How to Create a System for the Piles of School Papers and Free Printables!

Does anyone else feel like they are literally D R O W N I N G in school papers by the end of the school year? Trust me, I was there. I would empty the boys' folders every night and add the papers to the growing stack stuffed in the bottom of the coffee cabinet. Because if I can't see them, the problem isn't there. Eventually I knew I had to tackle this issue, but I just couldn't bring myself to throw any of their genius work away. I mean, what if in 20 years I want to look back and see them add 2 + 2 fifty different times??My boys are only in first grade and Pre-K so if I didn't tackle it now, what would it be like when they are Seniors? I envisioned an episode of hoarders.

I am happy to say that I created a system for organizing my kid's school papers that actually works! I am not an organized person by nature, so if it works for me, seriously anyone can do it! It just takes a little bit of prep time, but I promise it's worth it.

The first thing I did was purchase some 1" white binders and clear page protectors. My goal was to condense all of the papers from that year into that one binder and throw away (eek!) the rest.  As I sorted through the papers, I just kept 1 of each kind.  So if there were 50 math papers where he added single digit numbers, I just kept 1. If there was special artwork or something unique, I kept it. Everything else got trashed. Let me tell you, my husband had to pry it out of my hands and throw it in the trash can, but I haven't regretted it. 

Next, I created the title pages for each book and printed them out. Each year, I purchase one 5x7 school picture to go in the book and forego the whole picture package. It's way overpriced and we have professional family pictures done every year anyways.

 

I just love this picture that Levi drew on the back of one of his school papers. He loves drawing pictures of cowboys :)

Now I can easily see the highlights of each year and its something that we can look back at in 20 years and appreciate.

I'm including links to the cover sheets and binder labels I created, so you can download them for FREE!

Click HERE to download 1st-12th Grade Cover Sheets

Click HERE to download binder labels

I'm working on getting the rest of the printables listed in my Etsy shop, so be sure to check back soon for those!

I'd love to hear from you! Do you have any tips on organizing your kid's school papers?

Happy Organizing!

Family Love Story Chalkboard

This morning I'm sharing one of my favorite projects that I've done.  I love this because it captures the best days of my life--dating my hubby, marriage and the birth of my boys!

Gather up your Materials:

• 16x20 canvas (or size of your choice)
• chalk
• white colored pencil
• printer and paper
• black paint
• computer and your favorite fonts
• burlap
• nailheads

So here's what you do:

1. Paint your canvas black

     2. While your paint is drying, grab a cup of coffee and open up Adobe Illustrator or Microsoft Word (or whatever program you prefer) and set your paper size to the size of the canvas.  I made mine 16x20.  (I used Adobe Illustrator, but it can be done in Word.)

     3.    Pick 4 or 5 fonts that you want to use.  I used:

• Landliebe (free)
• Grutch Shaded (free)
• Lunch Box Slab
• Elsie (free)
• IFC Insane Rodeo (free)

      4.  Design your artwork.
(No our last name is not Bennett, but my mom and grandma freaked me out and told me I didn't need to put all that info out in blog world so I changed some dates and names to protect the innocent. Please don't stalk me, K?

     5.  Print out your design in sections on 8.5 x 11 paper and tape together to create 1 16x20 piece of paper. (Sorry, forgot to take a picture of this part!)

     6.  Cover the back of the paper with white chalk.  Make sure to cover every inch.

     7.  Turn the paper over and place on the canvas so the chalk side  is touching the canvas.

     8.  Take a sharp pencil and trace over each word.  This will transfer the chalk on the canvas.

       9.  Next, take a sharpened white colored pencil and trace over each letter. (Hand. Hurting. Must. Power. Through.)

      10.  Spray with fixative (or hairspray) (Almost done!)

      11.  Lastly, we will cover the sides with burlap and nailheads.  Cut strips of burlap to fit the sides of the canvas.  Attach it with 3-4 nailheads per side.

   If you don't feel like making one, I have digital versions available (custom made to order) in my Etsy shop here!