POLL: Home School Tracker +

[Mommyfaithe]

I was just wondering if I am the only one who wants to kill my laptop every time I try to use this program....

 

If you do use it happily.....please share HOW!!!!! I want all the nitty gritty:D

( I am willing to try again...dd is starting high school and it would be nice to have some pretty records.)

[Tress]

Faith,

 

I *love* HST+, but...my children are young, so I haven't really looked at all the options for making a transcript, grading things etc. So I can't really help you out. Sorry.

[Rhonda in TX]

I create lesson plans, then am able to reuse the same lesson plans for the next child.

 

I print out assignment sheets for the kids. The type has varied with their (and my) needs. This past year I printed out 6 weeks worth, by subject. I then put them a notebook, again divided by subject. This worked really well.

 

I record grades (although I often get behind) and make report cards. For the first time, I made a transcript for DS. He will need this to get his learner's permit (driving! - ack!) in the fall.

 

I print out a list of books read during the year. This, along with their report card, goes in a notebook I make of their yearly work (I keep tests and papers written.)

 

I can record volunteer work and outside activities.

 

I will admit it is a hassle at times. I have a Mac and have to reboot it into Windows mode to use it. That's one of the reason I did the 6 week assignment notebook. I've looked at the online version, but I it doesn't have all the functionality of the plus version at this time.

[LaxMom]

Yes, love it! We have actually moved to the online version, though, for the sake of electronic portability.

 

What, in particular, are you having trouble with? That might help to direct some guidance. ;)

[JudoMom]

I have a love/hate relationship with it. Last year I went to my own planner I made in excel and printed, but I missed some things with HST+.

 

Have you watched any of the videos on their site? Once I did that, some things made a lot more sense. I'm going back to HST+ for the coming school year, so I'll be spending the summer reminding myself how it all works.

[Sasharowan]

I took 3-4 nights in a row, had my laptop with HST+ on it and hubs desktop with HST videos pulled up and made a practice student and year. Then I practiced, then I started inputting stuff for my own kids. I like it because I can just pull up plans from the oldest and use it with the next. I am having to put in 1st and 2nd for the youngest, but after that, unless I make drastic changes, everything is set.

[FO4UR]

 

What, in particular, are you having trouble with? That might help to direct some guidance. ;)

 

 

My problem is that I don't know what, in particular, I am having trouble with.:confused:

 

I can't even get started. I have put lesson plans in, and I don't know what to do after that.

[Dory]

I had to pick both killing the laptop and loving the program as I tend to bounce between the two. In the end, I think I'm putting together something of my own on paper. HST+ is good but I think it just isn't what I'm wanting.

[Calm37]

Did manage to get it set up enough to make it through the year with a weekly list for my students. We even recorded Math & Science grades. I am dreading having to close out this year and start a new year (10th). Hope they have a video for that as I have NO CLUE how to do it.

 

The problem I have with HST+ is there is NOTHING intuitive about it at all! I had used Homeschool Easy Records for my oldest two and that software finally became obsolete with my latest computer. I loved being able to print that transcript at the end of high school, though. Can't put this off forever. :) But I will try....

 

Blessings,

[Mommyfaithe]

I create lesson plans, then am able to reuse the same lesson plans for the next child.

 

I print out assignment sheets for the kids. The type has varied with their (and my) needs. This past year I printed out 6 weeks worth, by subject. I then put them a notebook, again divided by subject. This worked really well.

 

I record grades (although I often get behind) and make report cards. For the first time, I made a transcript for DS. He will need this to get his learner's permit (driving! - ack!) in the fall.

 

I print out a list of books read during the year. This, along with their report card, goes in a notebook I make of their yearly work (I keep tests and papers written.)

 

I can record volunteer work and outside activities.

 

I will admit it is a hassle at times. I have a Mac and have to reboot it into Windows mode to use it. That's one of the reason I did the 6 week assignment notebook. I've looked at the online version, but I it doesn't have all the functionality of the plus version at this time.

 

HOW do you make the lesson plans???

