• Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Subscribe
  • Shop

Real Life at Home

  • Family Life
    • Parenting
    • Family Time
    • Teens
    • Travels
      • Disney
  • Recipes
    • Easy Recipes Index
    • Beverages
    • Appetizers and Snacks
    • Canning/Preserving
    • Breads
    • Breakfast
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Desserts
  • Create
    • Crafts and Projects for Kids
    • Easy DIY and Projects
    • Homemade Gifts
  • Learn
    • Printables and Worksheets by Age and Subject
    • Homeschooling
    • Book Lists for Kids
    • Play
    • Teaching Life Skills
  • Holidays
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Lent
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • Independence Day
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • Birthdays
  • Catholic
    • Catholic Printables
    • Catholic Activities
    • First Communion
    • Catholic Monthly Activities
    • Catholic Word Search Printables
    • Saints and Heroes Printable Packets
  • Printables
    • Printables and Worksheets By Age and Subject
    • Exclusive Printables for Subscribers
    • Terms of Use
    • Coloring Pages
    • Word Search Printables
    • Catholic Printables
    • Crossword Puzzle Printables
You are here: Home / Homeschool / Homeschool Planning / How to Make a Homeschool Yearbook
advertisement

How to Make a Homeschool Yearbook

May 17, 2013 By Angie Kauffman · Disclosure: This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. {I may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.}

5.9Kshares
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter

advertisement

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a folder/scrapbook/keepsake album all rolled into one? Well, I was determined to figure out how to accomplish such a feat!

I was very puzzled when I first began homeschooling about how to keep everything together for that year…I mean if I kept EVERYTHING, I’d need a 45-gallon bucket! However, with awards, paraphernalia from field trips, pictures, and of course, the work, something had to be done.

So, instead of having several places for each of those items, I brainstormed a while and decided to create a “yearbook” for each child. It has been a hundred times easier than trying to sort this to one place and that to another.

Here’s what I do:

I buy a 3-ring binder (size would be up to you, but I use at least 1 ½” thick) with a clear overlay. I then “scrapbook” a little cover page stating what school year it is to put inside the overlay.

I also buy a box of clear sleeves in bulk (available at any office store). I think they’re around $10 for 100.

I take a picture of my kids on the first day of school and that goes on the inside front cover with the date we started.

The first page of the yearbook is an “All About Me” fill in the blank type of activity…again, it’s great to see that their favorite color last year, may not be the same for this year, or maybe their favorite TV shows, food, etc. has changed, too!

From that point, I put all of the kids’ work in a tray daily. Then, sometime over the next few weeks (you could do this part daily, weekly, bi-weekly—whatever is easiest for you), I decide what I want to keep –usually on a lazy Sunday afternoon.


I put the pages that I keep inside the clear sleeves and in the yearbook. I do not put one page per sleeve (your binder would get very full very quickly), I actually put several in one sleeve—leaving my favorites visible through the front and back of the sleeves.

If one of my kids receives an award or certificate, it goes in the yearbook (in a sleeve all by itself). The ribbons from field day and the science fair go in as well.

Any pictures from special projects, special days and field trips, I print out and put at the top of a page. I have Connor write his favorite part of the experience and add it to the yearbook. This year, I will add a section in the back for friends pictures. We have these peppered throughout with our playdate/field trip pics currently, but I think it’ll be great to have a picture of their closest friends and a list of the reasons why they enjoy being their friend.

It’s great having work, awards, memories, etc. all together! The best part about this project is that it is SUPER easy to keep up current on, as well as to keep it organized. It naturally goes in chronological order, and it is a really fun way for the kids to see how far they’ve come. When I pull out Connor’s yearbook from K4, he can’t believe how much his handwriting has changed and how much “smarter” he is now that he’s in 2nd grade!

The yearbooks are all on a shelf together. With matching labels on the spines of each notebook, they look nice all lined up together. My kids like pulling them out when relatives visit to show them what all we’ve been up to throughout the school year.

