homework folder for pre k

Printable Learning Folder for the Early Years

Today I’m sharing the Preschool Learning Folder that I’ve put together for my three year old son to begin working on this year. This printable learning folder contains all the major preschool concepts and presents them in an interactive engaging way.

Stick around to the end to get the free preschool learning folder inserts for uppercase letters, self-care, continents, ocean animals, farm animals, and emotions!

The plan is to use this preschool resource over the next couple years to prepare him for kindergarten readiness and give him his own ‘school’ while we homeschool our older daughter.

So far, it’s working wonderfully.

We are almost a month into our schooling and he still grabs it every morning when Jovie heads to the table for her handwriting. And the best part is that he is learning as well!

The Preschool Learning Folder

This printable ended up being a bigger task then I originally thought it would, but I digress. the project is done and I couldn’t be happier.

From learning colors to skip counting this binder is packed full of things he will be able to learn. Furthermore, I pushed the boundaries of preschool and even added a few concepts he could grow into much as clocks and money.

What is the best age to start the preschool learning folder?

It depends on your child. I made this folder with my three-year old in mind. He was engaged, interested, curious, and excited to learn, so I took that as a great time to start.

Like I said before, the variety in this folder covers varying levels of preschool abilities. As you progress through, you will find that the folder is organized with the easiest pages toward the beginning and then progressing to the back with more challenging topics like money and time.

Topics Covered

When I sat down to make a list of the topics, I realized that the possibilities were endless. There are so many things preschoolers can learn at home ! After much deliberation, I settled for the ones that would work best with my kiddos. The topics included are:

Preschool Learning Folder pages include:

• Letter Recognition
• Vowel Sounds
• Numbers and Counting
• Weather/Seasons
• Phone Number
• Skip Counting
• The Five Senses
• Parts of a Flower

The Free Preschool Learning Folder Inserts Include: (see below)

• Uppercase letters
• Self Care (nutrition, hygiene, health)
• Continents of the World
• Ocean Animals
• Farm Animals

How we use the Preschool Learning Folder

When we pull out the preschool folder in the morning, we usually go over the page together. I like to ask my son questions and get him verbalizing what he is learning. Other times, I give this the notebook and let him maneuver the pieces around all on his own. (Even if he doesn’t get it all correct, he is building his fine motor skills as he works to attach the pieces.)

Here are some examples of questions I might ask:

• What shape is that?
• Can you tell me what these colors are?
• What letter does the word ‘hat’ start with?
• Can you think of another word that rhymes with ‘cat’?
• Can you make a pattern like this using something else?
• Can you tell me the names of these fruits? Show me their match.
• What season are we in now?

How to assemble the learning folder

I really wanted this binder to withstand a three-year old boy. Therefore, I decided to laminate each page and use clear velcro to attach the movable pieces. (I used velcro tape for the larger pieces and used the velcro dots for the smaller pieces.)

Once again, a little more work upfront, but well worth it. Assembly materials used: (This list contains Amazon Affiliate links.)

• Clear Velcro Tape
• Clear Velcro Dots
• Laminating Machine
• Learning Folder Printable
• 1.5 inch Three-Ring Binder
• Laminating Pouches

How to store the preschool learning folder

We have found that, keeping the pieces attached to each page works the best. We try to do one page at a time, and do our best to put pieces are back in place, before they turn to the next page to work on.

Printable Preschool Learning Folder Download 

This preschool learning folder is a paid product but there are free inserts!

Thank you for your interest! Since this resource has been added to and updated, it is now a paid product. You can use this printable preschool resource for your homeschool or classroom. Get the Preschool Learning Folder today and get started! (Be sure to get the free preschool learning folder inserts below!)

Free Preschool Learning Folder Inserts!

Want to add more subjects to your preschool learning folder OR simply want to try a few sample pages? If so, here are some free preschool learning folder inserts for you to try. (Note: these inserts are for personal or single classroom use only.)

Free Preschool Learning Folder Inserts Include:

For Access to this freebie, Join the Inspire the Mom Community and sign in with Grow for this exclusive content!

Get it Now!

Free Printable:

Download the Free Preschool Learning Folder Inserts

Available in Spanish

Looking for a printable Spanish preschool resource? Look no further, the Preschool Learning Folder is also available in Spanish as well! ( Carpeta de Aprendizaje Preescolar )

Other Preschool Resources

• Things Your Preschooler Can Learn at Home
• 25 Preschool Activities That Will Build a Love for Learning
• Preschool Daily Skill Builder
• Prewriting Notebook
• Letter of the Week Resources
• Build a Bear for Learning Colors
• Printable Playdough Mats

This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.

What are you working on with your preschooler?

