Organize Your Kid’s School Papers like a Boss

Do you have an unbelievably hard time throwing out your children’s work from school?

Remember when it was a miracle when they could first write their name and now they’re producing work like crazy?

You have papers stacked on the kitchen counter.

Papers flowing out of the office.

Artwork made of macaroni thumbtacked on the walls.

How do you organize all your kid’s school papers?

I used to have the exact same problem…

In fact, this used to be what my kitchen counter looked like:

Honestly, I was in worksheet hell.

Everything that came home in my daughter’s green folder went on that kitchen counter.

But I found a way to go from total chaos to this:

A school keep box accomplishes so many things. It:

• Organizes school papers in neat little folders.
• Beautifully displays your child’s school pictures
• Keeps track of their likes and dislikes as they grow
• Records their handwriting and how it changes

Now, the massive amount of paperwork becomes a really cute keepsake that he or she can add to every year.

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Let’s get started on your own school memory box…

First things first…

Let me start this by saying: It’s OK to throw away your kid’s work.

You are not a bad parent. You are a sane one

When we have a lot of a particular item, we tend to devalue it. Same goes with your child’s schoolwork. If every piece of work they produce is important, then nothing is important.

First thing to do is figure out what to keep and what to toss in the recycling bin.

My general rule of thumb is to keep:

• Cute stories
• Tests that they are proud of
• Benchmark scores – such as state testing and DIBELS
• Drawings they are proud of – especially drawings they make for me
• Certificates and other awards
• Class pictures

I automatically toss:

• All worksheets

Yes, worksheets are garbage. They may work in the classroom, but frankly I think they are a waste of paper.

How to make your Keep Box

First, I’ve made these templates for you to use.

It will make assembling your box easy and pretty.

You can purchase them for $9 HERE. 

They will be sent straight to your email inbox where you can then print them out at home (or take them to a FedEx or UPS store to print).

You’ll also need:

• A file storage box
• 14 hanging file folders, legal size (1/3 Tab)
• Glue
• Scissors

Step 1:

Print out the KEEP Box templates. Glue each grade info sheet to the front of a file folder and place it in order in the box – Preschool to 12th grade.

Step 2:

File all items you would like the KEEP in the appropriate grade level folder. Depending how many years you have saved, this might me a big job. For me, I had everything from the past school years stored in a box – the stuff that wasn’t on my kitchen counter.

Step 3:

At the end of the school year, take the folder out of the box and have your child complete the questions on the front. Not only do you get to keep track of your child’s interests each year, but you’ll also have a record of his or her handwriting

When new papers come in…

I’m going to be honest: our kitchen counter get cluttered.

Mainly because life gets busy and we forget to walk the papers upstairs.

However now, when I clean that counter off, I have a specific place to put my kids school work where I know it will be saved and preserved…

And I never have to worry about it again.