How to Organize Homeschooling Assignments

Find a Method that Works for You!

Homeschooling produces a great deal of paperwork, mainly completed assignments. It is important to have a manageable way to store and organize this information.

Things You'll Need

• Either sturdy plastic bins or a filing cabinet Plastic accordion file folders

Instructions

1. Select the method of organization that is most convenient and comfortable for you and your family. Organizing by subject is usually the most often used method. For example, you may want to use a spiral notebook or a folder for each of the subjects. If you cover seven subjects, you would have seven folders or seven spirals. You will need two storage units: one for current work, and one for permanent, completed work.

2. Decide how much information you will keep in the spiral or folder before filing it in permanent storage. If you use unit studies, it would be reasonable to keep all of the information in that unit in your current storage. When the unit is complete, make sure everything is dated and labeled. Then, file this in permanent storage. Using the large plastic bins with labeled dividers is a good permanent storage solution.

3. Take photos of large works, such as posters, mobiles and models. Photos can be mounted in the spirals and folders for each subject, and this allows children to keep their work without keeping large projects in the house.

4. Consider using an accordion folder to organize upcoming field trips, sports activities, contests and ideas. You can do this by month, which seems to work well, or you can organize these by subject. However, if you do organize by subject, you will probably need to have some dating system in place to avoid missing dates.

5. Give it time, then review the effectiveness of the orgainzing method you've chosen. If you've stuck with it for three or four months and realize that your chosen method does not work, then explore other options. The most important thing is to find a method that works for you and your family and stick with it.