How do you keep records?

Our first year, I started out very good. I had folders for each subject. I had a journal with a spreadsheet to keep track of attendence, grades, etc. Then we purchased the K12 program that kept track of everything for us. The next year, the twins were here. My record keeping became "Throw everything you do in this box here. I will label the box when it is full."

Louisiana doesn't require strict recording keeping. The state doesn't require any records at all if you apply under the "private school" option. However, I want to do more to track what we are doing then what we did last year. I want to be able to physically look back at what we accomplished and have it in some kind of organized manner so that I can better prepare for the next year, KWIM?

So what do you do, if anything? If you do something, is it something bought online or something you created yourself? What exactly do you track?

Thanks!

 

We don't have to keep track of anything until our kids are older than 8. Then I think we need to keep an attendance record of what days we did 'school' (I find that laughable since every day is an opportunity to learn whether we are 'doing' school or on a hiatis at grandma's house!) and we also need to submit goals at the beginning of the year (which I'm told no one looks at) along with a portfolio which gets reviewed by a certified teacher (darn it i can't review my own kids' portfolios!) at the end of the year. I'm also told that homeschoolers are frequently encouraged to keep the portfolios very simple, and frequently told to actually take things out. The idea is that they don't want the bar of evaluation requirements to be raised by too many homeschoolers turning in really souped up portfolios making other homeschoolers look bad. I was shocked to hear this. I'm a type A so it's going to be hard for me to not throw in everything just for my own satisfaction not to prove any points. But apparently my SIL, and others, have been told to cut things out and simplify so as to not encourage the passing of any laws making the evaluation requirements more stringent.

In any case, I'm doing sonlight this year, so record keeping would be extremely easy...I'd just have to look back at their schedule and my own planner calendar.

 

I try not to plan very far ahead because we are always changing how much we may do in a day based on how receptive they are to the material and how quickly they grasp a concept. We have a calendar we mark for attendance, which I agree is laughable but is usually filled out for M-Sat. I have lesson plans printed out for most subjects for the subject year or through a book for some, those I just date or put in grades as they go along.

Each child has a binder with math, english, and bible and science for the little kids. I have individual folders for social studies and science, everything just goes in that folder. I just put in an additional activities sheet that I date and write down any movie, or an extra book we read. I also list any reading that didn't have written work with it so I can say that was done on X day. I print out weekly reports from any of the computer/online programs that they do and print out quizzes and tests for my older child and tests for my younger kids.

We homeschool under nonpublic school, with religious exemption to teacher certification so I need to really track what is being done. I have to open my door to the state if they so choose to come a knocking. Pray that never happens. I'm hoping this will be the only year and that we can soon be under homeschool status.

 

Well, I decided to just use our daily planner and mark in a general summary of what we did for the day. It was too much effort to organize all their work into seperate binders and put dates on them. I am seperating their work this year, just not in a super organized fashion.