How To Keep Records of Your Homeschoolers Progress

Maintain detailed homeschool records for each child you homeschool. This must be a top priority from the beginning. Homeschool recordkeeping is often the most time-consuming task you will have as a home educator. By following a few of our tips, you should be able to keep records of your students’ progress without much trouble. Some records that you may need to keep would include:

●Video or Audio from programs, recitals, or speeches

●Presentations that your child created and used for their studies

●Photographs from sporting events or other subject-based events

●Artwork and pictures of science fair projects

●Daily work, tests, progress, and homework

Of course, this list of items may differ based on what your local and state requirements are based on your homeschooling laws. Once you know what you are legally required to preserve, you can then decide what to keep and what to dispose of accordingly. This will keep the clutter at bay while providing you with peace of mind.

Preservation and Organization

There are really two ways of saving, or preserving, your child’s homeschooling records. Those are physical and digital. You can decide what works best for you and your homeschooling situation. You can either choose one or the other or combine both systems to your liking. Either way, being consistent and using a system that works for you is the key to staying organized.

Before you can preserve your child’s records you need to know what type of organizational system you want to use. Do you prefer keeping physical records or turning those documents into digital records? If you are keeping physical records you could use a basic file cabinet with hanging folders. If you prefer to turn your physical records into digital form then you can use free storage space such as Google Drive. You would simply scan the documents and save them as a jpeg or pdf.

5 Document Types to Keep

1. Legal Documents - Letter of intent, attendance, immunizations records, and all required tests.
2. Course of Study - Create a file for each subject your student takes throughout the current year of homeschooling.
3. Extra Activities - Keep documents such as pamphlets from each activity that your student participates in.
4. Certificates - Keep your students’ awards and/or pictures of the award that your students earn through the year.
5. Community Services - Keep a log of the community services that each student experiences. If possible, use the organization’s letterhead as well as the volunteer’s activity and hours.

If you store your documents digitally you can access them from anywhere you have internet access. For example, if you and your family travel and you need a form or document from a previous lesson, you can access that from your computer or smartphone. Digital files are convenient and use less space.

Digital files can always be downloaded and printed on as needed. This option frees space in your home and keeps papers to a minimum and clutter at bay. The takeaway for keeping homeschool records is to be consistent, know what you legally must keep, and dispose of what is not necessary.