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99 Comments

Okay Jessica, this is incredible. Mine is quickly hand drawn. I LOVE this! And now that I have a working printer again, I will be making lots of new pages. Thanks!

Thanks Lenae! I had you in mind when I was making this! You gave me a great starting point, and If I had your drawing abilities I would have hand-drawn it too! I had a ton more ideas, but the time just wasnt there. lol. Make sure you show me how yours is coming along. Love you, Friend!

Thank you thank you thank you!! I’ve been searching for something to work with my son and daughter for awhile now and this is exactly what I needed – bless you th heart for putting it out there to help other moms!

Yay! Thats awesome! Thank you for the kind words! Hope its a great resource for your little ones! 🙂

Perfectly elaborate!. I think it can be easy to leave out the little one when trying to stay on point with the oldest when homeschooling. I like your folder ❤

Thanks Susan! Mine are pretty close in age, so the time I need to spend with his older sister is pretty short making this type of thing quite practical in our situation. 🙂 Hope your school year is going well! 🙂

Hi Jessica, I am glad things are getting back to normal for you! Home schooling must be such fun! Most of us don’t get the chance to be our kids primary teacher. I am so happy for you that you can do it! And it is nice your son can learn at his pace too , and has a will to learn. It looks like a cute learning topic list, and important things for him to know. Haha , you do need to make the folder 3 yr old boy proof! I know. I will hopefully get to download later. Thank you so much , you are such a helpful friend to think of us all! Hugs, Terri xo.

Thanks Terri! Hope you are having a great week and enjoying the fall season! <3

What a great idea to laminate this! Isn’t it true that sometimes what we think are small projects at first take the most time? This seems like it was worth the extra thought and effort! Thank you for sharing!

lol, yes! I didnt calculate that one very well. Thank you for the kind words and for stopping by! <3

How wonderful that you include your son. I’m so happy the fires are getting under control and the smoke is gone from where we live!!

Yes! I’m so thankful for breathable air! 🙂

Thanks for the free resources.

You’re welcome! <3

I’m putting together a bunch of stuff to print and laminate at FedEx—I think I’ll need to add this! How nice this is! Very well done. Thanks 🙂

Haha! Sweet! 🙂

Jessica, this is INCREDIBLE!! Thank you for sharing what took you much time. It is beyond awesome. I think my 4yo would benefit from this, too – the money and time concepts are hard, as are the order of the days and months. I think I’ll make this for her and then pass it on to her (very bright and eager) 20mo sister when she’s ready. I am truly in awe of you homeschooling mamas. Very creative. I’m glad things are getting back to normal for you – fires are scary!

Awesome! Thanks for all the sweet words! I’m glad you might get some use from this as well. 🙂

Thank you this is really well done. How are you storing all the pieces?

Thank you! I just keep them attached to the appropriate pages. 🙂

I’m so happy I came across this page ?my 3yr old daughter loves learning new things we’ve been working on numbers, ABC’s, colors and shapes etc… She knows how to spell her name already “Soleil” I try to come up with fun creative ways of learning for her. She’s been asking to bring her “school work” lol with her while we’re on the go. This will be perfect!!! Thank you for the printable’s you did an awesome job.

Awesome! I love that your daughter will be able to get some good use from the Learning Folder! Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words! <3 <3 <3

This is exactly what I was looking for! thank you so much!!

awesome! You’re welcome! 🙂

I wish I had a little one just so I can print it out!

This is AMAZING! Thank you!

You’re welcome! 🙂

where can I get this freebie please?

sign up in the ‘free printable’ box at the bottom of this post and it will take you directly to the file. 🙂

It won’t load. Just takes me to my AppStore so I can download Dropbox, which has been installed on my phone for ages. When I hit open it takes me to Dropbox but no file. Any other way to get this? Thank you so much!

This file needs to be opened on a computer.

Thank you very much this will be very helpful with my three year old.

absolutely! <3

Thank you thank you thank you! This is exactly what we needed, I look forward to introducing it to my son’s daily routine!

You’re welcome! I hope your son benefits immensely!?

Hey I have 4 Special Ed kids and this would be perfect. It says I can only get one right. So do I need to get this 4x. Please help?

Christine, Just download the file and print out a copy for each of your kids. ?

Thank you so much!! I have just made the choice to home-school and this is fantastic!!! I see a tab for homeschooling that i will be exploring too.

Thats awesome! I hope your homeschool gets off to a wonderful start! <3

This is truly fantastic!!!! I have children with special needs and this is exactly the kind of thing i have been looking for to do with them. Since it can be put in a binder, it also promotes their independence and its so bright and colorful and stimulating. They are going to love it!!!. Thank you so much for sharing your hard work with the community!!!! Amazing!