I’m sure with all of the creative writers/readers of this blog, there will be even more fabulous ideas to add to this project to make it your own. Please share any ideas that you have! We’d love to hear them!

Happy memory making!

This post originally appeared on The Homeschool Classroom in August 2008.

———————————————————-

Tiffani can also be found writing at Bears and Belles

Join 27,000+ Other Awesome People

Subscribe to the Real Life at Home weekly newsletter to get our latest content, exclusive free printables, learning activities, and ideas for celebrating with your kids all year

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription. P.S. It's important that you confirm or you won't receive any more emails with free printables, fun tips, and other helps to make your life just a tiny bit easier.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit
5.9Kshares
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter

Filed Under: Homeschool Planning Tagged With: portfolio

About Angie Kauffman

Angie, mom to three very fun kids, is the founder of Real Life at Home.  With degrees in elementary education (B.A.) and special education (M.S.Ed.), as well as being a former homeschooler, she is passionate about supporting both parents and teachers by providing printables, crafts, and activities to help children learn and grow.

Previous Post: « 10 Toys that Toddlers Love
Next Post: Garden Crafts for Kids »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Angie says

    August 24, 2008 at 8:33 am

    What a fabulous idea, Tiffani! We’re in our first year of homeschooling, and I keep having thing that make me say, “Hey — I wish I could keep that somewhere.” This will be perfect!

    You know what the funny thing is though? The first grade teachers at the public school that my boys went to did this as well. So, I have a notebook for each of them sitting on my book shelf, but I apparently hadn’t thought of it as an option for ME to make for them until I read your article. How silly of me!

    Reply
  2. Michele says

    August 25, 2008 at 12:07 am

    Oh to be so organized. I envy those organizational skills:) This is a great idea. I have years and years of our homeschooling “stuff” packed away in boxes. I did get as far to put the name of the child and what month and year they did what. I know the children must be so proud to pull their yearbook out to show to those they love. How wonderful of you to keep up-to-date on these precious memories for them.

    Reply
  3. Kris says

    August 25, 2008 at 1:53 pm

    Love, love, LOVE this idea! Thanks so much for sharing. We’re three weeks into school this year, but it’s not too late to start.

    Reply
  4. mrsmolotov says

    August 31, 2008 at 8:06 pm

    Thank you for sharing this. It is totally doable for me and I am starting it! I have also shared the idea with many friends. Thanks again!

    Reply
  5. Tina Razzell says

    May 17, 2013 at 3:38 pm

    I think it’s a great idea, I wish I’d done that with my children. Some homeschool groups I’m in make yearbooks, but it doesn’t fully show the school year that my child had.

    Reply
  6. Samantha says

    May 28, 2013 at 10:30 pm

    Great ideas!

    Reply
  7. Kate D says

    August 19, 2013 at 9:14 am

    This idea is so simple and wonderful – and will work for us public school mamas who want to have a better way of organizing and preserving progress for our kids, too. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Connect with Real Life at Home

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Meet Angie

Angie, mom to three very fun kids, is the founder of Real Life at Home.  With degrees in elementary education (B.A.) and special education (M.S.Ed.), as well as being a former homeschooler, she is passionate about supporting both parents and teachers by providing printables, crafts, and activities to help children learn and grow. Read More…

Search

Today’s Trending Posts

Printable Stations of the Cross for Children (Booklet and Reflections)
14 Stations of the Cross List - Free Simple Lenten Reflection Printable
Illustrated Stations of the Cross List for Kids (and Adults)
On the Road to Easter: Lent Word Search Printable
Draw and Write Stations of the Cross Activity: Printable Stations of the Cross for Kids
Ash Wednesday or Lent Activity Page Printable

Footer

  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms of Use and Conditions
  • Disclaimers

Amazon Affiliate Statement

Real Life at Home 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

Categories

© 2006 - 2021 Real Life at Home / Tiny Owl LLC. All Rights Reserved. | Built using the Genesis Framework and hosted on WPEngine.