luvbug in Ohio Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 I've got to do something. Just thinking about my mountain of stuff makes me nauseous. I have a confession: I've kept EVERY.SINGLE.THING. from our homeschooling. Why, you ask? 1. At first I didn't even think about it. Just kept it. 2. By the time I realized I needed to weed some stuff out, I put it off because I'm a procrastinator. 3. Now I'm faced with a huge mountain of stuff to weed through, and I don't know where to start. Totally my own fault. I refuse to live this way any longer! So I'm going to get this done if it kills me, and procrastinate no more! (Let's hope!) Surely I just need to keep stuff like attendance, a scope/sequence of what we covered, basic grades such as they are, book lists, and a few samples of work? I also have some pictures of artwork, and if we went anywhere on a field trip type thing. Does that sound good enough, or am I forgetting something? I should say, this is not for state reporting. My state doesn't require me to turn in any of this. I do have to put together some paperwork for notification, and I have all of that as well, but then that's all I need for the state. This is just for our own record keeping/memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 I keep a whole lot of nothing. Absolutely nothing. I expect I will change those habits as we enter high school, but younger grades? Nope, nothing 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 I can't speak to anything else because I haven't thought it through, but I plan on keeping all paperwork in regards to high school labs. Just in case there's any pushback at any colleges about whether our labs were "real" or not. Other than that, I don't know! I take the papers out of their binders, tie each subject together with yarn, and stuff in a box in the attic because I can't think of what to keep or not. I should weed it all out as well, but it seems easier just to tie and stuff. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 I keep my letter of intent with proof of receipt, attendance record, schedule, and sample of each subject from beginning, middle, and the end of the year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 I keep records in skedtrack and a video. I can print out previous calendars, resource lists, subject-specific work lists along with the number of hours spent in each subject, field trips, etc. I can go back 10 years and it's all still there. I make a video each year of work that my kid has done. I set it to music and it shows a good bit of what was accomplished without me having to keep the actual pieces. I keep standardized tests on the years we do those. The whole thing fits into a slim file. I'm good with keeping that, but not all the extras. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 I've got to do something. Just thinking about my mountain of stuff makes me nauseous. I have a confession: I've kept EVERY.SINGLE.THING. from our homeschooling. Why, you ask? 1. At first I didn't even think about it. Just kept it. 2. By the time I realized I needed to weed some stuff out, I put it off because I'm a procrastinator. 3. Now I'm faced with a huge mountain of stuff to weed through, and I don't know where to start. Totally my own fault. I refuse to live this way any longer! So I'm going to get this done if it kills me, and procrastinate no more! (Let's hope!) Surely I just need to keep stuff like attendance, a scope/sequence of what we covered, basic grades such as they are, book lists, and a few samples of work? I also have some pictures of artwork, and if we went anywhere on a field trip type thing. Does that sound good enough, or am I forgetting something? I should say, this is not for state reporting. My state doesn't require me to turn in any of this. I do have to put together some paperwork for notification, and I have all of that as well, but then that's all I need for the state. This is just for our own record keeping/memories. Why would you need to keep "attendance"? :confused1: My vote would be to keep the things your state requires and call it good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 I'd keep scope and sequence and book lists because that might run together in future years with multiple kids. "Did we cover x, y, and z with that kid?" but then I have four over a range of 10 years, and if your kids were all doing similar work/reading in similar years, then I wouldn't sweat it. But I would scan it all and save it on the computer. In fact, all of the documentation would be electronic. I keep special cute little things done in K and 1st grade, but that's about it. I vote burn/recycle most of it. This is going to be way easier than you think. Get some cardboard boxes, quickly sort, snatching out the few things you want. Make a pile of things to scan. (It should be pretty small...like what would fit in one file folder per kid) and recycle the rest. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 Why would you need to keep "attendance"? :confused1: My vote would be to keep the things your state requires and call it good. My state requires it, it's the only documentation they require though. I agree that it's ridiculous. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 For elem I only kept what we had to submit to our state: IHIP plans, quarterly reports, year end reports. And the Five in a Row lapbooks we did for a couple of years, because they were adorable. For high school, I kept the required state paperwork plus lab reports, a reading list, course descriptions, & an ongoing resume of activties & awards. Kiddo also has a portfolio, not for the district, but that he has used to apply for internships & summer programs- it includes his transcript, awards, letters of recommendation, work samples (not from all classses). Everything above fits in one expandable file folder, plus 3 three ring binders. