It's Always Autumn

creative tutorials for everyday life

  • Holidays
  • Holidays
    • back to school
    • birthdays
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Halloween
    • July 4th
    • Mother’s Day/Father’s Day
    • teacher appreciation
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s
  • Crafts
  • Crafts
    • crafts + DIY
    • handmade gifts
    • photo crafts
    • kid crafts + activities
  • Recipes
  • Recipes
    • bread
    • dessert
    • main dish
    • side dish
  • Sewing
  • Sewing
    • free sewing patterns
    • sewing for women
    • sewing for kids
    • how to sew
    • gifts
  • Photography
  • Photography
    • beginning photography tips
    • posing tips
    • photo editing tips
  • Tips
  • Tips
    • parenting tips
    • travel tips
    • books I love
  • FAQ

crafts crafts + DIY fun for kids holiday printables
April 6, 2018

The easiest way to organize school papers {school memory binder printables}

In today’s post: Learn how to organize school papers with a simple school memory binder. Keep all of your child’s favorite artwork, homework, report cards, etc. in one tidy place!

Anyone else drowning in school papers? My kids bring home loads of drawings, writing samples, math tests, etc., every week, and they don’t want to throw away ANY OF IT. Not even one piece. It’s gotten so bad that I’ve tried to throw it away when they’re not looking, but then I forget to take out the trash and one of my children saw her beautiful artwork in the garbage and then there are tears and I felt like the worst mom ever… And just in case you think I am the worst mom ever for throwing away any of my kids’ precious artwork, take a minute to imagine what my house would look like if I kept every single piece of school paperwork that each of my FIVE children produced every year.

Organize school papers all in one tidy place! Click through for printable year in review divider pages and compile a school memory binder with favorite pictures, artwork, and schoolwork.

Obviously, I don’t need piles of school papers accumulating in every room in my home. Frankly, I don’t even want a whole box for each child, because no one is ever going to look through an entire box-worth of school papers. I promise. What I want is a nice tidy binder (or two) for each child that holds their very favorite work from each year of school. Something that’s organized and pared down enough to truly be a keepsake that will be fun to look through in years to come.

So that’s what I’ve made! Today I’m going to show you how to organize those piles of school papers into one tidy school memory binder.

How to organize school papers

Step 1: As school papers come home, save special drawings, writing assignments, reports cards, or anything else your child is attached to. Use a filing cabinet or a shelf in a closet to keep anything that feels special. Don’t worry too much about organizing things now, just collect anything your child isn’t willing to throw away.

Step 2: Create a school memory binder. Get a 2 or 3 inch three ring notebook for each child and place 25 page protectors inside it. Then download the free year in review divider pages for each grade by clicking here. The set includes preschool, kindergarten, and grades 1-12. Print it out at 100% on cardstock. Slide each divider page into a page protector. You can also download a cover page here.

Organize school papers all in one tidy place! Click through for printable year in review divider pages and compile a school memory binder with favorite pictures, artwork, and schoolwork.

Organize school papers all in one tidy place! Click through for printable year in review divider pages and compile a school memory binder with favorite pictures, artwork, and schoolwork.

Step 3: At the end of each school year, have your child fill out the year in review printable for the grade she has just finished. She can write her name, record the year, and fill out some information that will be fun to remember later: names of teachers and friends, favorite books, favorite field trips, and favorite activity from that year. Adhere a 5×7 photo to the divider page as well.

Organize school papers all in one tidy place! Click through for printable year in review divider pages and compile a school memory binder with favorite pictures, artwork, and schoolwork.

Then pull out all the papers you’ve saved from that year and ask your child to choose 10-15 that are her absolute favorites. The favorites go into the binder, and the rest can get recycled. It’s much easier to convince kids that it’s ok to throw away some of the paperwork when they see you are saving their favorites in a binder they can look at any time they want!

As the years go on, you’ll continue to add to the binder. If there are lots of special papers you’d like to keep, you may end up using two or three binders for each child. This is the easiest way I’ve found to organize school paperwork.

Organize school papers all in one tidy place! Click through for printable year in review divider pages and compile a school memory binder with favorite pictures, artwork, and schoolwork.

What if your child is already in fourth grade and you’re just starting this project now? Well, no problem! Pull out all the paperwork you’ve saved so far and start dividing things up into grades. Help your child pare down the papers to 10-15 from each grade, and have him fill out the year in review pages for each grade as well as he can remember. Get the binder current up to now, and then it will be ready to keep going in years to come.