 

Do you includse all work assigned????

 

Can I maybe play with this retroactively, so I can experiment??

 

OOOHHH!!!! I can print assignments by SUBJECT???? I LOVE this!

 

Do you enter each assignment by book and then assign a subject and then assign a date??

 

I am HST+ handicapped....:tongue_smilie:

[Mom-2-7]

I also have a love / hate relationship with HST+. I find it frustrating to use but I know I could get the hang of it if I really put the time in. It has great possibilities.

 

The one thing that bugs me to the point that I stopped using it is the reports. I want to customize my reports. I've tried everything I can think of as far as exporting and manipulating the data but nothing works well. The stock reports the program has are useless to me.

 

Every now and then I check the website to see if they have made that a possibility. Until they do I don't see myself using it.

[Mommyfaithe]

I took 3-4 nights in a row, had my laptop with HST+ on it and hubs desktop with HST videos pulled up and made a practice student and year. Then I practiced, then I started inputting stuff for my own kids. I like it because I can just pull up plans from the oldest and use it with the next. I am having to put in 1st and 2nd for the youngest, but after that, unless I make drastic changes, everything is set.

 

Yes, but was it worth the time put in???

[Tarreymere]

I have it, I really like it. I wish it were prettier.

 

I don't use it to plan lessons more than a week or so ahead. I have a good idea of where we're going and how we're going to get there, but I don't use HST to help me with the big picture. I mainly use HST to record the details for the records I need to keep, which seems like what you are interested in also.

 

When I set up HST initially, I put in the subjects I'm going to teach. Math, Language Arts, History, Science, ect. Then for each subject I put in courses. For example, dd is in third grade, so under Math I have Third Grade Math, and ds is in kindergarten so I also have Kindergarten Math. I don't put in a course description, but if I did it would be from the scope and sequence of the main textbook I planned to use for the course. This is where you decide how you are going to grade the course and whether it is a core or an elective. This is something I don't much worry about right now, but you of course would have to.

 

To begin with actually USING the program, I put in the courses that I've assigned to each child. I assign them on the days of the week that I plan to teach them, like Math is every day but History is Mondays and Wednesdays. I don't schedule times, that is just too much detail for me and my head would explode.

 

I do this for the whole quarter. I leave the resource entry blank and the other fields blank. This way I have a structure for any given day that I can fill in or add to. If I pull up Monday, the 17th of Month X, I get a list of courses that I had planned to teach on that date: Math, Grammar, Composition, Spelling, History. There are no lesson plans or any other details, just the courses.

 

I go to the week coming up at some point on the weekend before and I put in the rest of the fields, just for that week. For example, under the entry for Monday I have records for Math, Grammar, Composition, Spelling, Vocabulary, History, and Critical Thinking. Remember, these entries just have the subject put in them and no other information.

 

I pull up the entry for Math, and fill in the resource (for example, Saxon) and I fill in the lesson #. I can fill in the resource and the lesson # (or 'test #' ) for math for the whole week. I also do this for the rest of the subjects. I don't like to plan more than a week or two because there is too much potential that my kids will either zoom ahead or need extra help in something, or that we will declare a spontaneous day off and go swimming or something (we school year round, so we are a bit relaxed about taking off on a beautiful day). It IS easy to reschedule things in HST, but I've found that once you get into lesson numbers and page numbers in assignments it can get tricky. I'm not a compulsive planner, remember, I'm more of a 'hey I need a way to record what we actually DID' person.

 

So, now I have the week sort of plotted out. On Monday I can pull up the list of what my kid is supposed to do that day and it includes the courses and the lesson numbers or page numbers. I COULD print this and give it to the kid as a checklist. There is an agenda option in which I could add in chores or appointments too, but again, that would make my head explode so I avoid that.

 

Now the kid actually has to do the work. Under Math in HST I have planned Saxon Math lesson 41. Dd actually does this lesson. I have HST open in the system tray of my laptop. I bring it up and mark this lesson completed. Dd also does fifteen minutes on Timez Attacks and I want to add this in so I make a new record under Math for that day and add that in and mark it completed.

