Show me your record keeping methods! Younger HSers especially...

[Pariah]

Would anyone be willing to show me what their record keeping system looks like for kindergarten-age little ones? Just trying to gather ideas and see different organizational systems...

Thanks!

[kittywitty]

I don't. But I don't live in a state where it's required. Sometimes I write down what we did in a notebook and I keep her papers, but that's it.

[Mama Mko]

I keep all of his papers in a binder and a folder if it's construction paper. We're doing kindergarten right now. I also have a composition notebook that I use to write down the date and what we did that day.

My state requires attendance records and that's it. Showing them the composition notebook would show them how many days we schooled that year.

So far I really like this system. I can flip back through things he's done and show off drawings and crafts he's done too. Also I can go back and read about the different activities and worksheets and whatnot that he's done for the year.

[karemore]

We're in NY so we didn't have to report Kindergarten to the school district. I wanted to keep a record for myself and as practice for when we have to.

I bought a teacher record book from the Target dollar bins. Originally I intended to plan out each week, but what worked best for me was to use the planner book to record what we actually DID do each week, not what I wanted to do.

For each day I recorded what we did. I included playdates and outside activities so I could gauge how often we were doing different things.

It worked out great. I filed away the book last week and started a new one for 1st grade. This year I'll note the hours at the top of the page for attendance and also keep a record of books we use.

The book I use is lined which I like better than the unlined ones and it has two pages for each week so there was plenty of room.

[luv2homeschool]

I have a 3 prong folder for each school year. In each one is a "report card", assesment scores (we need to test in VA), attendance and a list of books we used for that grade and a list of books she read. I do have a couple of samples of work for each grade in file folders for just in case. I have been doing this for 3 years now and it is really easy to do. I got most of my forms from donnayoung website. She has great stuff on there. I also printed out a cumulative form that most school systems use. I put the grades on there for each year.

[caefi]

have you visited donna young's website? she has great resources.

[elizawill]

for kindergarten, you may not need anything unless your state requires it. here's what i use with my 3rd & 1st grader: http://mytwomonkeys.webs.com/20102011schedule.htm

i probably make it more complicated than it needs to be though, but it's what i'm most comfortable with & it serves its purpose. i agree that donnayoung.org is awesome. there are also some great online record keeping tools that are free, but i just prefer pen & paper. hth.

[lmonter]

I'm using Sonlight this year, and on the IG pages scribbling notes on what things we did, other books we read, adding some other subject/project/whatever. It's all on a copy though, so I can make another copy for subsequent kids if we end up sticking with it (I'm not sure yet, we'll see how the year and kids play out).

Or, a gal I knew a while back used these notebooks. At the time they unschooled, but wanted to keep track of things for whatever reason.

[nov05mama]

I am a computer girl at heart, so I quickly ditched the plan/attendance books when I found Homeschool Tracker. I used the Basic version over the past year (for preschool, just to get used to the program) and I JUST updated to the PLUS version (as a birthday present to myself, ROFL). I LOVE it! It's not really something I "need" right now for tracking things, but it will come in SO handy for the middle and high school years. I love that I can create a lesson plan for a subject and not actually assign it until we actually DO it. That was my biggest problem with lesson plan books...we are so lax with school that it meant a LOT of erasing for me.

There is also another free online tracker website called Homeschool Skedtrack, but I didn't like it at all.

[eclipse]

Gabriele, I've been wondering about the plus version. I just got the free one to help with record keeping this year (we go through a charter, and I think it would just streamline things if I can print off a log for each child for the month). The Plus is that much better?

[Savoir Faire]

What do you need to keep track of? It might help if you can narrow it down a bit. Do you have to report to your state?

[nov05mama]

Originally Posted by eclipse

Gabriele, I've been wondering about the plus version. I just got the free one to help with record keeping this year (we go through a charter, and I think it would just streamline things if I can print off a log for each child for the month). The Plus is that much better?

There are several things, but my favorites include:
Subject/Course/Activity instead of just Subject
The Archive feature (when you no longer need a certain activity visible, you can archive it and it no longer shows on your planning screen, but it's always there for your records)
Lesson Plans - the fact that you can create a full lesson plan (like I will input all the lessons for Explode the Code, and can even break them up into 2-3 sessions, and then just send them to 'assignments' on the days we actually do them...and the lesson plans can be re-used over and over, so if you plan to use the same book for your younger child, you don't have to re-enter everything again)
The ISBN lookup - I didn't think I would think this was such a 'great' feature, but I really like it! I don't have to sit and type out everything about the specific book...I can go in to Resources, type in the ISBN and click download and it adds ALL the books info automatically! It rocks!
Reports - SO many more options for reports! I can't even list them all (I think there is a comparison list on the site though!)