Even if you don’t want to create a binder to organize school papers, it’s still fun to print out the year in review printables as a way to document the last day of school each year!

Organize school papers all in one tidy place! Click through for printable year in review divider pages and compile a school memory binder with favorite pictures, artwork, and schoolwork.

Looking for more ideas for kids? Visit these posts:

101 Summer fun ideas you can do at home

50 easy INDOOR kids crafts and activities

How to make a marshmallow launcher

How to fold a mini book from one sheet of paper

Easy fired alcohol ink art for kids

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Print

Home » crafts » crafts + DIY » The easiest way to organize school papers {school memory binder printables}


65 Comments

free email series

NO FAIL CRAFTS + RECIPES

Get my favorite EASY craft and recipe ideas straight to your inbox!

« the slouchy batwing top pattern {easy + flattering!}
20 cheap, easy, + cute teacher appreciation gifts »

Comments

  1. Kristie says

    April 18, 2014 at 6:38 am

    You are awesome! Thanks for sharing this great idea, and for providing the awesome printables. Definitely will be doing this with my kids!

    Reply
  2. kathy says

    April 18, 2014 at 9:40 am

    Such a good Idea Autumn!!!!!

    Reply
  3. Sorahart says

    April 18, 2014 at 10:18 am

    Our oldest is in preK and I’ve been trying to decide what to do with everything that comes home from school. Thanks for the inspiration and printables!

    Reply
  4. Lara says

    April 18, 2014 at 11:48 am

    Thank you for these. I’ve been using the Artkive app to take a picture of my kids with their artwork, keeping only the best ones, and throwing the other’s away. I also have 8-1/2 x 11 frames from Ikea (1.99 ea) in various colors to put some artwork in and hang on the wall. I don’t have as much hanging around.

    Reply
    • autumn says

      April 20, 2014 at 2:15 pm

      That app sounds like a fantastic idea – thanks for the tip!

      Reply
  5. Sarah says

    April 19, 2014 at 12:44 pm

    My son was just enrolled in Pre-K today to begin in August. I’m going to LOVE having these. I already document everything about his life. Both of my parents passed away before I finished my 20s, the only things we truly leave behind are memories in photo form. There isn’t a whole lot I possess and there are memories I won’t ever know about because I don’t have either of them to explain photos I’ve found of my brother and I. I want to make sure James always knows what went on in his past 🙂

    Reply
    • autumn says

      April 20, 2014 at 2:12 pm

      Hi Sarah! I’m so sorry you lost both your parents early, but what a wonderful thing you are doing for your son as a result! My parents always tell me “if you didn’t write it down, it didn’t happen,” which turns out to be so true once the people holding the memories pass on. Thanks for commenting – I really appreciate it.

      Reply
      • Sarah says

        April 24, 2014 at 6:01 pm

        Do you happen to have ideas for cover pages? I got started on James’s tonight because we just had a parent/teacher conference with his daycare (no page for that but I’m using the pre-K one since he gets tested every few months on how he’s progressing with writing, math, and memory like pre-K so it works!).

        Reply
  6. Kate says

    May 15, 2014 at 5:50 am

    I love this idea & final outcome. Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply
  7. Valerie Lee says

    May 28, 2014 at 6:29 pm

    I have a 3 ring binder where I keep all the kids pictures and awards through the years – so I LOVE this cute page that can be a great cover page to start each year!!! THANKS – great work!

    Reply
  8. Gina says

    June 24, 2014 at 4:24 pm

    THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! This is exactly what I have been looking for! I plan to get organized this summer.

    Reply
  9. Jackie says

    June 28, 2014 at 1:57 pm

    I absolutely love this idea and can’t wait to get started. Do you have a Pre Kinder one somewhere or would you suggest using the Pres school twice? She attended both and I have a binder from both I would LOVE to condense. Thanks again for the great idea and any suggestion.

    Reply
  10. NaTalie says

    July 7, 2014 at 1:59 pm

    Silly question but do you fill this out at the end of each school year or at the beginning? Thanks!

    Reply
    • autumn says

      July 8, 2014 at 12:21 pm

      We filled them out at the end of the year, so they can record their favorite things from the year.

      Reply
  11. sara says

    July 7, 2014 at 5:00 pm

    I just found your post on pinterest and I am printing them now 🙂 I had photographed all of the papers and made soft cover books from shutterfly and kept just the best but now i can put the best ones as well as the book and these pages all in a binder and that will be perfect! Thanks so much for this wonderful free printable!

