Tried It Tuesday (on Wednesday)

Even though it is Wednesday, I am linking up with Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried it Tuesday to tell you about my HERO folders.  

A few summers ago, I came across MOOSE Books while searching the Internet.  I loved the idea of having one folder for school to home communication instead of multiple folders or envelopes.  I also loved the fact that I would be teaching my students to be organized and responsible. That first year, I decided to go with OCEAN Folders to fit my Hawaiian theme.  I have since had ROCKSTAR Folders, STAR Folders, and now HERO (Helping Everyone Remain Organized) Folders for this year.  You can look online and find an acronym for just about any theme or school mascot that you want.  I have had so many parents thank me for using these organized folders.  There is only one folder for students to remember to bring to and from school each day and parents know to check it each night.

I posted my HERO folder covers on Monday, and have decided to do a detailed post about how I put my folders together.  These are the steps I take:

1. Buy all materials needed: Plastic pocket folders with prongs, sheet protectors, plastic baggies with slider (I used Hefty quart-sized freezer bags for their durability), address labels (30 per sheet), shipping labels (10 per sheet), and paper to print on.

2. Print out all papers that need to go in the folder: cover page, calendar, newsletter, parent-teacher communication log, etc. The newsletter that I use is a template from The Wise & Witty Teacher that I have adapted to meet my needs.  

This one calendar is used to record student's behavior color at the end of each day on the clip chart, the number of stars completed on STAR homework each night, and any transportation changes.

3. Print out labels for each section.

4. Put sheet protectors in prongs of folders.  I used 7 sheet protectors per folder, but the number depends on how many categories you want in your folder.

5. Use a 3-hole punch to punch the end of the slider baggie. Put the baggie in the prongs and close the prongs.

6. Attach the “Left at Home” and “Bring Right Back” to the correct inside pockets.

7. Put the cover page, letter to parents, and table of contents in to the correct sheet protectors.

8. Attach the labels to the bottom of each sheet protector.

9.  Put the parent-teacher communication log in the last sheet protector.  

This section was a saving grace because it allowed me to write notes back and forth with parents without having loose sheets of paper.  It also kept a written record of all communication.  I would file the old sheets when they were full to refer back to if necessary.

Update: This file is now only $2 on TpT