You’re welcome! I’m so excited that you will be able to use it with your children! ❤️

This is so helpful. My daughter has a speech and language disorder. I have all the information all the tools but i tend to get overwhelmed when i think of everything we need to do, these printables are easy and fun

Awesome! So glad this will be useful to you! ?

I just want to thank you for sharing this. I have been looking for something like this for a while now. You are just wonderful for sharing this.

Thank you so much! I was about to make something similar and appreciate your hard work!

You’re welcome! ?

For some reason I thought that the laminate ‘stuck’ to itself around the edges not the actual paper. I would have thought that if you laminate first and then cut that the laminate would come off…does it stick to the paper after you cut?

If you are using thermal laminating pouches and a laminator they will stay together just fine. ?

Thank you so much for sharing this! I love it!

Absolutely! ?

please help i cant find the free printables box……

It’s at the very bottom of the blog post. The box says ‘sign up for free printables’ and asks for your name and email. ❤️

This is wonderful but I don’t see a box to download the printable file. Can I access it another way?

At the bottom of the blog post there is a large box that says ‘Sign up for free printables.’ insert your first name and email and it take you directly to the file. Happy creating!

I can imagine you were rolling your eyes at me Jessica. For some reason the box wasn’t showing up in my Chrome browser. I opened Safari and found it there but it just will not load in Chrome. Thanks for your help!

Not at all. tech stuff is inconsistent and doesn’t always work easily. Hope your little ones enjoy the folder. ?

I love this learning folder! My son is 2 and loves doing puzzles, so this is a great beginning for him! He’ll be able to grow into the more difficult skills later. Great job!

Thank you! thats awesome! ?

Hi, this looks amazing. I have signed up and confirmed email. after that I get taken to a page saying there is an error and page no longer available. Have I missed the cut off to be able to receive this folder? Thanks

It’s still available. Make sure you are opening it up on a PC. The file won’t open on a phone or iPad. If you are still having troubles, shoot me an email and I’ll send you a direct link to the file. ?

Thank you so much for the file! I just got through putting them in the pouches and will cut out and laminate the small parts tomorrow. Question though. I saw where you said you store the pieces in the corresponding page, but how? Paper clips or such? That’s the only thing I can think of and I’d be scared they’d fall off. That’s a TON of tiny pieces to get lost.

I keep each piece on the appropriate page using plenty of velcro. That works best for us in keeping it organized. When we he is ready to do a page we just remove the pieces and put them on again before moving on. Of course you are free to come up with a different system. (Also, make sure you laminate the full sheet before you do any cutting.) Enjoy! ?

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO SHARE THIS HARD WORK

You’re welcome!

I’m not able to get into it on my laptop, is there a trick? 🙁 This looks so perfect!! Thanks for sharing!!

No trick, it should work on your PC. Perhaps try opening it in another browser. If you are still having trouble you can send me an email and ill send you a direct link.

Sorry for your trouble. Make sure you are opening it on a computer (not an iPhone or iPad). OR perhaps try to open it in another browser. If you have any more troubles go my contact form and email me, and I’ll send you a direct link.

🙁 I’ve opened this in Firefox, Explorer and Chrome but can’t get a “sign up for free printables” box to appear anywhere. My 2 & 3 year old girls would love a lot of the things on your pages!

I’m so sorry for your trouble. The box should be at the bottom of the post, not sure why it isn’t visible to you. You can send me an email, though my contact form and I’ll send you a direct link. ❤️

Thank you so much for sharing this book! I look forward to trying it with my children!

Awesome! You’re welcome!

Thank you for all the hard work that you put into this packet, and for sharing. Will be using in my classroom.

You are absolutely wonderful!!!!!!! This is fantastic!

I just finished this binder for my 3 year old granddaughter, as a birthday present. Her parents were crazy about it. My son is a Fireman, so he is her care giver several days a week, and can work with her. I had some small ziploc type bags, so I labeled them with each of the lessons, and stored the cut out pieces in the bags. I then took about 6-7 bags, and put them in the pencil pouches that fit in 3 ring binders. It took 3 pencil pouches for all of them. I put 6-7 lesson bags, put them in the pencil pouch, then put that pouch after those lessons. I then did that with the rest of them. I bought a very colorful binder at Walmart, and since it was cardboard, not vinyl, I covered it with clear contact paper. Now it will stay clean forever! Thanks for offering this, as I had fun putting it together for my GD. Oh….forgot to mention…..I didn’t have a laminator, but found out you can laminate with your iron! I used a dry iron with a press cloth, on a medium heat. I experimented with a few pieces of paper to get the right temperature and how long to keep the iron in each spot. Turned out I could just move my iron slowly across the page and it laminated perfectly. Wanted to be sure to pass that on.