    Reply
  12. Tiffany says

    July 16, 2014 at 6:38 am

    Any chance to get some girlie colors? I have twins, so I like to do a version for each. Pinks and purples are her favorite colors.

    Reply
  13. Carissa says

    October 10, 2014 at 2:35 pm

    Love this idea!! I am having trouble opening it…any ideas?

    Reply
  14. Seymour says

    November 15, 2014 at 8:22 pm

    Google Website Optimiser can answer those questions as this will be difficult to focus on how to make money online
    creating a remarkable candidate. Take help of some proven marketer mkes thee writing, content is done through keyword
    optimization.

    Reply
  15. Leilani says

    March 27, 2015 at 3:13 pm

    Thank you so much for these! I appreciate it and look forward to using them.

    Reply
  16. bernadette says

    May 21, 2015 at 10:56 am

    I was happy for the updated 7th-12th grade, thank you Autumn!!!! I love it!

    Reply
  17. Lisa says

    June 14, 2015 at 12:18 pm

    Hi – For some reason I can’t get the link to work for the Gr. 7-12. Can someone help?!
    This is the BEST idea to organize ALL that schoolwork that comes home this time of year!!!
    Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  18. deidra says

    September 6, 2015 at 10:30 pm

    Did anyone ever find out why these links will not open? I want to use them for a project and get started on it now, but I cannot open the downloads.

    Reply
  19. CHristy says

    September 20, 2015 at 2:22 pm

    Thanks so much for these! They are lovely! I love the colours.
    I was just hoping to change the line from “favourite field trip” to “School”. How would I go about doing that?

    Reply
  20. Molly Bolinger says

    November 11, 2015 at 5:20 pm

    First I have to say I love your printables for the school memory binder! Its exactly what I have been looking for! But I was wondering – Do you have a PreSchool page in the original version (older dates)? I would to add all of my children’s preschool years too – but my first born went to preschool in 2005. Thanks for your help!

    Molly

    Reply
  21. JoEllyn Paolicchi says

    February 3, 2016 at 1:07 pm

    Just curious…what fonts did you use to create these cover sheets! I just love them and would like to download or purchase them. Thank you!!

    Reply
  22. Joy says

    April 10, 2016 at 8:38 pm

    Autumn – as always, you always come through! I have looked, and looked, and looked for many different versions of these, but I just love your style! And thank you for extending them through to 2030 – that will cover DS who starts school in Fall of 2017. Thank you so much – you have no idea!

    Reply
  23. Elizabeth says

    June 25, 2016 at 10:48 pm

    Link does not open

    Reply
  24. Katie says

    August 18, 2016 at 7:30 am

    When I first downloaded these attachments to my computer, it completely shut down and is now completely inactive… I have to take it somewhere to get it fixed. I thought something was wrong with my computer, so I had my husband download them at his work and the same thing happened. Had to get IT to come get his computer bc it completly shut all functioning capabilities down (won’t even restart). I am writing this from my phone hopeful that no one else’s devices are ruined!

    Reply
  25. Jenn says

    December 29, 2016 at 11:07 am

    Hi, I love your school memory printables. They are my favorite of all I’ve seen! I know you have already extended the dates once but I have 2 little ones that haven’t started school yet. The dates (up to 2030) won’t quite make it. Are you considering doing another revision in the near future? Or is there a way I can alter it myself? Thank you so much for sharing your great ideas

    Reply
    • Megan says

      January 12, 2017 at 7:30 pm

      Me too! Looking for dates beyond 2030, thanks for considering or sharing an editable file:)

      Reply
  26. Erin says

    January 28, 2017 at 6:58 pm

    I have had these pinned for so long and never realized the dates on them.. I just had a daughter, I was just curious if you ever thought of updating again lol

    Reply
  27. Karyn says

    May 13, 2017 at 5:34 am

    Hi I could not get the download to open up properly. Could you please email them to me?

    Reply
    • CD says

      January 20, 2018 at 1:11 pm

      Did you receive a response? I cannot get the PK-6 files to open, either.

      Reply
  28. Sarah says

    May 15, 2017 at 8:22 pm

    I love these! Thanks so much! I also have a lot of toddler artwork to save. Do you have a printout with a toddler layout similar to these?
    Thanks
    Sarah

    Reply
  29. Molly Campbell says

    July 31, 2017 at 9:22 am

    I absolutely love this idea!!!! How do I download the files? I clicked on, “click here download preschool through 6th grade” but it isn’t doing anything.

