that they bring home. 

Do you feel like you have a ton of school stuff?

Your kids bring home papers, art projects, homework, tests, drawings… (this list will go on & on & on…)

Our kids were bringing home a TON of paperwork and they were doing a lot at home, too.    I don’t want to ignore it or make them feel like I don’t love it.  At the same time, I love to be organized (I was a teacher- maybe that’s part of it?)

Mickey and I have four kids (picture below) and I need to stay on top of things, so I’ve come up with a few solutions over the years.

Yes… kids bring home a lot of stuff!!  That’s why I need to take my own declutter course every year. 🙂 

It started years ago… 

When our son started preschool, the crafts & papers came pouring in! Fast forward two years. I now have kids in preschool and elementary school. Imagine the papers that come home!  My friend, Samantha, gave me a great idea and I was ready to get started.  I grabbed materials and got started!   I bought binders, plastic sleeves, sharpies and highlighters (to high-light dates on their projects). I printed out sheets out for every grade.  (You can print this sheet & add your child’s name & grade) 


TIP–>> Use a binder to keep their special work!  Give it to them on their graduation day! 

Each child picked one color (I bought their favorite colors) and I wrote their names with a Sharpie on the side (trust me, you don’t want this marker to run or it will look very messy- stick with using a Sharpie).   I  bought the widest binders that they had and I bought protective sheets to go in them.

Once I had the cover sheets printed & the school grades printed, I was ready to get started.

Next, just write their name on the side of the binder (I use a Sharpie for this, so I can be sure that it won’t rub off).

Here is how I organize our kid’s school papers and artwork:

DAY ONE:

The first day that they bring something home, they pick which thing is their favorite and it goes on the refrigerator (each child has a magnet) Normally, it stays there one day.  You could also display it somewhere in your house.  The idea below, from Artists Helping Children, is so creative.

kids-art-015
 DAY TWO: 

On day two, we will take Day 1’s paper and replace it with Day 2’s paper. We are only keeping one paper displayed at a time. 

DAY THREE: 

For Day three, we are going to go ahead and replace Day two′s paper with Day three′s paper… and so on.

What happens to school work that we want to keep?

If the school work is something that I do not want to part with (report cards, stories, letters about us or our family, hand-print/footprint poems), I put it in my binder.  I have their earliest things at the beginning and their older things in the end.   I organize kid’s school papers by slipping them into the binder that I want to keep (Notes, report cards, ornaments, CD’s or Flash Drives with pictures on them).

I would include any first drawings or first painting on the front page and I plan to use the last page for their graduation ceremony program.


What else goes into the binders?

  • Only Important things.
  • Report Cards
  • First Story of the year.
  • Paintings.
  • Family picture drawing.
  • Questions about family for Mothers/Fathers Day.
  • Student of the Month certificates.
  •  Special notes from a teacher.
  • Preschool Diplomas
  • End of year notes.

folder 5


Only you can decide what is important enough to keep, but below are some ideas for those “extra” papers.

Rule of Thumb
You will be giving this to your child one day, so make it count!

What about the papers you don’t keep? 

You have a few options:   

1). MAIL:

A lot of our family lives in Pennsylvania (we are in NC), so I send some of it to them in a card or on a birthday. (The kids pick what they want to send)

 

2). RECYCLE

Secretly, put it into our recycling bin. After we have looked at it & talked about it, I take our pile into the kitchen & put it in the recycling bin – under other stuff so that they don’t see me doing this.

 

3). APP

There are so many apps that help you keep their work. You can add other people to it (grandparents) to allow them to view it, too. It is easy to do! You just take a picture of the artwork & store it.

 

4. PHOTO BOOK

You can take pictures of your child’s work & upload them into a book (similar to the photo books that you make of people). I know that most companies will do this. This will keep all of those extra papers in one little thin book for you! This will cost money, but it may be well worth it to you. You could do one every year (just save the photos in a file & keep adding to them).

8-Kids_Art_Book

Ex: Kindergarten Work.

I hope this helped you to find a way to save your child’s school work!

If you want more organizing tips, check out my post on Organizing their Art Supplies. 

Hi there!

I’m Becky, a former elementary school teacher turned certified child development therapist and blogger. I work at home with my husband and together we are raising (and partially homeschooling) our four children in the Carolinas. I love diet coke, ice cream, and spending time with my family.

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19 Comments

      1. Hi Becky, ty for sharing. I already have abunfer for Juliana’s education folder. Juliana is 2, and I’m very proud of her. She is taking 4 languages, science lab, broadway play, and swimming lessons. I use all the stuff I want to save to put in that folder and her art work I sent to send family. I’m a teacher as well.

        Question that I had for you, do you know of any art supplies that are inexpensive,? I want to teach her how to write her name and do interesting stuff like dot art, paint window paint, stamp pad, magnetic letters, & foam .. but if I were to buy them from amazon, that would be spending a pretty penny!!

        Thank you in advance,
        Kathy

  1. I do the binder idea too, but it doesn’t help me with the large 12×18 pieces of art works that come home. Any ideas?

    1. I usually display those & then they go into the recycle bin or get hung in the kid’s rooms after they are done being displayed. (those are good ones to take a picture of & add the picture to your book)

      1. You could also take a picture of your son/daughter holding the project and then put that picture in the binder!! 🙂

    2. When my kids do large art, I fold it so I can 3 hole punch one side and have the rest folded in so they can unfold it in the binder. It isn’t in a protective sleeve, but it lets me keep their favorite big art.

  2. Love this idea! I have my kids work in a small accordion folder. Each has their own but I love this idea for the fact you can look through everything so much easier and actually see everything. For sure want to do this … Now what to do with 4 accordion folders? Thank you for sharing!

  3. Do you put each grade’s work into one clear sleeve? Or do you just fill the clear sleeves until you can’t fit anymore? Or does each piece go into its own separate sleeve? Thanks!

    1. I put each piece into it’s own sleeve. (so they can flip through & see their work without pulling it out)

  4. Thank you so much for your tips! I got some great ideas and I’ve literally just ordered 3 big binders off Amazon to get started. Thanks!

  5. Hi there!
    Stumbled upon this on Pinterest. I use a similar technique with the art on the wall but I like yours with the clip boards! How did you attach them to the wall? Thanks

  6. Hey thank you so much !
    You made my day
    I usually display those & then they go into the recycle bin or get hung in the kid’s rooms after they are done being displayed. (those are good ones to take a picture of & add the picture to your book).

  7. Love this idea! I have my kids work in a small accordion folder. Each has their own but I love this idea for the fact you can look through everything so much easier and actually see everything. For sure want to do this … Now what to do with 4 accordion folders? Thank you for sharing!