Wow! You are awesome! I love your idea and your innovative ways of pulling it off! Thank you so much for sharing! ???

Thank you so much for sharing this! My 2 year old daughter loves this! This binder has helped me alot!

What is the best approach you have developed for working with this binder? Do a few pages everyday? Likely you do not do the whole binder each day. Suggestions would be appreciated

I usually let my son pick a few pages that interest him each morning. ?

What a wonderful gift you’ve offered us. I teach the preschool Lab class at the high school. This will be a great resource for the high school-aged teachers to work with their preschooler. And a nice gift for the families at the end of the year.

Thats awesome! ?

I absolutely LOVE this. I just wish some of the cut outs were bigger. I am the world’s worst cutter. Lol. But I will manage. 😉

I feel ya! The assembly was a little laborious ? …But worth it!

Hi Jessica, thank you so much! This will be great for the children that I visit.

You’re welcome! ❤️

Sucks I can’t see what all 53 pages look like. But I do love the idea. I’ve been trying to come up with something for my little one besides apps on a tablet or phone. Hope I can find a free version I can look at before printing. But love your idea. The 3 pages I can see look great.

You can watch a video that shows the entire contents HERE .

Hi! I am excited to maybe buy this for my preschooler. I am having a hard time finding the video where you explain all the pages of the binder. When I click on the two links I found, it just takes me to tour TPT page and I can’t find the video there. Is it still available? Thanks!

Sometimes tpt makes you log in if you are on a phone. You should be able to view it from a computer.

This is PERFECT! I’ve been wanting to make one of these for my grandchildren, but was overwhelmed! You have saved me so much time, and this is better than anything I ever could have done! Thank you so much!

That’s wonderful! I hope it benefits your little ones! ❤️?❤️

Hello. How can I order one of these albums and what is the cost? Thank you

Click the download here button at the bottom of the post. It will take you to the product. 🙂

Where did you put Velcro dots on some of the pages like the alphabet page so it doesn’t cover up the letters? I’m having a hard time deciding where would be best! Thanks!!

Hi there! I used clear velcro, that way you can still see the images through the velcro.

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Words & vocabulary, reading comprehension, early writing.

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Free early learning worksheets.

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Creatively Containing the Chaos – Home School Life

Basic Skills File Folder Free Printable For Preschool and Kindergarten

Basic skills file folder printable for preschool and kindergarten, basic skills file folder printable set.

WHAT IS INCLUDED:

• Word Families
• Tracing Lines

What you need:

• Printed PDF
• Glue or Tape
• File Folder

The pockets are really easy to fix and you can use glue or tape on them. Just fold them and follow the arrows. There is eight pockets in all. Each pocket has several different cards for the kids to use. This lap book covers the alphabet, shapes, counting to 20, pattern finishing, pre writing skill builders, colors, word families, and money flash cards.

DOWNLOAD  THIS BOOK BY CLICKING BELOW.

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This download is mostly color and free to use for any daycare, church, school, personal, co op, or home school use.

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All activity images,  printables , and games are free to download and/or use as you choose, with the exception of claiming as your own, modifying, or redistributing as your own. Please feel free to use in any classroom setting! Feel free to link to this page but not to the download or image itself, if you would like to share downloads or ideas. All shares are appreciated. Permission to use 1 image of your choice is given. Thank you for respecting these guidelines.

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• Here you will find free printables for your classroom, activities, and more!
• Check out our growing collection of full year curriculum packs or our many other fun printables. You can find  thousands  of different printable activities, worksheets, and helpers!

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Our Preschool Learning Folder & Why You Should Make One Too

Since my oldest daughter was a toddler I thought it would be a cool idea to create a Preschool Learning Folder.

Well, my daughter is 4 now and I still hadn’t made one… that is until the lockdowns occurred!

Toddler Learning Folder

A Preschool learning folder (also known as a toddler busy book or quiet book) includes all of the basic things that preschoolers need to learn – colors, numbers, shapes, animals, and so on.

It is full of hands-on activities that will help your child learn in a fun and engaging way.

Today I’ll be sharing a little about what’s included in my folders, some of my favorite places to find activities, and some tips for putting your folder together.

During the lockdown, I found myself with a lot of extra time on my hands. I decided it’s now or never, now is the time to make a preschool learning folder for my kids!

I wanted to put together a binder with activities that both my 4-year-old and my 2-year-old would enjoy doing.

