​Planning & Record Keeping Is Not As Scary As It Sounds

I Went Overboard With The Record Keeping for Years

Take it from me, it is absolutely possible to go overboard with the planning and the record keeping in a homeschool. The first year we homeschooled our children, I wrote a paragraph each day for each lesson my kids did. I documented the materials we used and the time it took and the top keywords that I might need in the future if I needed to show all the topics they were learning. I kept and filed every blessed piece and scrap of paper and art project and photos of every outing. I kept this up for about two years, filling everything all my kids did in a box each year with a corresponding detailed summary of every topic attached to their grades.

And then, one day, it occurred to me that all I had to do was photocopy the table of contents of each text they used and write with a pen on each section to mark the date. I still kept a daily log, though that, once again, included everything. When you are worried about family members who are less than enthusiastic about homeschooling, you tend to overcompensate in the record keeping department.

Then I Realized How Easy Record Keeping Can Be

Over time, I grew more confident as I realized that the best record of what my kids were learning really was inside their head. Anyone to talked with my kids could see how much they learned. And so I relaxed a bit and fell back on some standard record keeping methods.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com Is An Excellent Resource For Record Keeping and Paperwork Templates

In the olden days, I found forms at DonnaYoung.com (which were free in the old days and now require a membership fee).

Then I discovered the great forms and record keeping helps at SchoolhouseTeachers.com, which has only increased their support for parents who need to keep homeschooling records over time. Now they have downloads to help you plan, and schedule builders, and free printable calendars, and even access to the Applecore service that will create a transcript for you.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com actually has a super deal of a sale right now, called the Early Bird Back To Homeschool Event. The sale lasts until August 31, 2017 so if you are interested, don’t let this pass by without at least taking a look at it! Here is the Coupon code: HOT2017 to get $40 off the regular price that includes all 340 classes, planning downloads, videos including Drive Thru History, the great extras like Applecore Gold plan, and the World Book encyclopedia content.

If I had it to do all over again, I would save all those hundreds of hours I spent obsessively record keeping as my kids were growing up, and instead use SchoolhouseTeachers.com and spend more time with my kids and less with the wordprocessor, spreadsheet, and printer.

There Are Also Great Books To Help You Manage Your Homeschool

Another great resource I discovered to help me get ready for junior and senior high school record keeping was Mary Schofield’s book called “The High School Handbook: Junior and Senior High School at Home”.

But, again, you have to be careful if you are like me and tend to go overboard. I did all the complex calculations of units and such and was busily trying to figure out how to balance the freedom of homeschooling with the strict confines of high school, when a friend (Kym at Homeschool Coffee Break) told me not to sweat it. She said high school is just like the lower grades, you just have to record a bit more.

That advice plus reading a number of books by Lee Binz about preparing your child and your homeschool for high school and making sure that your child can go to college if that ends up being the goal, relaxed me completely. The best one to start with is “Setting the Records Straight: How to Craft Homeschool Transcripts and Course Descriptions for College Admission and Scholarships” – even if your kids are not yet in high school. Lee explains how to homeschool now so that if your child ends up applying for college, it will be easy to get him into the college of his choice. The advice is so straight forward and calming that I really recommend it for everyone who homeschools and worries sometimes about their child’s future.

Record Keeping is important, but the most fundamental form of record keeping is putting a date on everything your child does and then throwing it in a big box and keeping it. If you just follow a few simple guidelines to be compliant with the rules of the state in which you live, you will be just fine.

Where Are The Guidelines For Record Keeping?

Take a look at your state’s requirements.

If you are not certain, the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) has a page with requirements for each state.

They also have veteran homeschooling moms (educational consultants) you can call who will help you out. They are friendly. They are helpful. They are even musical!

…And they have absolutely your back and will help you out if a neighbor you have known for years wakes up one morning in June and, out-of-the-blue, decides that he doesn’t like it that you homeschool and threatens to call social services. I cannot say enough good things about the HSLDA. They are well worth the annual fee to secure them as your lawyer.

Feel Free To Use My Forms As Well

Over the years, through various incarnations of my recordkeeping adventures, I have developed some forms that I will make available below for you to download and use:

Daily Homeschool Planner

[ddownload id=”1618″ text=”Download: Daily Homeschool Planner”]

Teacher Record Form

[ddownload id=”1735″ text=”Download: Teacher Record Form”]

Year In Review: “All About Me” Form

[ddownload id=”1797″ text=”Download: Year in Review -“All About Me” Form”]

Tomorrow I will talk about Getting Out And About with specific tips and ideas for finding local homeschool days and tours, so don’t forget to drop back by!

Now, Do You Have A Favorite Spot To Find Record Keeping & Planning Forms Online? And Are You The Laid Back Mom or The One Who Goes Overboard And Documents Everything Like Your Homeschool Is a Doctoral Dissertation?

Don’t forget to spend some time reading all the wonderful ideas from the great moms in the Blog Hop below!