We live in a very relaxed homeschooling state where we are only required to keep attendance records for 180 days, so we have very little required of us and we are only required to keep these records in case someone checks on it, which rarely happens unless someone would report us to authorities for not sending our children to school and I do not see why anyone would do this, so I doubt we would have to keep any records, but I do keep records for myself and I thought I'd share these examples for others who are unsure what to do. If we do decide to unschool through high school, we would need to be able to create transcripts for college requirements and I figure it would be helpful to get into the habit of keeping good records now so that I don't feel stressed in a few years when I have no system of record keeping in place. I keep an attendance record, activity log, book and website log, and photo scrap books.
1.) I keep an attendance log and under each date, I keep track of the subjects and the estimated amount of time spent on each subject. I do not do lesson plans and our schooling is very spontaneous, but it is interesting how most subjects are still covered naturally throughout a period of a week.
Attendance Record Example:
Day 1 7/1/13
2.5 hours
Health and PE (nutrition, yoga)
2 hours
History/Geography/social studies (WWI, WWII, Revolutionary War, Mummies, lakes,
ponds, rivers, creeks)
2 hours
Science (Weather, Cougars, Jungle Animals)
Day 2 7/2/13
2 hours
Science (Cougars, Lions, animal care (chickens), Orangutans, Child Development)
1.5 hours
Health and PE (Nutrition, food preservation)
2.5 hours
Language Arts (Listening skills, Reading Comprehension, Phonics)
Day 3 7/3/13
2.5 hours
History/Geography/Social Studies (poaching, history of kites, Scotland,
castles, Mexico, China, Independence Day)
2 hours
Science (cougars, science of flying kites)
2 hours Language
Arts (listening skills)
1.5 hours
health/PE (nutrition, hiking, swinging, nature)
.5 hour
Music
Day 4 7/4/13
1.5 hours Math
(geometry)
.5 hour Foreign Language (Indonesian)
2 hours Health/PE (Nutrition, hiking)
1.5 hours Science
(aquatic science)
2.) I have also learned that it is good to keep an activity log for college entrance, so I decided to also start doing this at an elementary level.
Activity Log Example:
Children’s Zoo
Toledo Zoo
Science
Central
Soccer
Urban
Forestry Class
Tiger and Wolf Cub
Scouts
Weekly Park
Days
Story time
Cedar Point
Indianapolis
Children’s Museum
Science
Central classes
Bicentennial
Train
Recorder
class through Trinity Episcopal Church
New American
Youth Ballet
Parks and
Recreation TBall
Little
League TBall
3.) I also keep a resource log that includes on-line education sites we use and books. For college entrance, they often will require identifiable information used for education, so I figure it would help to get into a habit of keeping track of this information at an elementary level also to get into good routines.
School book and Website Log:
Teach Your
Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmannm, 1983
www.seasite.edu Indonesian module
Human Body
by Steve Parker, 1993
Wikapedia
You Tube
Kumon
Workbooks (preschool, kindergarten)
BrainQuest
Workbooks (preschool, kindergarten)
Bob Books
4.) I also keep a photo book with different activities that we participate in relation to schooling. My plan is to keep one for each child for elementary school age, junior high age, and high school age. Many unschoolers do not acknowledge grade level, but I just go by my child's age and think about what grade they would be attending if they were attending school.
None of these records are necessary, but this is what I found the most helpful for us. I figure by sharing these examples, it may give you ideas for your record keeping if you are unsure what to do. Hopefully this helps for anyone who may have questions about record keeping. If you are starting the homeschooling journey, it is important to check on what is required by your state or country. Some states in the United States require testing and having a licensed teacher sign off on school work or may have curriculum requirements while other states have no requirements for homeschooling. So be sure you educate yourself on what is required in your state to avoid problematic issues for your family.
None of these records are necessary, but this is what I found the most helpful for us. I figure by sharing these examples, it may give you ideas for your record keeping if you are unsure what to do. Hopefully this helps for anyone who may have questions about record keeping. If you are starting the homeschooling journey, it is important to check on what is required by your state or country. Some states in the United States require testing and having a licensed teacher sign off on school work or may have curriculum requirements while other states have no requirements for homeschooling. So be sure you educate yourself on what is required in your state to avoid problematic issues for your family.
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