Making A Preschool Learning Binder

I found some free printables online, as well as some big learning bundles on Etsy. I ended up putting together two folders, one with easier activities for my 2-year-old, and one with harder activities for my 4-year-old.

My 2 years old’s folder has activities that focus on learning colors and shapes, matching shadows, matching adult and baby animals, and so on.

She’s absolutely obsessed and loves doing all the activities.

My 4-year-old’s folder has activities that focus on counting, upper and lowercase alphabet matching, sorting food groups, matching planets, matching continents, and more.

I have almost 40 activities included between the two folders, and my girls love doing them!

Once or twice a week we will pull the folders out and they will spend over an hour doing activity after activity.

For the first few weeks after I made the folders, my 2-year-old was asking me every day, ‘can we do the activity folders now mama?’ – it’s gone on like that on and off for over a year now.

She loves making a big circle of printables around the living room and then doing them one by one. They both find it satisfying to see them all completed.

It might sound like a lot of trouble…a lot of printing, laminating, and cutting… but it is so worth the effort and your child will love doing the activities!

How To Create A Toddler Learning Folder

Here are some of the types of activities included in my Preschool Learning Folder:

• Counting up to 10
• Number order
• Using a calendar
• Basic shapes
• How to draw using shapes
• Positional words
• Measurement
• Possibility
• Visual discrimination
• Times of the day
• Fire safety
• Finding differences between two pictures

Other things you can include:

• Temperature – hot and cold
• Telling time
• Letter sounds and blends

You can even include things like this would you rather game for kids if you don’t mind helping them out with a few activities.

Many of these worksheets can be found for free as well – it is possible to make a free printable learning folder.

Finding Activities For Your Preschool Learning Folder

Here are some great places to find activities for your Preschool learning folder, or where you can also buy complete activity packs!

TotSchooling

Totschooling.net has an abundance of awesome free resources for toddlers, pre-k, and kindergarten. It is one of my favorite places to find resources!

Here are some of the activities I found on totschooling.net that I included in my learning folder:

• Continents matching
• Occupation and vehicle matching
• Planets matching activity
• Cookie jar number matching

I actually bought two big bundles of activities from Etsy for my learning folder – the Preschool Busy Book #1 and #2. These are beautiful, high-quality activity pages. I have linked to them below.

Depending on what you would like to include in your folder, there is a range of options for sale on Etsy. It is a lot easier just to buy a big bundle instead of finding the individual free activities… and I definitely don’t regret my purchases here.

On Etsy, you can choose from a range of themed bundles as well.

Here are some of the resources I have used from Etsy:

• Color Sorting Mats
• Preschool Busy Book #1
• Preschool Busy Book #2
• Shadow matching activity

Teachers Pay Teachers

On Teachers Pay Teachers you’ll find toddler busy books, seasonal worksheets, preschool learning folders, printable games, and more!

There are some free resources, but a lot of them cost money to support the teachers making these activities.

Here are some other free preschool printables online:

• Here’s a cute free mini pre-k learning folder you could print out for your child from thisreadingmama.com
• Here’s a big list of free preschool printables from teaching2and3yearolds.com
• Free printables for preshool and kinder from funlearningforkids.com
• Free printable packs from funwithmama.com
• Our collection of free printables – this life cycle of a pumpkin printable is fun

Printing Printables

I have seen a lot of people recommending the Epson EcoTank printer recently because it is so economical and the ink lasts a long time.

I myself have an Epson WF-2630, which does the job, but is certainly not as good as the EcoTank!

When printing my preschool learning folder, I just made sure to set my print settings to ‘best’ so that it gives a good quality print job.

Laminating Printables

After printing everything I laminated every page using my laminator. Then, I had to cut everything out!

Some people like to cut before laminating and then cut again afterward. I prefer to laminate first. It’s much easier laminating an entire page than laminating lots of little pieces!

Plus, it’s a bit more work cutting things out twice, and in my opinion, the quality is completely fine cutting it out after laminating.

Putting The Folder Together

I found two 2D zip ring binders and filled them with sheet protectors.

One ring binder is for my 2 years old’s activities, and the other is for my 4-year-old’s activities. I put one activity in each sheet protector.

I love this organization!

I can easily pull an activity out of the sheet protector and it’s all ready to go. Then, I can zip up the whole folder when I’m finished with it and no pieces can fall out and get lost.

I have seen a lot of people hole-punch the laminated pages and then put them into a ring binder. All the pieces of the activity are stuck onto the page with velcro dots.

A lot of people like this method, however, here in NZ the price of velcro seems to be astronomical!

I also wasn’t keen on having to take all the activity pieces off of the page before giving it to my toddler – especially if an activity has a ton of tiny pieces.

So, I love keeping my activities in sheet protectors, but do what works best for you!