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 A 'grade' is a set of 2 years here, and I keep stuf from the grade we are in, and the grade before. So after 4 years the oldest set of 2 years get rid off. When we finished elementary school I kept the portfolio's for fine arts and P.E. for memory. (One binder each) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 I also keep nothing. My state requires only that I follow the instructions of my umbrella school. I turn in attendance and grades to them and there is nothing physical I need to keep. I plan to keep more for high school. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 My state requires a yearly portfolio and specific subjects. The rule of thumb is around 3-5 samples for each main subject (the big four), and whatever proves we covered fire safety, art, music, PE, etc. I try to show a variety of types of learning. We also have to show an attendance log (which is just a calendar with days checked), test scores for certain years, and a list of books. I save all of that, but once our portfolio is approved, I get rid of everything that's not in the portfolio unless my kids want to save it. But my seventh grader spent two years writing beautiful outlines and summaries for ancient and medieval history, so we saved that whole composition book, even though we just put a couple of samples in the portfolio. That's for up to grade 8. I'll save all the stuff for high school, except maybe their personal notes and practice problems. I'm saving all essays, tests, review problems, until I know we don't need it. I may save less for subjects corroborated by SAT II or other tests too. Don't know yet. Oldest just finished 9th, and I haven't gotten rid of any of her stuff for that year yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaniemom Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 I only have elementary children and when our end of year review is done everything gets recycled. I imagine in middle school I'll keep a bit and high school keep more but for now it all goes in the recycle bin. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 My state requires that I keep a portfolio for 2 years, but rather than picking through everything to pick out a portfolio, it's easier for me to just dump everything into a big bin, label it with the school year, then keep it all for 2 years. At the end of our school year, I empty out the bin from 2 years ago, then dump everything from the just-finished year into the bin. My oldest just completed his first year of high school, and I may keep everything for high school, assuming I have the storage space. I have kept his Biology notebook from 8th grade because I'm giving him high school credit for that course. I do keep all of our yearly evaluation reports and/or standardized test results that have been turned in for annual evaluations. Those are in a separate file. OP, if your state doesn't require you to keep anything, I'd just set aside one afternoon and look through everything quickly. Pick out a few momentos, keep whatever is required for your state, keep anything from high school, (maybe) keep other material from the last year or two, then dump everything else. Don't spend more than one day working on it, and don't overthink it. You will feel SO much better! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 I've got to do something. Just thinking about my mountain of stuff makes me nauseous. I have a confession: I've kept EVERY.SINGLE.THING. from our homeschooling. Why, you ask? 1. At first I didn't even think about it. Just kept it. 2. By the time I realized I needed to weed some stuff out, I put it off because I'm a procrastinator. 3. Now I'm faced with a huge mountain of stuff to weed through, and I don't know where to start. Totally my own fault. I refuse to live this way any longer! So I'm going to get this done if it kills me, and procrastinate no more! (Let's hope!) Surely I just need to keep stuff like attendance, a scope/sequence of what we covered, basic grades such as they are, book lists, and a few samples of work? I also have some pictures of artwork, and if we went anywhere on a field trip type thing. Does that sound good enough, or am I forgetting something? I should say, this is not for state reporting. My state doesn't require me to turn in any of this. I do have to put together some paperwork for notification, and I have all of that as well, but then that's all I need for the state. This is just for our own record keeping/memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvbug in Ohio Posted August 15, 2017 Author Share Posted August 15, 2017 In response to Ellie's question, I keep an attendance record for the offchance that I ever do need it, to show how many days we have done school. While my state doesn't require me to turn it in, they do require a certain number of homeschooling hours. So I keep an attendance record to prove what we've done. It gives me peace of mind knowing I have that. Thanks for all the helpful information, everyone! I enjoyed reading every single one of these responses. Now I'm going to go toss my school room! I'm ready and feeling strong! :hurray: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemsondana Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 During the school year, I write down what we did each day in a student planner (like what kids might use in a public school, with a calendar divided into subjects). On the first page, I write what books we're using so that my abbreviations make sense, and when we finish a book I write the new book title at the top of the page. At the end of the year I stick everything for each kid in a file box. I did this for 3 years, and then my 2 file boxes were full, so now I go back and sort through the oldest set of stuff each year. Somehow it's easier to sort through work from 3 years ago than what we just finished. I pick a few samples, usually a test, last page from the handwriting book where they finally know all of the letters, the awesome drawing of the water cycle, etc. I also save anything particularly cute or well done, like a report. It ends up being a slim hanging folder for each kid each year. I figure that when each kid is done, I'll have a single file box for each of them that has a file for each year, with their calendar showing what they did and a sampling of what it looked like. When they get to high school, I'll have to make portfolios but I figure