How Do You Decide What to Keep?

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No matter how long we've been homeschooling, we are curious about how other homeschoolers do things. And homeschoolers who are newer to the game obviously have lots of questions! This series will try to answers some of the questions homeschoolers ask each other. Questions about how we handle some of the little details and about our opinions on different aspects of homeschooling. Questions that we all might answer differently because what works great in one family might not work at all in another. 

How do you decide what you need to keep for completed schoolwork? And where do you keep it?

Honestly, what you need to keep is surprisingly little. Really.

Now I don't think I'm particularly sentimental, but I keep way too much stuff. And especially too much school stuff. But let me tell you how often we've had to look back at anything any of my kids did in past school years. ZERO times. Wanted to, for the sake of the memory? Sure. But actually needed to refer to something or prove something was covered? Hasn't happened.

But I certainly haven't pitched the entirety of my kids' work in the trash, and I don't expect you to do that either. Let's just establish that what we need to keep is very different from what we'd like to keep.

After you've wrapped up a school year, you may need to show a portfolio of student work to an oversight of some kind, but once that is done, you likely don't need to keep the schoolwork. My practice was to pitch almost all worksheets and workbooks right away, and keep things like writing assignments, projects (lapbooks and timelines and that type of thing), and artwork. I got a manila folder for each student and the written work that could be kept in that folder with an elastic around it was what I kept for a couple of years. Two of my students did a lot of artwork, and we handled that a little differently. They each had a large artist's portfolio case and could keep their own artwork.

A friend of mine got clean cardboard pizza boxes from a local shop each year, and each of her students could keep written work and artwork that would fit in the pizza box. The boxes stacked neatly in their garage or basement, and could easily be labeled on the front with the child's name, grade, and the year. Good system!

Using a system something like these ideas will help you limit the amount of stuff you keep and have it organized. Eventually, you will probably do what I've done a few times - go through what you've kept and cull the pile even more. Enjoy some laughs and memories and then say goodbye to some of those pieces of paper. It really is fun to have a couple of samples of writing or drawing from the early elementary years, because someday your grandchildren will probably get a real kick out of the hippo their daddy drew when he was five years old. But only keep the highlights. Also, make use of the memory keeper that is your camera and the cloud. Take pictures of projects that don't store well (think those science fair trifolds) and artwork, or even of samples of writing. Digital photo albums are the perfect way to keep those to look at if you'd ever want to without taking up space in your home.

What is worth keeping, for at least a year or two?

Artwork is worth keeping, in my opinion. Choose only the best or your child's favorite pieces. I let my kids pick what they kept because it was something very personal to them. A student that is looking to major in the arts or is pursuing a career in the arts will want and need some type of portfolio of their work. 

High school writing may be worth keeping, for at least a little while. Keep it digitally though, because it won't take up space, and will be more easily searchable. Creative writing is very personal, and should be kept by the author.

Research papers and projects completed during high school that relate to a student's college major may be worth keeping. Again, digitally if possible.

Tests and exams, major writing assignments, and other samples or proof of what was covered in high school credit courses may be worth saving until the student has been accepted into college. Some students may want to study and review coursework before writing placement exams, and reviewing their own notes and work may be helpful.

Bottom line: the record of what a student did is ultimately more important than the workbooks or paper tests themselves. Keep as little as you feel comfortable with, and if there's a piece of schoolwork that brings you or your student great joy or pride and it's a delightful memory, keep that too. Perhaps we could learn from Elizabeth Bennet's approach to memories when deciding what schoolwork to keep.

You must learn some of my philosophy. Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.

Keep it if you have room for it and it's a fun or happy memory. Don't keep it out of obligation or a worry that you might need it. Marie Kondo's philosophy would apply here as well, and I think in this case I would agree with her. 

How do you decide what to keep and how do you store it? Leave a comment and let me know what works for you - or leave a homeschool question you're curious about.

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