Teaching Toddlers

There are so many free and paid resources available online for you to use. I hope that I have convinced you to make a toddler learning folder for your child!

Trust me, they are going to love it!

I’ve got almost 40 activities in my Preschool Learning Folder, but you can see 30 of them over on my Instagram .

Using these learning tools for kids, alongside a great curriculum like 100 Easy Lessons , will get your child to understand the world quicker and easier in no time!

So it was the lockdowns that gave me the time and opportunity to put this learning folder together, so there are some positives in them after all!

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Take home folders: part 1.

I really love how you set up your folders! Thanks for the great ideas. Where did you get those amazing green folders??

Paige- Office Depot!

How do you get your labels to stay on? I've tried them on poly folders and they seem to fall off.

Courtney- I've found the smooth plastic folders work the best! The ones that have a lot of texture stick, but the ends can peel up. Also, make sure you buy the GOOD labels! :) Hope that helps!

Is this ediatable enough to change to spanish? It's so unfortunate there aren't any spanish resources and I don't have time to create any...... :(

I have something very similar, however, this hits it right out the park! "GO" Ms. Liz!

Love this idea!! I will hopefully start teaching in September. I have already put this in my TPT cart to buy once I'm hired. Thank you!

I did the same for my 1st graders one year, but mine said, "to be LEFT at home," "to be sent RIGHT back." They were placed on the LEFT and RIGHT sides of the folder.

How To Set Up Daily Folders for Kindergarten

I’m a big fan of teaching responsibility in kindergarten. One big example: you won’t find me stuffing folders – my students are capable of doing that themselves.

Want to know my secrets?

I think there are a few things you can do to make a daily folder setup successful and easy for kindergartners (and their parents) to use.

Here is how we had our folders set up and why.

If you love the way we have it set up – you can totally purchase the same printable labels  used in the pictures to recreate it for your classroom too!

Kindergarten daily folder

Our folders are taken home every day and brought back to school. I choose (affiliate)  “poly” plastic folders to last all year long. They are the two pocket kind with fasteners.

We get them out of backpacks in the morning as we filter into the classroom. They stay in our cubbies throughout the day.

We organize and put them in backpacks at the end of the day.

We do it everyday. It’s part of our routine.

Let me walk you through the folder. Our daily folder has 4 main parts.

Front pocket

Our kindergarten daily folder has a front pocket.

The purpose of the front pocket is to organize daily papers to take home. My kinders are responsible for putting their papers in.

Some examples of things that go in this section:

• School newsletters/flyers
• Lunch menus
• Completed work done in class

Pretty much all of the “stuff” that we get in the course of a day or comes from the office goes home in this pocket. Parents sort through and take it out (hopefully) daily or regularly.

How I made it

All I did to make this section was to add an “EMPTY” label onto the pocket and a one-line explanation.

I add a picture icon to the label so that non-readers (aka my brand new kinders) can successfully find and use it.

I printed a class set of the labels and simply stuck it on. I did cover the labels with clear packaging tape (wide enough to cover the label’s height) so that they would last all year long and stand up to grubby kinder hands.

Back pocket

The folder has a back pocket. We use this pocket to take unfinished work home.

There was a time that we had a weekly homework sheet. They kept it in there and didn’t take it out until Fridays.

When I ditched homework, we simply used the pocket to take home unfinished work (usually due to poor time management) that I expected to get finished.

Making this section was simple! I added a “WORK” label onto the pocket and a one-liner to make it easy for everyone to understand the purpose.

A picture icon made it early-reader-friendly.

Now, these 2 pockets weren’t enough organization on a regular basis for me.

I wanted to separate communicating behavior, special events and sending in money/forms/signed papers. So we used the middle fasteners (clasps or prongs) to hold an additional pocket and a monthly piece of paper.

Clear pocket divider

I added a (affiliate)  poly slash pocket to make communication between home and me – stand out.

That way notes to/from the teacher didn’t get lost.

You can also snag these (affiliate) plastic dividers with pockets inexpensively too.

As part of their daily routine , kinders check this pocket in the morning before putting their folder in their cubbies.

If they had “mail” for me they would take it out and place it in my teacher mailbox. I loved teaching this system!

It became their responsibility and I only had to check one location (my mailbox) of papers to get through. {Amen to working smart}

As you know how crazy going through papers daily can be – especially if there is a fundraiser, popcorn day or picture day… this totally simplifies it.

Everything gets put into one location.

Then during our morning routine, I can quickly sort through everything that has been put into my mailbox and then I easily know what (if anything) I’ll need to address or take care of later in the day.