 

And so on. I end up with a really nice record of what the kids actually did. I don't need transcripts yet so I can't help you with that part of it, but I would think that if you put in the grades for the tests and things it should generate transcripts pretty easily.

 

Anyway, I'm looking at the Well Planned Day just because I really would like something prettier. But HST does the job.

[nono]

Yes, but was it worth the time put in???

 

Right. I figure I'd like it if I had a full-time secretary that could handle it for me. :tongue_smilie: Seemed labor-intensive and too granular to me. But, it's been awhile since I looked at it.

[Tarreymere]

You know, in thinking this through further, I can see that there is a big difference for me in how I use HST. I'm a recorder. I'm not a planner. I want HST to record things neatly for me. And it does.

 

 

Personally, I can't wrap my head around making a lesson plan and using it again for another child. Our homeschool isn't structured like that. Dd might be progressing through Saxon 54, and I could put in a lesson plan with 'lesson x, lesson y, lesson z, test, lesson blah, lesson blah,' but we just don't work like that. Maybe lesson y was on say, angles, and we decided to sort of go off on a rabbit trail about angles. So the next lesson, lesson z, gets put off for a few days. Now I know that HST can do that, but when you start moving around assignments that actually have lesson numbers I get messed up.

 

Anyway, I don't see why you couldn't put in assignments or lessons retroactively, since that is pretty much what I do. I'm in it for the records, not the planning.

[April Walker]

I have a hard time getting on the computer on a regular basis to update everyone's completed assignments and print out checkoff sheets. What I have found is that I need to have blank assignment sheets (from Donna Young's website). I fill them in by hand a few weeks at a time. On HS Tracker I have the lesson plans that have most of the assignments.

 

For example, in our CLE workbooks, it lists each assignment. I only keep grades for quizzes and tests. I don't worry about if they completed the assignment on the actual day assigned.

 

For Apologia Science, my son takes a co-op class, so I just list each module for the date it's due and enter the entire module grade once the assignment has been graded and returned.

 

I've tried keeping up with every single little thing on tracker, and it did not work well for me. I'm too busy for that. Better for me to have a stack of blank assignment sheets for me to list out their next assignments quickly while I'm sitting at the table with them.

[ktgrok]

First, LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Can't imagine homeschooling without it.

 

Second, don't try to figure out EVERYTHING at once. It is the kind of program where there are usually 5 different ways to do each thing, so figure out what works for you and do that.

 

Third, their customer support is great, so feel free to ask questions!

 

Ok, so how I use it....

I set up Lesson Plans. Lesson Plans are the most amazing thing ever and the reason i will never change to another program. So for instance, my Medieval History looks like this: (first number is the week, second is the day of the week)

 

11. SOTW Chapter 1, sections 1-2, read and narrate

12. SOTW Chapter 1, section 3, read and narrate

13. Knowledge Quest Map, page 61, fill in all labeled areas

14. watch "Roman Empire" on netflix

14. Fill in timeline with figures from this week's reading

15. Make a Roman helmet

 

 

I did the week number followed by the day number to keep things in order, without me having to put them in in order. So first I entered in all the SOTW readings, using a list I found on line that broke it into 36 weeks. I could then go back and add in documentaries that I wanted, other assingments, etc, and as long as the sequence numbers worked they would all line up. Then each week, or each month, or whatever, you submit some lessons from the lesson plan to the assignment grid.

 

The lesson plans for math/grammar/writing/etc were MUCH easier, because I could have the program do them for me. So I could tell it to do WWE in such a way that it would know that there were so many weeks, and so many days per week, and it automatically did all those, rather than me typing them out. Easy.

