prairiewindmomma Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 My state does not require us to do a portfolio, but it does require us to "keep records". To my knowledge, there have only been a few court cases (from the early 1980s--not very relevant) regarding homeschooling in our state, so they don't offer much guidance either for recordkeeping. I have been keeping attendance records & lesson plans & work samples since we started homeschooling, but I'm wondering what others do. For those who live in states that do require portfolios, what do you put in them? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Many people do very different things based on how they homeschool, but over the last 7 years of portfolios, here is what I have figured out: List of Materials (including all books read and all curriculum) Photos of science projects/experiments and history projects Daily log of activities and assignments, with any applicable grades, this also works as your attendance record Examples from each subject form the beginning of the year, midway through the year, and the end of the year (to show progress) Any special reports, or pictures from field trips, etc If the child has special needs, any pertinent info on those, and adaptations that have been made; also, any info on current therapies (ie speech or vision, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 1. A reading list. I list all the textbooks we've used, all read-alouds, and all the books my children read themselves for school or pleasure-reading. 2. A list of educational experiences NOT listed in our curriculum, such as films, field trips, performances we've seen, co-op activities, etc. At the bottom of the list I also put the activities the kid have done. For example, "In addition to our weekly co-op, History Kid participates in a weekly gymnastics class at X in X town, NH, and the Learn To Play Hockey program at X in X town. He also is active in Spiral Scouts (Firefly level) and has earned the following badges/award pins this year: X, Y, and Z." 3. A copy of my letter of intent (you're required in NH to notify the school) and the original letter acknowledging receipt of my letter of intent. 4. Monthly samples of work from each subject. I have our binder broken up by subject, and I have our scope & sequence for each subject in there. It's easy for me because we use K12 so I can just copy in from their website. In language arts I make sure I have samples of spelling, writing, grammar, and any literature projects. In history and science I add in any lapbooks we've done. You can fold over a piece of duct tape to make a tab for your lapbook and then just hole-punch the tab. 5. Pictures, programs, tickets of events we've attended, as well as pictures of projects. The project pictures go under each subject. This is especially helpful in art since several pictures on a page take up a lot less space than a bunch of bulky projects. I go above and beyond what I need to do for a portfolio because it makes a nice keepsake/scrapbook of what each child has done for the year. Portfolios aren't required in my state -- it's one of the evaluation options and I choose to use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 I didn't do a portfolio last year, because we just sent in my son's ACT scores. However, in the past, I've included things like the following for each subject: - Reading list including texts, spines and other books - Lists of any DVDs watched - A few samples of assignments - Photos of field trips and projects I also include: - Results of any testing we did that year - A list of extracurricular activities - Photos of extracurricular activities Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 We're required to keep a portfolio here. I am anticipating putting the following into mine: -calendar with school days checked off -3-5 samples of work for each required subject -list of books and other resources (magazines, CDs/DVDs where appropriate) for each subject -any certificates of completion/participation for various classes (like one for dance class, to include in the "Health/Physical Education/Safety" section) -a paragraph or two describing our main topics for each subject, which will also mention field trips and such. -photographs as appropriate -- of artwork, of DD in period costume for history, etc. -standardized test scores -letter from our evaluator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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