Am I being too "tin foil hat"-ish on this?

[heatherdeg]

I will preface this with: I would be tracking my stuff either way.  :)

So, I'm using HomeschoolSkedtrack which I like for the most.  We went from NJ (the absolute most "no rules" state in the country--NOTHING on the books in any way, shape or form and no requirements... not "on the books, but not enforce".  Literally--nothing) to IL.  IL is really extremely lax as well.  No registration, no testing, etc.  The only thing they have on the books is that there is a legal requirement for the parents to prove (if ever there were a need to prove) that the parents "provide an education that is equivalent with the standards set for public schools."  HSLDA's breakdown says that means 176 days of school and specific (broad) subjects that are echoed on the state BoE website.

The legal requirement here is kids be educated from age 7yo up.  Mine turned 7 in Jan.

We do not use any single curriculum type or source.  We do a lot of classes, camps, etc. and it's not exactly unschooling in a way that the stuff can't be easily lumped into one subject or another; but it's also not easy for me to recall what the heck we did all year and whether or not we bothered to do much of this or that (which for me, is important--and the reason I started tracking this in the first place).

So here's the thing: do you think I'm insane to go backward and track whatever I can pull from my calendar about what we did this last few months?  

I was a foster parent back home.  I had a good, strong working relationship with cps.  Back there, if they came knocking on my door, I had phone numbers to call.  But we're new in this state and live very differently from what we are surrounded with (far moreso than back home).  Maybe I'm worrying a bit too much, but the fact that I have absolutely no evidence to show that I'm educating my child is concerning.  Should it be?

[annettemarie]

If it were me, I would just call the local school district and ask. Here in PA, it's age 8 by Sept. 1 and if not you have another year before you need to track. If you feel like you can go back and prove things if needed, I would just ask.

[heatherdeg]

I don't have to track by law.  I know that for a fact.  Thus my post title.  :/

[annettemarie]

I wouldn't worry then. If you feel like you can go back and gather any "proof" you might need if it came to that, why stress out now?

[heatherdeg]

Originally Posted by annettemarie 

I wouldn't worry then.  If you feel like you can go back and gather any "proof" you might need if it came to that, why stress out now?

Did you catch the following part of my post?

Originally Posted by heatherdeg 

We do not use any single curriculum type or source.  We do a lot of classes, camps, etc. and it's not exactly unschooling in a way that the stuff can't be easily lumped into one subject or another; but it's also not easy for me to recall what the heck we did all year and whether or not we bothered to do much of this or that 

[Lucy Alden]

It never hurts to have your ducks in a row.  Our curriculum is straightforward and basic so if I had to recall it I could.  But, in a few years when I'm homeschooling more than one that definitely won't be the case.

[ilovemygirl]

Since there is no immediate danger of needing to prove yourself ... I would just start keeping track from now on and in just a couple of months you would have something to show if it ever became necessary - which it doesn't sound like it would. 

[annettemarie]

Originally Posted by heatherdeg 

Did you catch the following part of my post?

Yes, I actually did read your opening post as well as your title. : ) I guess I am just unsure what you're looking for here. I assumed that since you said you could go back and track from your calendar, that meant you could go back and track from your calendar.

I agree with the above post about starting to keep track from here on out. Maybe just a notebook with a sentence or two each day?

[onatightrope]

I wouldn't panic based on HSLDA's list of requirements for your state.  HSLDA gets members by making it seem like, as a homeschooler you are likely to have trouble with the authorities and the rules are difficult to follow.  I would talk to local homeschoolers, or your secular statewide homeschooling association about what people do to meet the requirements of the state.  Keep in mind, that they likely don't expect you to be able to produce this proof on any random Tuesday morning-- if there were concern you would have time to put it together then.  

If it makes you feel better to go back and track for the last few months, then go ahead, but don't make yourself nuts.  Something you may find out from the local homeschoolers is that no one has ever been asked to produce this proof.  I live in a state where we are required to track attendance, but talking to well-connected friends who have been homeschooling forever, no one ever ever asks to see the attendance records.  Knowing that makes it easier for me to relax about keeping those records (I do keep them, but I don't worry about their precise format or anything, KWIM?)

Honestly, I don't think I'd do more than a monthly overview for each subject (so the whole month could fit on 1-2 pages).  If they did ask you for proof, it would likely be a box-checking exercise, so laying it out simply would be more than adequate.

HTH!

[moominmamma]

The HSDLA's business model hinges on parental fears of legal troubles with the authorities. It's in their best interest to make parents worry. Don't pay their recommendations any heed. Go by the legislation, and make your own rational risk assessment. 

The legislation states that your home-based education needs to be equivalent to public education not in terms schedule, scope and sequence but in terms of standards. In the remote likelihood that some sort of bizarre situation occurred and you were required to prove that your child was being educated in accordance with those standards I'm certain that even a low to middling score on a standardized test, or a general overview of the types of activities your homeschooling entails, would be sufficient.

Miranda

[kittywitty]

We are in IL. I wouldn't worry about it. A few years ago we were one of the families in a local HS witchhunt. I was caught unawares and hadn't ever kept records. So I just pointed to our bookshelf and that was good enough for *our* CPS investigator. Some are not so nice about it. Mine said he had to investigate but didn't seem to give a flying fig about the homeschool "suspicion" from what I recall. Nowadays, I write down most of what we do every day. The night before, I write out a general plan and some specifics when I remember, like what lesson number or topic in xyz book. But that's just so I can look back and remember.