    Reply
  30. jamie Sand says

    August 9, 2017 at 10:13 pm

    Hi! I love these printables and am using them for my oldest son’s memory book. My middle son is starting preschool this year and I would love to use these again! Will you be updating the file to include the year 2031? Let me know! Thanks so much!!!!

    Reply
  31. Robin says

    January 15, 2018 at 7:01 pm

    I’m also curious if you’re planning on doing another update. My kiddo just started preschool and will graduate in 2033.

    Reply
  32. Molly Petsch says

    February 19, 2018 at 7:18 pm

    I LOVE these- thank you so much! I’ve already done my oldest son’s and just need more years for my second kiddo.
    Is there any way you’d be able/willing to update the years, going up to 2040 (how OLD does that make me feel?!)?? I have a little one on the way who will graduate in 2036.
    Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • autumn says

      February 20, 2018 at 9:30 pm

      Hi Molly! I am planning to update these pages within in the next month or two, so keep checking the blog. Thanks for commenting, and congrats on the little one on the way!!

      Reply
  33. Stephani says

    April 7, 2018 at 8:03 am

    I love this idea! I dated a guy briefly in high school and his mom had something similar to this displayed at his graduation party. I’ve wanted to do this for my future kids ever since! My oldest will start kindergarten next year. Thanks for the printables!

    Reply
  34. Edna M WALKER says

    April 7, 2018 at 4:01 pm

    You can also take a digital snapshot of the child’s work or projects and create a school portfolio. There are ways to store and display for later the work. In class I often took photos of papers that parents had to sign and return to the office. Some times the papers got lost in the office and I would have proof that the paper work was turned in. At the end of the year I would delete everything and start again with a new class the following year.

    Reply
  35. Orga says

    April 9, 2018 at 10:03 am

    This is great organization ideas! I really can’t wait to put your tips to the test!

    Reply
  36. Organization Junkie says

    April 9, 2018 at 10:06 am

    These are all great tips! I can’t wait to try these out!

    Reply
  37. Tiffany says

    April 13, 2018 at 1:43 pm

    I love this idea. I’m in th UK; would it be possible to get the printable to have Year 1, year 2 etc instead of 1st grade, 2nd grade? Or do you know of someone who did?

    Reply
  38. Cathy says

    June 6, 2018 at 4:42 pm

    Could you also do a page for Tot School too? (before preschool)

    Reply
  39. Cryl Geltmaker says

    July 2, 2018 at 11:34 am

    These are perfect! Thank you for sharing the downloads. I’m finally getting everything for my 15yr old son’s book together. LOL

    Reply
  40. Malissa says

    July 13, 2018 at 3:35 pm

    Hi! Do you have the older version of these available. I need to print more out and of course I would like them to all match! Not sure if I can look it up somewhere else. The new ones are really cute but I just need a few more of the other version if at all possible. Thanks so much!

    Reply
  41. Hillary Carlson says

    August 11, 2018 at 10:55 am

    Would you be willing to make a template that is for Pre-Kindergarten? Where we live, kids go to preschool for 3 going to 4 years of age, pre-kindergarten for 4 going on 5 and then start kindergarten in the fall of their 5th year.

    Reply
  42. essays online says

    August 20, 2018 at 3:33 am

    It’s really a great idea! Having made such a notebook, the child will always have good memories of school times. After all, when he grows up, he will be very pleased to recall the time when he was little. I really want to offer my youngest son to make such a notebook. Thank you for sharing such interesting and useful tips for children and their parents. Now I think that it would be very cool if I had such a notebook when I was a child. I hope that you continue to share this type of content.

    Reply
  43. Christina says

    August 30, 2018 at 9:01 pm

    These are by far the cutest school memory binder sheets out there! I just love the layout, font and colors!! Thank you so much for sharing them. I am wondering if you might consider personalizing and/or changing the bottom questions? Friends can be such a touchy area for kids as they get older especially girls and not all kids like reading or have a favorite book. Perhaps a “Favorite Subject” and “When I Grown Up I Want to Be” might be a nice alternative.

    Reply
  44. user experience agency says

    April 25, 2019 at 1:37 am

    Very interesting ideas for schoolchildren, thanks for sharing, now my daughter will have something to do on holidays 🙂

    Reply
  45. stephanie says

    October 21, 2019 at 8:25 am

    Hello, Thank you so much for the printables. I have printed your original downloads from a few years back. I have pre-k through 6th grade. Is there any chance you can send me 7th-12th? I would so appreciate it.