it will kind of be the same - I'll save their tests and projects, but not their notes or most of the 'homework' questions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 In response to Ellie's question, I keep an attendance record for the offchance that I ever do need it, to show how many days we have done school. While my state doesn't require me to turn it in, they do require a certain number of homeschooling hours. So I keep an attendance record to prove what we've done. It gives me peace of mind knowing I have that. Thanks for all the helpful information, everyone! I enjoyed reading every single one of these responses. Now I'm going to go toss my school room! I'm ready and feeling strong! :hurray: If taking attendance gives you peace of mind, take attendance. But no one ever asks to see proof of 900 hours of instruction. If your child completes a full year of schooling demonstrated by portfolio review or standardized testing, the assumption is that the requirement was met. You should keep copies of the official paperwork, and: If you do portfolio review, you must keep the portfolio until you have the evaluator's letter in hand. If you do the testing option, you must keep the test results until you submit them to the school superintendent and he or she acknowledges your compliance with state requirements. I keep an annual portfolio for each my children. I put the year's official documentation at the front of the portfolio and any standardized test results at the back. In the future I intend to consolidate the annual portfolios in a single 1st-8th grade portfolio per child. I expect to keep more documentation once my children reach high school. Mostly to make any college-required documentation easier. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 I create a binder for each year. In the binder I have - a calendar of events and classes, class descriptions and resources, examples of a daily check list, some photos, programs from events we attend or the kids perform in, work samples, standardized test scores, etc. I never let myself do more than a single binder's worth of info. Then I have something to show if the kids should need to go back to school and we also have some nice things to look back on. My oldest is a junior, and I am thinking of condensing to a SINGLE binder souvenir after he graduates. We'll see! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 The children. I keep the children. ;) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Surely I just need to keep stuff like attendance, a scope/sequence of what we covered, basic grades such as they are, book lists, and a few samples of work? I also have some pictures of artwork, and if we went anywhere on a field trip type thing. Does that sound good enough, or am I forgetting something? I should say, this is not for state reporting. My state doesn't require me to turn in any of this. I do have to put together some paperwork for notification, and I have all of that as well, but then that's all I need for the state. This is just for our own record keeping/memories. You do not need to keep attendance records as they are not required in Ohio. I do keep the NOI/approval letter from the district, scope/sequence of what we covered, our test scores and/or portfolio review letter, book lists, and some art work. I used to keep other samples but I no longer do since we do testing. I would keep samples if I thought it would help me from a "we were there then, and now we are here" perspective. Most of their writing is also on the computer so I don't need to keep the physical pages. Everything I keep for the year fits in a 1 inch binder. That said, I have kept some science binders because I might teach the class again and it will be helpful to have the first class' data. Also I might hold onto books for the subjects for a year or two IF I think we might need review (I have held onto the teacher books for FLL3 and FLL4 and LFCA for this reason) or if I have a sentimental attachment to the books (Story of the World anyone?). Otherwise, I am finding freedom in letting the rest go. I was told (incorrectly) that I had to hold onto three years worth of work if I did portfolio reviews. Since we have done testing I have been able to recycle SO much. It felt good to regain the shelf space again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Since you don't have to keep any of this stuff, I'd suggest picking one or two sentimental items from each year to keep and then toss the rest. As they enter high school, you may want a more complete portfolio, but whatever. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 In response to Ellie's question, I keep an attendance record for the offchance that I ever do need it, to show how many days we have done school. While my state doesn't require me to turn it in, they do require a certain number of homeschooling hours. So I keep an attendance record to prove what we've done. It gives me peace of mind knowing I have that. Thanks for all the helpful information, everyone! I enjoyed reading every single one of these responses. Now I'm going to go toss my school room! I'm ready and feeling strong! :hurray: You are not required to prove how many hours. You're just supposed to assure the superintendent that you have done the hours. We should not worry about trying to prove something the law does not require. In any case, once the current school year is over, there's no reason that you'd have to go back and, well, assure the superintendent that you kept those hours, because you will have submitted the annual notification for that year and you'll be done with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvbug in Ohio Posted August 16, 2017 Author Share Posted August 16, 2017 The children. I keep the children. ;) Ha ha! I love it! Thank you for the laugh, I needed it. :thumbup1: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 The children. I keep the children. ;) Generally advised! And what about the books? Putting them away is practically like putting one of the children on the shelf. :D 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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