Daily Take Home Folders

At the beginning of the school year I make each student their own daily folder, also known as their "Take Home Folder."

This folder is a communication devise between home and school.  The folder is brought home every night and is returned to school the very next day.  It houses important information such as school notes, homework, graded work, and monthly classroom newsletters.

My student's daily behavior is also noted in their take home folder on the monthly behavior calendar.

At the end of each school day my students mark either a green, yellow, or red dot on the appropriate date on the calendar.  This dot communicates to their parents the behavior color card they earned that day.  If the color yellow or red is marked on their calendar I write a brief description of the negative behavior they displayed.  The purpose of this is to encourage a discussion between parents and their child over the misbehavior.

Parents are asked to sign or initial each night on the appropriate date on the behavior calendar.  This communicates to me that each student's parents saw their take home folder and the information inside of it.

The take home folders are brought home every day and are returned to school the very next day.  Any notes from home, money, homework, etc. is to be placed in the take home folder so I will receive it - because we all know how sometimes things get lost in a child's backpack. LOL

I have my students turn in their take home folders into the tub each morning.  When they turn them in they place them in numerical order.  This makes it easy for me to flip through and see who is at school, who forgot to turn their folder in, etc.

Here's a peek inside my take home folders!

Here's the steps on how I put together my folders at the beginning of each school year:

Step 1:

I always use plastic brad folders to make the take home folders.  The plastic ones hold up much better than the paper ones.

You can find the plastic folders at Walmart or even Amazon!

Step 2:

I pick a cover with a different clipart character for each of my students.  I add their name, their student number, and my class information to the cover.  I print each cover and laminate it.

I laminated the covers using my "at home" laminator like the one below:

I like using my laminator because I use the thickest lamination (5ml) to make the covers extra durable.

Step 3:

I attach the covers to the front of my folders.  You can use staples, tape, Velco dots, etc. to attach the covers.

I really like to use a combination of stapling and Velcro dots to attach my covers.  I use the sticky Velcro dots like the ones below:

Step 4:

I add additional pockets to the brads of my folders.

I use these plastic pocket sleeves.

Step 5:

I use the 1" x 2 5/8" labels to label the behavior calendars and homework pockets.

Step 6:

I use the 2" x 4" labels for the graded work pocket.

I go over the labels with clear box tape to ensure the labels stay on and do not get damaged.

Step 7:

I place additional important handouts (like our school calendar) in a clear plastic sleeve and add it to the brads of the folder.

Step 8:

I pick out different left and right pocket labels for my folders.  I print, laminate, and cut out the labels.

In these pictures I printed the labels on regular computer paper, laminated them, and then stapled them on the pockets.  I also have the labels available to print on 2x4 labels.

Step 9:

I attach the labels to the left and right pockets of the folder by stapling them on.

Step 10: 

I also add a pencil pouch to the brads of my take home folders for money, small notes, etc.

I take the pencil pouches and plastic sleeves out of each student's folder at the end of the school year so I can reuse them year after year.

Step 11:

 I add the behavior calendar to each student's folder.  The monthly behavior calendar also has school events, classroom events, due dates, test dates, etc. on it as well.  This helps parents easily see what's going on at our school and in our classroom.

Step 12:

I send home these introduction notes the first time I send home the take home folders.  The notes explain what a take home folder is, what is inside the folder, and the guidelines to take care of it.

The folders are then complete and ready to use all year long!

You can grab everything you need to make your own Take Home Folder by clicking HERE!

Also check out my matching classroom labels by clicking HERE!

There are 7 different size labels to choose from!

Grab the Folder and Label BUNDLE HERE!

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