    Reply
  46. shell says

    August 10, 2020 at 5:26 am

    Hi there. It’s really interesting article, i’m glad to read it. Especially i like this part: “As school papers come home, save special drawings, writing assignments, reports cards, or anything else your child is attached to. Use a filing cabinet or a shelf in a closet to keep anything that feels special.” It would be great if you share this information at https://pro-papers.com/buy-coursework-online. I’ll be thanksful.

    Reply
  47. Diana Jenkins says

    October 20, 2020 at 5:07 pm

    Hello, I printed the older version you created when my son started school. I need to print them out for my daughter too. Do you have the older version available still? If you do and are willing to send that to me I would appreciate it, they are adorable! Thank you!!

    Reply
  48. Eve Hunt says

    November 17, 2020 at 3:47 am

    It’s going to be end of mine day, except before end I am reading this wonderful article to increase my knowledge

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Organize Back to School Papers and Memories with a File Box | Amy Pessolano says:
    August 24, 2014 at 3:02 am

    […] Download these printables from It’s Always Autumn (or any others that catch your eye) and put one in each folder for the appropriate grade. […]

    Reply
  2. Back to School Traditions for Preschool and Kindergarten | A Life in Balance says:
    August 25, 2014 at 4:00 am

    […] also found some printables that I like. They were originally for a binder- but I like them to insert into the […]

    Reply
  3. 20 Creative Ways to Preserve your Kids’ Memories | How Does She says:
    October 10, 2014 at 5:11 pm

    […] 10.  Download these printables to help you get organized!  Love these! Here. […]

    Reply
  4. 20 Creative Ways to Preserve your Kids’ Memories | KM Crafts says:
    October 10, 2014 at 5:16 pm

    […] 10.  Download these printables to help you get organized!  Love these! Here. […]

    Reply
  5. 10 Memorable 1st Day of School Keepsakes - Artsy Momma says:
    July 20, 2015 at 5:31 am

    […] School Memory Binder – Template for k-12 for their year in review. Start a book at the beginning of the school […]

    Reply
  6. 18 Free Back to School Printables | A Life in Balance by Barb Hoyer says:
    July 31, 2015 at 7:03 am

    […] How to Get Organized with a School Memory Binder from It’s Always Autumn […]

    Reply
  7. Top 10 Parenting Hacks You Won’t Be Able to Live Without – Iced Coffee in my Sippy Cup says:
    February 22, 2016 at 8:19 am

    […] Source: How to stay organized with a school memory binder […]

    Reply
  8. How to Organize Children's School Work {Summertime Organizing!} - The Happy Housie says:
    July 12, 2017 at 4:01 am

    […] Via It’s Always Autumn […]

    Reply
  9. Tips to keep the kids (and you!) sane for the school year. - says:
    September 16, 2019 at 3:38 am

    […] Here is one by Autumn of It’s Always Autumn. […]

    Reply
  10. Organize school papers the easy way with a school memory binder - Gift Guides says:
    January 6, 2020 at 5:59 am

    […] Source by gerigbryden […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Hey, glad you’re here!

I'm Autumn, a mom of five who loves ice cream, Masterpiece Theatre, and clothes that hide the fact that I eat so much ice cream. When I was 18 I got a job at a craft store and told everyone (regularly) how much I hated crafts. Well, things change! Read More…

Find me here

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

free email series

NO FAIL CRAFTS + RECIPES

Get my favorite craft + recipe ideas straight to your inbox!

Popular Posts

101 Fun + Easy Activities kids can do AT HOME

50 easy crafts and activities kids can do indoors! Perfect for cold or rainy days.

50 best indoor activities for kids: easy crafts + games

Gorgeous art projects for kids! Easy art that turns out amazing.

20 easy art projects for kids that turn out AMAZING!

How to make GORGEOUS paper flowers

How to make mini donuts! {baked cake mix donuts recipe}

Blog policy

All posts and pictures are copyrighted by Autumn Baldwin and blog content may not be reposted elsewhere. However, linking back to my content is just fine. You may use one photo as long as you link directly back to the specific post. Thank you!

Please view our Privacy Policy here.

Also, please note that this blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Copyright © 2021 · Divine theme by Restored 316192.168.1.1 router login

Copyright © 2021 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

free email series

NO-FAIL CRAFTS + RECIPES

Get my favorite EASY craft + recipe ideas straight to your inbox!

x