This is a repeat, I admit it, but it’s that time of year again! School’s out (or nearly done) and you’re wondering what to do with the plethora of papers under your dining room table. Or, you know you have to make a portfolio, but you have no idea how to go about it. In the coming weeks, I’ll post more ind-depth directions and thoughts on portfolios, so keep reading!
What does a hard-working homeschooling mom do with all those 3-D projects, art papers, grammar workbooks, math tests? Throw them away? Horrors!! There is an alternative that can make both the “savers” and the “throwers” happy, believe it or not. The solution is to make a portfolio to showcase a selection of each student’s best work throughout the school year. Portfolios are required by law in some states, but they are a good idea for everyone for several reasons: preserving hard work, providing evidence for skeptical grandparents or other family members and friends, planning purposes for younger siblings, and recording grades and/or levels earned.
A meritorious portfolio does not include every single assignment from every single subject. It includes arepresentation, which has the best writing samples, the best test scores, the best artwork, the best notebooking pages, and the best worksheet pages. It also includes pictures of 3-D projects, field trips, and other activities that can’t be condensed to a single written document.
To grade or not to grade? That debate is a whole separate subject which is goes far beyond the scope of this entry. But, if you choose not to give actual grades or not to fill out a report card (or its equivalent), then a portfolio becomes even more important. A portfolio gives physical evidence that little Johnny really is a genius – just like you always thought!
The easiest way to make a portfolio to do all along, but it’s never too late to start. My preference is to take my children’s binders (again, a different topic, but I’ll get to that one eventually) about once a month, choose papers to go into the portfolio and trash the rest, unless they’re needed for a later test. Older students who have final exams may benefit from having some of the papers not needed on an every day basis sorted and put into another binder kept on a shelf for future reference.That’s the ideal. However, I fully realize that it’s June and most of you are just ending your school years. If you’ve got piles, cartons, or binders stuffed full of papers all over your dining room table, that’s OK! Take it one pile at a time. Sort by subject, then by date, then choose the best page or two out of every 10 or 20. Use dividers to separate each subject. Have each child decorate the front of his or her binder, add the year and grade, and you’ve got a portfolio!
I’m currently working on an e-book dedicated to portfolios, so if you have any bright ideas, drop me a line, I’d love to incorporate some of them!
Q4U: What do YOU do with all the artwork, papers, tests, and projects that accumulate throughout the school year?
Bethany LaShell 
This is my first year having to keep a portfolio, I would love all the tips you can give! lol I'm a thrower away-er and well, now I'm stuck wondering what to keep and what to toss, and how to keep it all orgainzed! Our state requires I submit a profile each year that state testing is not required.
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I have put together a daily blog intended to be used as an additional study tool for you and your child. History, math, science, vocabulary, and geography are given every day many with a link to the document to study. I also have researched sources that I hope may be helpful to you as an aide for your child. The site is actually very child friendly in terms of use. I ask you to visit it and see what it has to offer. The first post “The Furniture of the Human Mind” will explain the site and hopefully you will look around. Thank You http://www.dailyhistory365.blogspot.com
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I like your idea about reducing to 10% per subject! I scan in the best papers and create a pdf with them. Then the kids can annotate them or throw in drawings to explain the highlights. Of course, this is for elementary/middle school, so I'm sure I'll keep hard copies for high school later.
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