Another thing I love is that I can edit how I want things to be displayed. If I only want to view certain columns, I can pick and choose what I want to actually view.

I really thought long and hard about it, but ultimately I realized it's a ONE time $50 purchase...I get free upgrades for life and it's not like a subscription I will have to pay for year after year. I know it will be more beneficial for me in the later years and not "AS" much now, but I am so glad I went ahead and upgraded.

If you are not really that fond of having everything on the computer, though, it may not be for you. I would definitely play with the Basic version for a month or more and see if you really like the idea of it. With all the reviews I found, the only negatives were from people who said they weren't all that content with entering stuff on a computer. Katie (the owner) gives full support with any issues you run into, so even if you aren't that 'tech savvy', she's there to help! You just have to actually LIKE using your computer, which I do, LOL!!

[fruitfulmomma]

I've been using the free Homeschool Tracker for a few years, but eying the Plus version. I think Gabriele has convinced me, with the ISBN thing.

[jrcronewillis]

I'm a computer-based person too. Originally I tried to put everything into my PALM calendar, but that didn't work. I didn't need planning software, just something to log hours in a way that made sense to me. I found: http://www.homeschooldaybook.com/
It allows me to organize (and re-organize) my subjects and note the specifics of each day without having to tie it to an actually lesson plan, which just didn't work for our style. And then you can generate reports based on attendance, subject, kid, date range, etc.
It is perfect for us and honestly the only thing that I have actually used regularly (we are required to keep our hours, but no one actually looks at them).
For our "portfolio" I keep a selection of papers and projects in a file for each year.

Good Luck,
Juliette

[babycarrier]

Like someone above - I got the planner from the $1 bin at Target and it is my favorite so far. Computer doesn't work for me but writing down what we are doing at the end of the lesson is coming together nicely. We also started a spiral bound notebook and are recording book titles as we go.

My purpose is for having a record for dad to see and helping me keep track of items I want to revisit when my younger son is ready.

[moondiapers]

I download forms from donnayoung.org I keep a list of the books we read by school subject, course of study, and a calendar where I mark attendance. I don't start keeping grades until middle school. I keep a sample of work from each subject per school quarter all in a cummilative file.

[cmoma]

This is our first year and although we don't need to keep any records except attendance I am keeping records, for various other reasons.

For now, I have a planner where I write down what we did for that day as we do it. I bought a plastic box file folder at Target. Each child, only 2 for now has a space and with in each space will be separate folders for each area of work we do. So math, lan arts, spelling, a book list etc... Then as the kids do the work I simply place it in the file folder. There will also be lots of pictures taken as another form of record keeping.

I am not an organized person with ease, So I needed to keep it simple. Something that I can do without much thought. We are more in the eclectic group of hs'ers so there will be a mix of planned work and unplanned work...for now the file box that I can move around seems to work.

Oh I also want to use it to store worksheets for future use...So when I make copies of things I can file then for future days and be ready to just pull them out.

[earthmama369]

We don't live in a state that requires record-keeping, but I do keep some form of record just for my own enjoyment and to be able to look back and see any trends I might want to take note of. There's a homeschooling mama on another board who created her own planner, tailored to secular homeschooling, and she got a bunch printed up professionally -- that's my favorite so far. It's the "Life Ventures" planner. I love it. It has a really sturdy binding, room for notes and contact information, the usual calendar section running from August 2010 through July 2011 (so a full homeschooling year), and a section that goes week by week where you can track school days if you need to and write down your goals and accomplishments and adventures. I also have a three-ring binder for each kid and I put in 2-4 drawings a year that strike me as emblematic of where they're at when they create it and the random project that highlights something neat that they explored.

[violingirl]

I make plans for the week on notebook paper, and then I write down everything we actually accomplish in a journal. I also keep track of time there. At the end of each month I use 1 page in the journal to add up hours.

I keep my son's loose work in a 3 ring binder or in a file folder for that month. If it's something that can't be stored that way (like bigger crafts or building projects, math work we do with manipulatives that has no "proof") I take pictures of the work and add them to my documentation.

[misidawnrn]

I use this form that I made for keeping track of DD's work, plans for the week ahead and days we did school. If we took the day off I cross off the day and write in why. If DD goes to her dad's I make a note of that too because I send lighter work to his house. I don't have to really keep attendance although the state wants something like 1070 hours or something (I forget)

I only plan about a week at a time and that way I don't have to erase. I like my paper planner much better than the computer because it is portable and doesn't require internet. We farm 80 miles from our house in town and I just bring my binder and DD's work with.

https://docs.google.com/document/edi...c8khdlPY&hl=en