When you homeschool, you have a whole new dimension of paper clutter in your home. And the more kids in your homeschool, the more paper to deal with. Here are some simple ideas for dealing with homeschool paper clutter.
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Tracking Progress in Your Homeschool
I can only tell you what has worked for our family. If these systems would work for you – then use them! If you have other requirements because your kids are a part of an umbrella school or other educational situation, then these ideas might not work for you.
Basically, in grades K-8, I don’t keep track of formal grades. In our eclectic style, we’re more interested in fostering a love of learning, keeping their natural curiosity engaged, and reading widely. We cover the subjects required by our state, but we’re not sticklers about worksheets, tests, or standardized tests.
But in the high school years, tracking progress becomes pretty important. Now we’re looking forward to graduation, an official transcript, applying to college or moving on out into the workforce.
Here’s where homeschool paper organization becomes essential.
Check out this post for all the details.
Workboxes
One method for curbing the paper clutter for your elementary aged kids is to use workboxes. The workbox system creates an efficient and orderly paper flow for the day. Once your kids have completed their paperwork, you will need an additional storage system.
Even if your state doesn’t require portfolios, it might be a good idea to keep a summary of each year’s work.
You can create portfolios by using 3-ring notebooks, crates, rubber totes, or store everything digitally!
If you want a peek into my first grader’s workboxes, it’s HERE.
Once my elementary aged kids complete written work, then know the system – stick it in the homeschool drawer. I will then gather all the papers a few times a year and decide what to keep for portfolios. We toss the rest.
Notebooks for Each Child
Finally, instead of having homeschool papers cluttering the counters, bookshelves, and tables, create a filing system for each of your kids, especially in grades 7-12.
Purchase 3-ring binders and have the most important papers filed behind the proper tabs. My high schoolers keep grade sheets for each subject in their notebooks and constantly keep them updated with test grades and other projects.
Their 3-ring notebook is also where they track hours related to electives that we create.
It’s easy to create a transcript when all of the paperwork for each kid is organized into a single notebook.
