First time confused homeschooler

[sahmom4cj]

My daughter will be in 1st grade this year. It's our first year and I want to make sure everything is in order. I'm confused on how to keep track of attendance. Also, do I have to keep EVERYTHING my child writes on? I know I'm suppossed to keep records of all her work but I'm not sure how extensive they want. Any advice for record tracking or programs/systems used, preferably free, would be awesome.

 

Please help! Thank you in advance.

 

Christina

[Alison in KY]

I use a teacher notebook, specifically The Homeschooler's Journal. I just write down what we've done for that day. I also keep a running totaly of days we've completed on the side, so I always know where we are at in homeschooling. Other's mark off of a calender.

 

I don't keep everything. What you could do is keep your teacher manual/calender or whatever you use to show attendance, then keep a good sampling of their schoolwork for that year.

 

Alison

[Jennefer@SSA]

My daughter will be in 1st grade this year. It's our first year and I want to make sure everything is in order. I'm confused on how to keep track of attendance. Also, do I have to keep EVERYTHING my child writes on? I know I'm suppossed to keep records of all her work but I'm not sure how extensive they want. Any advice for record tracking or programs/systems used, preferably free, would be awesome.

 

Please help! Thank you in advance.

 

Christina

 

I pretty much keep everything for one year. In Texas we have absolutely no rules or guidelines so this is pretty much just for me. ;) You might want to check on a local board in SC to see what others do, just to be sure you are within state guidelines.

[notbefore7]

Someone once told me - 2 samples per subject per month. That is the general rule of thumb I use to show "progress" for the state. I have not had a problem.

 

I also type up the books we read under the general headings of each historical topic, then poetry, read-alouds, chapter "on my own" reads, etc.

 

For ETC, I just save the "tests" at the end of each lesson. For math, I do the 2 per month and then any "tests" or review type sheet she had to do in Singapore.

 

Good luck! You'll learn what they want and like to see!

 

I am in MD

[sahmom4cj]

Thank you all so much. I have already looked at the homeschool journal. Looks great. All the other info was wonderful. Thank you!

[Mallorie]

 

www.donnayoung.org has been recommended here. I printed off some of her things to use, along with a plain teacher planner book from walmart.

[Mallory]

Do you have to keep attendance or a portfolio?

 

I've never lived in a state where either was needed and I keep hardly anything. I do keep planning sheets and a few other things (history maps, handwriting) during the current year, but at the end of the year I throw away everything.

 

Just to offer a different POV.

[southcarolinamom]

Hi! I live in SC and have NEVER been asked in all my 12 years of homeschooling to show a portfolio, record keeping book, or ANYTHING to anyone. I still keep meticulous records, just in case.:)

 

I use the http://www.christianbook.com/the-homeschoolers-journal/9780978541309/pd/97152#curr

 

journal for record keeping, and have samples of their work in the different subject areas in boxes in my attic.

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of homeschooling!

[Harriet Vane]

I live in a state that does not require record-keeping, but I have kept records anyway. However, I have loosened up a LOT over the years--the things I feared as a newbie just are not as strong anymore.

 

My first couple years of homeschooling I printed an Excel grid that had dates for one year on it. I put in a check mark if we had a full school day, FT for field trip, 1/2 if we did a half day, and an X if we missed school. If the kid had been sick that day I might write in "sick" next to the X. I no longer do this--we are not required to show such records in my state, and even if we moved the new state cannot require us to show records for our time in another state. (We would have to start following the new state's rules right away but the new state's rules are not retroactive on our time in another state.)

 

I do keep every scrap of paper they write on, but I now regret this mightily. It drives me nuts keeping track of the paper, and most of it just isn't that special. (Spelling lists? Math drill? Really?!?!) I now wish I had kept just samples for all subjects, and anything that seemed special (like stories they write or super-cool projects). When my kids rifle through the old school binders they skip all the rote stuff and go to the special stuff anyway. I keep meaning (in all my spare time) to re-do the notebooks with my kids and start keeping less, but haven't had the courage yet to have this conversation with them. :tongue_smilie:

[Chris in VA]

I don't have to track attendance or keep stuff (just a test at the end of the year). I keep track on the calendar we have hanging on the wall--just an X mark if we schooled that day. I save dd's math sheets (Saxon) so she can see what she's done. I could just make a graph with her scores and keep that on the wall. She makes a history notebook, and we (sometimes) keep track of what she reads. I keep a few writing samples if she's written a poem or a description that's interesting and well-done. She has a nature journal, but rarely contributes to it now. We keep workbooks in Bible, Spelling and Latin, for a couple of years.

That's it.

 

What do you absolutely have to keep? Don't make it harder on yourself than you need to. Keeping a history binder is the most important around here, because it shows history and writing samples, as well as art work. But it's just for us.

[misidawnrn]

This is what I do, and you can have the idea (I got it from someone else and modified it to our curricula)

 

I don't keep a separate page for attendance. If I ever had to show it I would just go and count the days on our planner but you could easily make a spreadsheet with a bunch of squares and write the date in each one that you did school.

 

I fill this out a week ahead and we go from there. No planner on the internet, no filing, no workboxes just my little pages in a binder. I needed something that is portable since we travel frequently to our farm 80 miles away with no internet.

 

I don't have to keep DD's work or show what she is doing but you just keep the best of some of her assignments in a binder marked Math, English, Spelling, History, etc.

 

https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1mLRP2TnaqN3gCVDmWaJMHi99igTaZnvH9LPc8khdlPY&hl=en

Edited August 11, 2010 by misidawnrn
changed links for better view

[G5052]

Or maybe I'm just extremely busy, but this has worked for over a decade now...

 

I make a small "X" in my personal calendar on every day that we school. My state requires 180 days, but not that we turn it in. So if I had to reconstruct it, I could. I never have though. ;)

 

I save math tests and "significant" writing assignments in a folder each year, but that's it. The rest goes out. I don't have to turn in a portfolio either, but this satisfies my desire to keep some work each year.

 

Don't work harder than you have too -- frankly teaching is more important than record-keeping.

[sahmom4cj]

Wow, thank you for all these responses. They all really helped alot. :) Yes, my state requires portfolios and keeping records. But I love all the replys from you. Thank you!!!! Very excited.