Read more: How to Collect Papers Easily in Kindergarten

I inserted a transparent slash pocket in the fasteners.

It’s see-through, which makes it easy on kinders, parents, and the teacher. Plus, the shape of the slash pocket means that kinders can slide full-size papers in and out on their own.

Aka: they can responsible to do it on their own.

I printed a “MAIL” label and stuck it on. The label has a picture and one line explanation.

Calendar insert

We kept a hole punched, double-sided piece of paper just behind the transparent parent communication mail sleeve .

This was hole punched so it could also go in the fasteners.

On the front side of the paper, we had a monthly calendar .

On the back, a reading log.

The monthly calendar allowed me to remind students and parents of important events and changes.

It was also where my students recorded their behavior color each day.

They simply colored on top of the date in the small square provided.

I printed a class set of the month’s calendars with a reading book log (to track at-home reading) on the back. I hole punched them and inserted them behind the mail sleeve.

As a side note – I did eventually teach students how to use the fasteners.

They learn how to trade out calendars when it’s a new month.

They count their leftover green days (and write that number on their new calendar) so they can continue working towards a reward coupon (which they got after 5 green days).

They turn these into my mailbox and I scanned them to keep a digital copy for documentation purposes.

They were rewarded for having read at least 10 books when they turned in their reading logs too.

Make your own

You can get your hands on the materials to create your own folders like these!

I’ve done the work for you so you just have to gather the materials and print. Here are the items you might need (with affiliate links) so you can get started right away:

Items needed for this project

• Daily Folder Labels
• Poly Twin Pocket Folders (with 3 Prongs)
• Slash Pockets  | Alternative Divider Pockets
• Clear Packing Tape
• Calendars/Book Logs

Wonder if it really works in kindergarten?

Well, it did for me. But here’s what another teacher shared recently with me after she used it for a year…

“I used this system this past school year and I LOVED it! I love giving my kinders age-appropriate responsibilities and this is a great way to do that while also saving me the headache of daily folder stuffing.” – Sara

While this folder is amazing – it won’t teach itself.

Teach students how to use their folders

Since I created this system, I knew I needed a way to easily show my students what papers went where on a daily basis.

Without me telling them every day.

That’s where my daily folder bulletin board came into play!

{silently sings *hallelujah*}

It was my solution to  never having to stuff papers again and it just became part of our end-of-the-day routine in kindergarten .

There you have my secrets to creating an awesome daily folder in kindergarten.

Here’s what another teacher who tried this folder organization said after implemeting it:

“I would always have trouble with the parents and students understanding the [traditional] 2-pocket folder. Somehow I had some that would lose their work and/or informational papers from the school or our PTC. The simple addition of the mail pocket is heaven . The kids know exactly where to put their papers when packing up to go home and they know how to check their folder in the morning to see if there is anything to turn in! The parents this year have even stated how much easier it is for them to know that lunch money, classroom books, and such are being responsibly handled by their little ones! Many of my parents left the letter explaining how the folder is used in the back pocket of the mail insert so that the babysitter or grandparent knows what to do if they are pinch-hitting for them. Thank you for making my life SO much EASIER!” – Tamra

If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.

More classroom organization

• Document Camera and Projector Setup & Organization
• Classroom Jobs for Kindergarten {Free Printable}
• Classroom Library Organization Made Simple
• Responsibility in a Bucket {kind of}

Leslie is the teacher behind KindergartenWorks . She believes in teaching kinders how to be pretty incredible along with teaching them to read, write and think for themselves. She enjoys drinking hot tea, making mud pies with her four kids and sharing what she's learned with teachers.

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Welcome back to kindergarten Jennifer! If you haven’t seen my Back to school bootcamp – I highly recommend it to get oyu thinking like a K teacher again. https://www.kindergartenworks.com/teacher-tools/teaching-kindergarten-bootcamp/ 😉 – Leslie

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8 Innovative Ways to Organize Take-Home Folders

Keep classroom communication organized with these take home folder ideas from teachers.

The take-home folder is one of the most important and essential elements in the home/school relationship. Often times, it’s your best tool for communicating with parents. If you can get your students in the habit of using it every day, it can really help your organization and communication in the classroom. We gathered up some of our favorite take-home folder ideas from teachers around the web. We hope they help inspire you in your classroom this year.

1. Lend a Hand This take home folder helps kids and parents stay organized in a really easy way. Your students can trace their hands in different colors and then paste them to the inside of the folder. This should help them get in the habit of what to keep and send back.

How do you organize and store your take-home folders?

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Helpful Tips for Kindergarten Take Home Folders

Parent communication is essential in supporting young children in kindergarten, but it can feel daunting to maintain back-and-forth daily communication with the parents of over 20 students! In this post, I’m sharing some helpful tips that will help you create a simple system for kindergarten take home folders.  You’ll be able to maintain consistent communication with families without the overwhelm!

