If you're like me, back to school correlates to piles and piles of paperwork. I was tired of finding piles of papers all over the house, so I established a system that not only helps me stay organized all year long, but also created a keepsake to cherish for years to come.
WHAT DO I DO AS SOON AS PAPERWORK COMES HOME?
I personally needed to get out of the habit of tossing all of my kids' papers to the side and hoping to get to them later. Before I knew it, there was a field trip fee I missed or I didn't notice a good or bad grade my child got on a worksheet because they were all sitting in a big pile on my kitchen counter. I needed to be intentional and dedicate a specific time to look at all of the paperwork that same day. And I needed to create a designated spot to file all of their school papers. For me, the very best time to look at all the papers, was as soon as my kids got home. For my family, we don't have extracurriculars right after school and our nights are focused on family time, so I schedule to look at all of their papers while my kids do their homework. As soon as they get home from school, my kids (11 and 6) know to empty out their backpacks and hand me all the papers they received. We all sit down at the table or around our kitchen island and while they do homework, I look through every single piece of paper. I read over all the flyers/newsletters from the school, I write down any important dates/events in my planner, and I pay any fees. I also use that time to congratulate them on good grades and discuss with them areas that need improvement and use it as a teaching moment. After I look over a piece of paper, I sort it into either a "keep" or a "recycle" pile. Everything I keep, I put in their individual bin in my file organizer on our 'family command center' wall. Anything that I need to address later in the week or don't want to forget, I clip them onto the front of their bin so that they stand out. I keep them there for 1 week just in case I need to reference back to them quickly. After 1 week, I move them into storage in their individual 'school memory folders', but I'll get to that further down the post.
WHAT PAPERS DO I KEEP?
After I look over a paper, I sort it into my "keep" pile or my "recycle" pile. I keep papers that portray their skills at that time or artwork I would love to share with them in the future. I also like to keep receipts, kind words/behavior charts, personal notes from their teacher, awards, report cards, test results, etc.
KEEP:
Personal notes from teachers
Awards/Certificates
Report cards
Test results/IEP's
Progress reports
Receipts
A couple samples of math, writing, & coloring that display your child's skill level at that age
Sentimental or funny drawings/artwork
A few samples of papers/reports/projects they received a high grade on
Teacher and classroom assignments
I know everything your child does is precious, but try to only keep a few hardcopies of your absolute favorites in your child's "school memory folder". If you really need to keep a record of all of their work, you can always take pictures of it before you toss it and print them a memory book of everything. Aside from those few things, get rid of everything else.
HOW DO I MAKE A "SCHOOL MEMORY FOLDER"?
So, after keeping them in our command center for 1 week, I move them into their individual 'School Memory Folders' that I store in my office. I guess you could always skip the step of filing it away twice by putting everything straight into their memory folder, but I like to keep it downstairs in our command center for one week just in case I need to look back at it for information. After the week is over, I empty out their command center bins and file them into their respective 'school memory folders'.
To make their folder a keepsake for me, I display their school photo and a printout of their answers to questions that I ask them every year on the cover. Our list of questions are further down the post.
To do this yourself, you'll need a manila folder, photo corner stickers, a hanging folder, their school picture (A 5x7 photo fits perfectly on a standard hanging folder), and a printout of their answers.
I use the manila folder to separately organize any formal papers form the school, like receipts, awards, letters, report cards, and progress reports so that I can easily find them within the hanging folder. Aside from that, all other papers and their artwork goes into the actual hanging folder.
For now, I use a cheap plastic hanging folder box to store everything. I have all of my daughter's folders from preschool through 5th grade and my son's folders from preschool through 1st grade. Currently they are combined and fit in one box. I eventually want to invest in individual fire-proof boxes for each child, but for now, budget-wise, this works perfectly fine.
WHAT QUESTIONS DO I ASK THEM EVERY YEAR?
I ask each child the same exact 20 questions each year. It's fun to see how much their answers change. Here are the questions I ask my children at the beginning of the school year:
1. What is your favorite color?
2. What is your favorite toy?
3. What is your favorite fruit?
4. What is your favorite TV show?
5. What is your favorite thing for lunch?
6. What is your favorite outfit?
7. What is your favorite game?
8. What is your favorite snack?
9. What is your favorite animal?
10. What is your favorite song?
11. What is your favorite book?
12. Who is your best friend?
13. What is your favorite cereal?
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?
15. What is your favorite drink?
16. What is your favorite holiday?
17. What is your favorite movie?
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?
20. What do you want to be when you grow up?
These were my son & daughter's answers for preschool & first grade. If you start this filing system before they start school, you'll have a great record of all their memories from preschool & beyond.
You can download a .WORD document file of the questions here:
All questions are pretty self explanatory, but for #19, I always make their birthday dinner every year. So, I included a question of what they would like me to make for their birthday dinner. They can't choose to go out to eat for their birthday dinner because we usually treat them to eat for lunch or breakfast. Dinner tends to be a lot more expensive, so we opt to eat it at home for our family of 6. When they answer, I don't just let them pick cookies or ice cream for their birthday dinner. I make them pick a main dish, vegetable, and side they would like me to make. Most children have favorite meals their parents make, so I just ask them to think of something mommy already makes that they really love and they pick something. It has changed every year as I add more recipes to my repertoire and as their taste buds grow.
I wrote out the questions on Microsoft Word, added a border and some color, titled it with their grade and the school year, and printed it to 5x7 size to match my child's school photo size. I used photo corner stickers to secure the questionnaire and their photo in place.
And that's it! This is the system I use from beginning to end to stay on top of all the school paperwork. The biggest takeaways are to look over the paperwork as soon as it comes home, be selective of what you keep, and have a filing system that you can easily reference back to. Also, don't just file everything away in a plain folder, use this as an opportunity to create a forever keepsake that you can cherish for years to come.
- Mabby
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