subject: Record Keeping While Homeschooling [print this page] When parents get together, record keeping is a subject that is often discussed in meetings and forums pertaining to homeschooling.
Some sort of record keeping while homeschooling is a legal requirement in most all of the states, and in addition, it chronicles important milestones in a child's learning experience.
Record keeping is necessary for legal purposes, but it can also be a fun and exciting way to document the child's progress while learning. Since a child's education is a roadmap to their future successes as an adult it is important for the parent to keep some type of a log documenting the child's achievements because without it, you're just be hitting and missing with your child's overall education.
A parent who belongs to a homeschool support group may already have access to forms for this purpose, but if not, the records can be kept in the form of a simple daily journal or a more high tech software program with all the bells and whistles. Regardless of the format, keeping track of work on a daily basis will keep the reporting manageable and efficient.
The parent can maintain a journal, keeping a log of what the child learned, or the competencies that have been achieved, and in fact, documenting memorable events throughout the year creates a wonderful keepsake used to reminisce down the road.
Daily planners outline the assignments in the parent's planning notebook for a specified time frame. A good way of staying organized is to check off each task as it dealt with, and to maintain a separate area for recording any further notes and ideas. Educational trips, videos, and any special topics that were covered would be included in this section.
A portfolio consists of a collection of assorted materials that displays the child's achievements during the course of study.
An effective means of charting the child's progress is that of portfolio assessment, which takes a loose and somewhat rambling plan of homeschooling and translates it into an organized framework.
For example, a language portfolio might be comprised of essays, stories, reading charts, and spelling samples and the same can be outlined with progress in mathematics, history, science, and all other subjects.
A notable advantage of portfolio assessment is that it establishes a tangible journey of the child's accomplishments and may encourage him to attain even greater achievements.
Record-keeping systems that outline a schedule or checklist can also be purchased. Either way, it is essential to keep records in one form or another.
