Practical Record-Keeping
No matter which approach to homeschooling you follow, you must keep adequate records. Some states have specific
regulations listing the types of records and forms that must be completed. Besides these, it's a good idea to
keep weekly records of what is covered each year and the progress made. There are many different ways to keep
these records, as well as a variety of planners available that are designed specifically for homeschooling.
A WORD OF CAUTION
While reading this article, you are not allowed to condemn yourself because you are not this organized.
You are not allowed to get overwhelmed at the thought of all this planning. You are not allowed to compare
yourself directly with any other homeschooling family. Each family is unique, including the approach to
organization (if any!). There is no right way to organize. This information is provided as a “starting
point” to help you think through what will work for you and your family.
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What follows is a relatively simple system that uses common 3-ring notebook binders. Instead of binders you
can use crates that hold hanging files; instead of dividers you have a hanging file for each section. Or you
can designate areas in a file cabinet as described below. I used the crates during the elementary years because
many of the papers and projects would not fit in a binder. I switched to binders in the upper grades, partly
because the papers fit that format and because I needed something more portable. The key elements of any system
are:
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it keeps records in one place
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it is flexible from year to year yet consistent
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it can be maintained with a minimum of effort
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it can work for multiple students
This system uses a minimum of three or four binders, each with divider sheets:
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a larger binder (2-2.5 inches) for the parent that serves as a long-term planner and general organizer
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a smaller binder (1-2 inches) for the parent that serves as a yearly planner (since this planner contains
records for each student in the family, families with more than two children will need to get a larger binder)
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a larger binder (2-3 inches) for the student that serves as a long-term planner
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a smaller binder (1-2 inches) for the student that serves as a yearly planner and assignment log (not necessary
for younger children)
I recommend getting the view binders that have a clear plastic see-through cover for inserts. Students can
then design their own covers that can be changed as often as students wish. Older children can design a logo
for the name of your homeschool. You can come up with a unique name or just call it the _______ Family Homeschool
(we called ours Destiny Academy).
The Parental Long-Term Planner serves as a general organizational planner for your homeschooling. The Parental
Yearly Planner will hold general plans for each year as well as lesson plans for every child. The Student Yearly
Planner will hold copies of these plans for the student to use. This may seem like a lot of duplication, but this
way you have a “clean” copy for your records and students can make whatever marks (or doodles!) they want on their
copies. The Student Long-Term Planner will hold all the records for that student. Suggested contents for each
binder are listed below.
Parental Long-Term Planner (the terms in bold are listed on the dividers)
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Purpose Statement or Family Mission Statement
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Worldview, Life Philosophy, Statement of Faith, Values, or Character Traits
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Philosophy of Education
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View of Education (what you think your homeschooling should accomplish, what sort of training you
want to provide, how you want to raise your children)
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General Education Goals (brief explanation, model, or paradigm for homeschooling; usually consists
of 4 to 6 general statements about what areas you want to focus on in your children's training)
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State Regulations (legal requirements)
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Assessment Guidelines, Grading System, and Testing (or a statement about how you will track your
child's progress if you opt not to give grades or tests)
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House Rules or Behavioral Expectations
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Any other general information (this included a paragraph about my teaching style and how I
approach teaching, a paragraph on social interaction to deal with the “socialization” issue, and
one-page laminated hand-outs I gave our children that listed Qualities of a Good Student, Life
Principles (taken from the Bible), A Godly Lifestyle (taken from the Romans 12), and Words of
Wisdom (miscellaneous nuggets of truth I had gathered over the years).
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Learning and Curriculum Ideas (a catch-all place to keep notes about field trip ideas,
available programs in the area, sites in the area, and possible curriculum or books that caught
my attention throughout the year; many of these were jotted down on sticky notes or scrap paper –
I just taped them on sheets of lined notebook paper that I kept in this section).
Parental Yearly Planner
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Theme for the Year (we had a scripture verse that highlighted what we wanted to focus on for that year)
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Yearly Goals or IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for each student (usually 2-4 concerns for each area of
training – academics, spiritual, physical, emotional/behavioral/relational, life skills, and other
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Skills Checklist highlighted for each student (these listed specific topics or skills we wanted to cover that year)
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Master Schedule for that year (this gave us a sense of routine to follow so that every one was on the
same page, particularly as extracurricular activities were added to the process; this is used as a guideline
only – the schedule is not your master since you need to take into account teachable moments, current events,
family issues that arise, projects that require more time, field trips, and lessons that need extra attention)
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Course of Study listing the subjects and curriculum used for each student in the current year
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Reading Lists (if applicable)
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Field Trip Log
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Grading Sheets (not necessary if you use a separate Grading Book)
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Lesson Plans for each subject (and/or table of contents for textbooks and any syllabus, program
outline, or scope & sequence provided by a publisher, teacher, or program; each subject has its own
divider)
Student Yearly Planner (for high school students these records will be used to account for credits earned each year)
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Copy of the Theme for the Year
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Copy of the Master Schedule (we inserted this in the back cover)
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Copy of the Reading List (if applicable)
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Copy of that student's Lesson Plans or assignment sheets; each subject has it's own divider
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Student's Reading Logs (records any reading done by the student as part of a course or as outside
reading, other than textbooks)
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Student's Time Logs (records any learning experiences, activities, or research – other than
reading – that the student does apart from structured curriculum listed in the Lesson Plans)
Student Long-Term Planner (the Student's Records)
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Learning Styles analysis
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Career Assessments/Explorations (if applicable)
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Medical records
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IEP (if applicable)
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Long-Term Planning Sheets (e.g. elementary planning, junior high planning, high school graduation requirements)
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Divided sections for each year
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representative samples of work in each subject, showing progress over the year
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tests and lab reports
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any other test results such as standardized testing, merit tests, cognitive tests
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certificates of completion for any special programs
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awards earned
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grade reports or progress reports
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state evaluations (if required)
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transcript (if applicable)
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Teacher journal notes or observations made during the year for that student
At the end of each year, I shifted the records from the Parental Yearly Planner into each student's Long-Term
Planner under the corresponding divider (academic year). Then we would start all over with the Student Yearly
Planner (usually with a new cover!).
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