Keeping detailed records can be a crucial aspect of homeschooling that is often overlooked by new (and sometimes veteran) homeschool families. There are a variety of reasons you might need to keep good records for your homeschool. Sometimes it is required by your state and sometimes it is just a way to make things go a bit more smoothly for your family.
Maintaining thorough records gives you the ability to show your child’s academic progress to the non-teaching parent, to potential schools and to evaluators if you are in a state that requires it. In addition, it is helpful if you are ever unable to do the teaching for whatever reason and someone else needs to step into that role, like in a situation where an estate plan might come into play. And finally, it allows you to reflect on your homeschool journey and make adjustments as needed.
Whether your family is just starting to homeschool or you have been at it for years, having an organized record keeping system in place can save you a significant amount of time and stress down the road. In this post, we will explore some of the key records you should consider maintaining, offer tips for implementing an effective record keeping routine, and discuss how thorough documentation can benefit your homeschool in both the short and long term.
Record Keeping for Your Homeschool
Some states have guidelines on what records you need to keep. If you are in one of those states, make sure to know what you are legally required to do so that you can stay in compliance. If you are in a state that is more homeschool friendly you may not be required to do any record keeping other than attendance. However, there are still good reasons to do so for your own benefit. Here are a few tips for your homeschool record keeping.
- Create a central filing system. You can use something such as a dedicated filing cabinet, binder, or digital folder for your school records. I personally use a combination of a planner, an accordion file and a digital folder.
- Document daily activities. Keep a daily log or journal of your student’s lessons, activities and the resources used each day. I really like the spiral notebook approach for this as it is inexpensive and gives the most freedom to adjust what you record. Ideally you would do a daily log for each student.
- Save student work samples. File away writing assignments, math tests, art, multimedia projects and other work samples periodically to be able to track progress throughout the school year. I personally try to keep one from each quarter for writing and math. For other areas I save things such as a passion project for coding, a video of their science fair project or a slide show of their art projects.
- Track attendance. In my state, attendance is the only record I have to keep in the case that the superintendent from my local school district decides to ask me for it. While it is highly unlikely I will ever be asked for it, I do still keep a record. You can choose to keep your record on a paper form or on a digital spreadsheet. I usually record mine in my planner to begin with then transfer it to my spreadsheet once a month or so. You may choose to do it differently. I have seen others print off a paper spreadsheet and glue it in the front of their spiral notebook so it is all in one place.
- Use a homeschool planner. Formal lesson planning is not for everyone, and that is okay. I personally like having an idea of what the next few weeks worth of lessons look like so that I can make sure to have appropriate supplies on hand. I have liked this homeschool planner by Megan van Sipe found on Amazon. I like that it is undated and I have a ton of flexibility on how to use the different pages. Well Planned Gal is also a well known provider of planners. My general method of homeschool lesson planning is to do a few weeks at a time in my planner. Then on Sunday evenings I copy down the lesson assignments from my planner into the spiral journal for my student to use as a schedule/guide for the next day.
- Leverage technology. There are a ton of great apps and websites that provide technological solutions for record keeping in your homeschool. You can go as simple as a google drive with labeled folders and a digital spreadsheet for attendance and activities, or you can get something with all the bells and whistles that allows you to create transcripts for your high schoolers and complete like Homeschool Hall, Homeschool Planet or Homeschool Tracker.
- Review and reflect regularly. It is a good practice to analyze your organizational system from time to time. What is working well? What needs to be adjusted?
Whether you are state required to keep records or you are doing so for your own reasons, homeschool record keeping can feel like a lot of work at times. But if you set the systems up for yourself and are consistent with your documentation, it can actually make your job easier and less stressful. Whatever method you use, print or digital, remember to choose what fits your personality, your lifestyle and your organizational style best. And remember, you have got this and you are not alone.