[Rhonda in TX]

You NEED to watch the videos on their website. :)

 

When I create lesson plans, I include everything I want them to do. Sometimes I get lazy and it always backfires on me. Let's say for math they're supposed to watch a DVD lesson, read some textbook pages, and work certain problems. Each one of those things would get a separate entry, but all with the same sequence number. Does that make sense? I also make separate lesson plans for each different curriculum. So, while English covers R&S Grammar, BJU Lit, and IEW Writing, those are 3 separate lesson plans. They all have the same subject "English", and the same course "English 1" (for 9th grade). Once you get a handle on lesson plans, it will change your world. :) Once lesson plans are made, I can then submit them to the assignment grid (I think that's the right terminology). You can select a group at a time. Everything with the same sequence number is assigned to the same date. You can then create assignment sheets from the report section.

 

Yes, you can do assignment sheets by subject. When you select that assignment sheet (or calendar) from the report section, you will see a place in the bottom right hand part of the screen to select which student/subject/etc you want to include. You have to go through for each individual subject (or whatever you want).

 

Create some fake lesson plans and play around with it. That's how I learned to use HST+.

 

If you have any other questions, let me know.

[Rhonda in TX]

First, LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Can't imagine homeschooling without it.

 

Second, don't try to figure out EVERYTHING at once. It is the kind of program where there are usually 5 different ways to do each thing, so figure out what works for you and do that.

 

Third, their customer support is great, so feel free to ask questions!

 

 

Very good advice. I'm still learning things about HST+.

 

And I agree about the customer support. I've gotten quick answers to emails and to messages on their forums.

[myfunnybunch]

Other: Meh.

 

I tried HST for a while. Didn't hate it, didn't love it.

 

It was nice having everything in one place, just not my style. I found that rather than saving me time, it took more time entering and adjusting assigments than I wanted to spend.

 

I can see using it for middle and high school recordkeeping and transcripts, so maybe I'll give it a whirl again in a couple years.

 

Cat

[mamakim]

I need the obligatory "other" vote button! I've had it for - oh - 4 years? 5? And I have used it most years, but what makes me way-less-than-love it is that I need to re-orient myself each summer when I do the next year's scheduling (and make big frustrating errors that I've made year after year). I find it far off from intuitive. But after I'm done each year, it is a useful thing.

[3lilreds in NC]

I have tried to figure it out a couple of times, but it's not remotely intuitive and I have given up. The other issue I have is that it's a PC program and I try to run it in Virtual Windows or whatever on my Mac, and it just doesn't want to play nicely with me.

 

I'd love to have a computer planner. HST+ makes me want to throw things. Dh said he would figure it out for me but hasn't had time, so I am going with Excel plans and the Ultimate Homeschool Planner for me and the Student Planners for my girls. I am pretty sure I will be happier.

[HootyTooty]

Yes, love it! We have actually moved to the online version, though, for the sake of electronic portability.

 

What, in particular, are you having trouble with? That might help to direct some guidance. ;)

How are you liking the online version?

 

I debating making the switch but I don't know how I feel about spending $60 vs just using the cd I already own.

[Sasharowan]

Yes, but was it worth the time put in???

 

Yes, because once I put in the time to figure it out, and had everything inputted, it makes it easier to set up weekly checklists, easier to prepare reports for end of year portfolio review, and easier to tell how much more we have left to do and where we need to knuckle down and work more. For some things, like spelling, I just have week 1 A-D and test, for others, it is read certain pages and do this. I can use the same assignments for both middle kids and use the notes to customize it since they are in different grades and abilities.

[Colleen in SEVA]

I have tried (and failed)at HST+ so many times I have lost count.

 

I had a local mom sit down with me 2 years ago and walk me through exactly how to use it... and I did it for a couple of weeks and got overwhelmed.

 

I want to use it. I want to love it. But I don't. Sigh.

[Kari C in SC]

You needed the "other" choice. I have it, use it, wish I knew more about how to use it, but haven't had or wanted to put the time into learning it. I think it is a great tool that has lots of bells and whistles - I am just too brain dead to learn it all.

[Amayzed]

[quote name=

 

I am HST+ handicapped....:tongue_smilie:

 

This.

 

I need a stinking flow chart to tell me what comes first. The names of the forms have absolutely no concrete form of reference for me and my eyes glaze over 30 seconds into a video. His voice is too serene or bland or something.