Do We Still Need Kindergarten Communication Folders?

Platforms like SeeSaw allow parents and teachers to easily communicate while students share their daily digital work. Do we ACTUALLY need communication folders?

My answer is yes!  Take home folders for kindergarten allow students and their families to get in the habit of talking about school every evening.  They also encourage students to learn responsibility for taking care of their folders and turning them in each day.

6 Tips for Kindergarten Take Home Folders

Adding communication folders to your classroom routine can be a great way to keep parents up to speed on what is going on in the classroom, but the nuts and bolts of a folder system can seem overwhelming for busy kindergarten teachers.  Here are some helpful things to consider as you set up your own folder system.

1. Create a Routine

One of the most important parts of having a simple communication folder setup is to create a routine.  I like to start using take home folders as soon as possible in the school year, so that it becomes a regular part of each family’s after-school routine.  I have found that families start the year excited about checking backpacks and referencing schedules, so I definitely try to use that momentum to help build that habit!  

The next part of a take-home folder routine is to have a consistent procedure for students to turn in their folders each morning.  Whether it’s a turn-in tub on the back table or a designated folder collector, find a method that works within your morning routine.  The more predictable the routine, the more sustainable it will be!

Finally, make sure that you set aside time in your day to check and prep the take home folders.  By keeping this routine as one of the top priorities in your schedule, it is more likely to stick!

2. Make it Last

Having a routine that lasts for the whole year is important, but you need the actual folders to last, as well! Take home folders receive a lot of wear and tear throughout the year, so I like to use the plastic poly folders whenever possible.  They are less likely to end up squashed at the bottom of backpacks or destroyed by pets and liquids. Plus, I never think it’s a bad thing when something can be wiped down with cleaner, so that’s a bonus of using poly folders.

3. Label, Label, Label!

Keeping your take home folders labeled is an easy way to simplify your communication folder routine.  You can add a large label on the front with the student name to make quick work of passing out folders. If you use poly folders, you can use large mailing labels for the front to make sure they stay put!

It’s also helpful to label the inside pockets of the folder so that parents can clearly see what should be “LEFT at Home” and what should “Come RIGHT Back.”  This is another part of the take home folder routine that will become habit for parents. It’s a very simple way to communicate what to do with the papers being sent home each day.

(If you would like a set of FREE labels for take home folders, you can find some here .)

4. Keep the Folder Filled

One of the quickest ways to derail a communication folder routine is to send home a folder with nothing inside.  After a couple of days of opening a folder full of nothing, families will simply stop checking. Does this mean you need to find something to add to the folder on a “light news” day? Absolutely not!

One way to make sure that there is always helpful information in your communication tool is to use a folder with prongs.  (So that means the ideal take home folder is a two-pocket poly folder with three prongs.) You can keep helpful reference information attached to the folder, so it doesn’t disappear on either side of the communication chain.  This means that the folder will never be truly empty, important reference information won’t be misplaced, and families will stay in the routine of checking the folder each day.

5. Allow for Flexibility

In order for a take home folder system to work, it needs to be sustainable.  Switching up the monthly calendar every time there’s a new addition or change to the schedule is the opposite of sustainable!  I've found that the easiest way to allow for flexibility is to use a weekly communication log, as well.

The monthly calendar provides a birds-eye-view of the month, with important reminders that are unlikely to change, like days with no school. Then the week-at-a-glance schedule provides the opportunity to communicate additional information to families as it comes up throughout the month. It can also share learning goals for the week, suggestions for at-home practice, and more!

6. Use Consistent Colors

This is a simple but effective tip for take home folders: Use consistent paper colors! By printing off your regular communication tools on the same color paper each week, parents will know exactly what to look for each time they open the folder.  The other benefit of this is that important flyers and papers will easily stand out against the colors that are used each week.

More Kindergarten Take Home Folder Tips

Would you like to see more details about how I have used kindergarten take home folders in my classroom?  Check out this video, where I walk you through the specifics of my take home folder printables .

Kindergarten Take Home Folder Printables

You can find all of the take home folder printables shown above in the money-saving Parent Communication Editable Forms Bundle! Would you like to take a closer look at what’s included in this bundle of helpful parent communication resources? You can find it in the Teaching Exceptional Kinders shop or on Teachers Pay Teachers .

Save These Kindergarten Take Home Folder Ideas

Are you short on time? Be sure to save this pin to your favorite teacher board on Pinterest.  You’ll be able to quickly download and print these resources whenever you’re ready.

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