What do you use to log your homeschool days?

[Kelly1730]

It's that time of year again. I have to make copies of my log at the end of the year for our evaluator. It's so time consuming and boring! Just wondering if you have a favorite log/planner for this purpose or how you do it to make it easier. My husband tells me every year that I am doing this the hard way but if there is an easier way then I'm all :bigear::bigear::bigear:!

[Donna]

I use a 1 inch binder with pages in it...one per week that have a block for each day. Everyday, I write what dd did that day or should do (if I'm not going to be home with her) and we check things off. I've tried a number of different ways with teacher plan books or date books but this way just seems to work best for us.

 

Forgot to add that it also has a book list in the back where she keeps track of books read and another list for places visited (her addition).

[KristenR]

I'm using Homeschool Skedtrack

[I talk to the trees]

I see that you're in PA, and I'm not familiar with PA law, but in NY we have to submit quarterly reports, so I guess that's not too different from a log. I use iCal for attendance records. For the quarter reports, I stick a post-it on the page in each textbook where we began for the quarter. That way, I know exactly where to start my summary. It's not high-tech, but it works for me!

 

I'll be honest and say that I tried to use a planner/journal the first couple of years, and found it easier to just spend one afternoon every 3 months collecting information and reporting than to record tiny chunks of information every.single.day.

[NanceXToo]

It's that time of year again. I have to make copies of my log at the end of the year for our evaluator. It's so time consuming and boring! Just wondering if you have a favorite log/planner for this purpose or how you do it to make it easier. My husband tells me every year that I am doing this the hard way but if there is an easier way then I'm all :bigear::bigear::bigear:!

 

I'm not sure what you're asking, exactly. I'm in PA as well, and to me, the "log" is nothing more than a list of reading materials, by title. Throughout the year whenever the kids read a book, or I read one with them, or we use a textbook or whatever, I jot down the title in a Wordpad document at my computer and add to it as we go. At the end of the year, I print it out.

 

Here is a link to everything I included in my last portfolio, with pics:

 

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/226816.html

[Jen in PA]

I have a day planner type form that I use as my lesson plans, adjust for what we actually do finish, then save and print at the end of each week. I label it (e.g. week 27 log), then the next week I write over the old dates and day numbers, then save it as the new week's log (it becomes week 28). The printed copy goes straight into my portfolio binder, I email a copy to myself to store online, and I keep a folder on my PC desktop with all of the current school year's plans/logs. I keep most of my book list for recurring textbooks on the bottom of that page so that the top gets filled in with abbreviations that I just cut and paste. It takes me about 5 minutes at the start of the week to set up the new page, but that is rolled into my lesson planning time. It takes another 5 minutes at the end of the week to proofread and print.

SAMPLE LOG.doc

[Snoopytwo]

I'm not sure what you're asking, exactly. I'm in PA as well, and to me, the "log" is nothing more than a list of reading materials, by title. Throughout the year whenever the kids read a book, or I read one with them, or we use a textbook or whatever, I jot down the title in a Wordpad document at my computer and add to it as we go. At the end of the year, I print it out.

 

I'm in PA, too. This is exactly what I do.

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[Kelly1730]

I'm not sure what you're asking, exactly. I'm in PA as well, and to me, the "log" is nothing more than a list of reading materials, by title. Throughout the year whenever the kids read a book, or I read one with them, or we use a textbook or whatever, I jot down the title in a Wordpad document at my computer and add to it as we go. At the end of the year, I print it out.

 

Here is a link to everything I included in my last portfolio, with pics:

 

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/226816.html

 

I guess mine is a little more detailed, I write down the book, page #, exactly what we read about (The Spanish Armada) and make notes about what we did for PE, art, music, etc. I do exactly the same thing for both boys so I only need to write it once but copying 36 weeks at the end of the year is painful. I am looking for a way to shortcut it. Thanks though, I will check yours out.

[momofkhm]

It's that time of year again. I have to make copies of my log at the end of the year for our evaluator. It's so time consuming and boring! Just wondering if you have a favorite log/planner for this purpose or how you do it to make it easier. My husband tells me every year that I am doing this the hard way but if there is an easier way then I'm all :bigear::bigear::bigear:!

 

Well, I'm in NC ad all I have to do is log days. When I registered with the state, they sent me a form with all 12 months on it and boxes for days. For the first several years, I decided there was something better and I paid for something better. Now I've decided their chart is fine. I make 3 copies every year and just check the boxes.

 

Very similar to this one.

[Ellie]

Well, I'm in NC ad all I have to do is log days. When I registered with the state, they sent me a form with all 12 months on it and boxes for days. For the first several years, I decided there was something better and I paid for something better. Now I've decided their chart is fine. I make 3 copies every year and just check the boxes.

 

Very similar to this one.

Well, you know, you're really not required to keep track of school days. The law says that you're supposed to school "at least nine calendar months a year, excluding reasonable holidays and vacations." And you don't have to submit any attendance records, either, regardless of whether the state sends you forms. :)

[SailorMom]

I use Homeschool Tracker Basic. Works great...

[Tammyla]

In your case, I'd consider using a computer based program or basic spreadsheet that could simply be printed. (I detest making copies:tongue_smilie:>)

 

I think Homschooltracker still has a free version.

[Kelly1730]

I'm using Homeschool Skedtrack

 

 

This looks interesting. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out more thoroughly later.

[Tarreymere]

Some places interpret the log differently, since part of the law says it should be 'comtemporaneously with instruction' and want the dates that the books were used. Either the book title with a list of dates it was used or dates with a list of books that were used on those dates. HSLDA has interpreted the law this way too (not that I'm a fan) and that Susan Richman who was apparently instrumental in forcing this law on us has the same idea. She has PaHomeschoolers and you can see her thoughts on this at her website. The idea from this camp is that the log then 'proves' that school was done that day.

 

This is a major PITA for folks who have evaluators or school districts who want to see that kind of thing.

 

I'm sweating this now, since the evaluator I had lined up hasn't gotten back to me and I may need to keep looking for one and because I haven't submitted a portfolio to this district before. This drove me back to HST.

 

Anyone want to do a distance eval for me?