[guest^]

Do you keep a record of "extracurricular" activities,outings,lessons,etc....?

Since we've switched to TWTM, and I have started to go back and "categorize" and put into notebooks, dd's "school-stuff", I realized that (to US at least) it is important to document the lessons she takes,activities she participates in,or the plays,musical performances,sporting events she attends.....

I dunno-maybe some of you would call this a scrap book? But, I'm not a book-scrapping kind of gal(though I'm a wanna -be!) and after going through all her piles of papers,tickets,programs,etc....I realized that she does do a lot out and about in the community. And this I believe is every bit important to her learning as is her nouns,pronouns,etc...

Please share with me what you've done....to save-or not to save.....

mp

 

[moominmamma]

I'm not required to do record-keeping for my jurisdiction, but I do some informally. And every three months I turn that into a 4-page newsletter which I send out to extended family (most of whom live thousands of miles away). And "extra-curricular" stuff is probably more than half of what I talk about. Why? First of all, it's where more than half the learning takes place, so it's only honest to put that emphasis on it. And secondly, I think it's helpful to gently shake up the assumption of more conventional minds that education has to look like school. I'm trying to change the world, one relative at a time

, and I think that if we were required to report, I'd be doing the same one school-district-homeschool-supervisor at a time.

In terms of the nuts and bolts of documentation, I use my scanner and digital camera liberally so that I can discard the clutter. I have a photo CD-RW that I continually update (with folders organized month by month) and then the text-documentation lives on in the newsletters.

Miranda

 

[ekblad9]

I'm awful. I save nothing. I mean, I take lots of pictures and save programs from dance recitals, violin recitals, etc but other than that it all goes in the trash. I should take pictures of it. That's a good idea.

 

[Amy in NH]

We are required by law to maintain a portfolio including work samples and a reading list. I keep a plain simple 2-pocket folder where I place all finished work (we use a lot of dry-erase/wipe pages, so this is not as large as it could be) including brochures and tickets for outings. On top of the finished work I keep a calendar that I fill in daily with page #s done, projects worked on, field trips, etc. I take pictures of the projects and field trips. Every couple of months I go through the folder and hole-punch everything, make captions for the photos and stick them in photo pages (the ticket stubs go in with the pictures), and put it all in a 3-ring binder in chronological order. I don't order it by subject according to TWTM, although I have thought of doing it a few times... it would be nice to see the progress in a single subject like writing, all laid out nicey-nice instead of mixed in with the rest.

Anyway, that's what I do and it works for us. It makes a nice portfolio/scrap book, meets the requirements of the law, makes a year-end portfolio evaluation easier than having to scrabble it all together at the end of the year, and when the 3 year legal portfolio holding period is up (or when the kids grow up) they can pull out all the photo pages and have a really nice photo album of their school experience.

 

[Ravin]

This thread started me laughing at myself, because I pictured what I would do.

I just got rid of some of my notebooks and school work from elementary, middle and high school (and Navy technical schools and lower level college courses) a couple of months ago when DH insisted I really didn't need a huge plastic tote full of notebooks. Now it's just half full because I kept all my fiction writing that wasn't fan fic or written w/ characters shared w/ my semi-ex best friend.

I enjoy scrapbooking. I just know I'm going to be loathe to throw away anything DD does, from the first scribble to her doctoral thesis.

 

[guest^]

You ladies have given me some great ideas! Thankyou!!!!

We have a *LAME* camera.....and we want a cool digital one sooooooo bad!!!! Dh uses a cool one for work related stuff, but it belongs to the company(not his company!)......

We are trying to buy a piano right now,so if we can't afford a digital one,I'd like to at least buy a cheap polaroid(is that what they are called??? Totally blanking-but YKWIM- the instant kind). I have been *awful* about taking a regular pic and then going a year or so w/o developing the roll!!! I also (try!) to take pics while on "field trips",or call someone that actually *did* and ask to pay for a print.....

moominmamma-That is a great idea to send out a newsletter to friends or relatives. At the very least,it let's those who care about us know that our kids are out in the world socializing,learning real life stuff,etc....

Amy in NH- You sound very organized!!!! Since I only read TWTM for 3 weeks(checked out from the library) I didn't recall that they mention keeping records like this. I do remember them saying to keep records of what our dc read-but not other things. I just put together a folder and labeled it "Extracurricular".....it contains a little of everything,and I'm going to organize it chronologically. I thought about asking our HF co-op(that is about 3 blocks from our house) if they would be willing to take a group pic with us,as we are in there almost everyday. Sometimes I will wait outside with ds and the puppy, and send dd in by herself....so she shops,pays and bags all by herself. I make her read labels, such as,"Get mommy the organic 1% milk that is in the 1/2 gallon size carton"....THAT is such a huge thing for a 7 yo in MHO.

Anyone else????????

mp

 

[guest^]

Ravin-
I was *horrible* about this with dd......I have 2 totes full of her artwork from the ages of !8 mos-3 yo!!!!!! Yes, that is 2 totes full of scribbling!!!!!!!

I just went through my "old boxes" from high-school and college-kept the good stuff(that I might not mind sharing with the dc someday-and threw ou all the rest!!)

DS refuses to throw out anything!! He has things from junior and senior high that I will *NEVER* let our dc set eyes on!!!!! He was baaaaaddddd!!!!! A true punk rocker. *SIGH*

he-he........

mp

 

[lilyka]

Hey y9ou can get a poleroid that prints out sticky pictures. If you are record keeping shy that would be perfect for writing down what you did and sticking the photo right there. hey that could be fune. Also you can usualy get the camera for free at sams club with the purchase of 4 packs of film . ( It is industrial yellow but it is free) . Although with what you would spend on poleroid film you could get a digital camera that took fairly decent pictures.

 

[momto3g3b]

http://www.tghomesoft.com/default.aspx

This is the homeschool tracker I use (it's free to download). You can personalize it to keep track of attendance, field trips, subjects studied (including what books or materials you're using), grades, etc. You can generate reports for anything, too, so if you have to submit documentation of attendance, for example, this program does it. Unschoolers, classical educators, eclectic schoolers, etc ~~ all can use this tracker. Best thing (for me) is that there's nothing to lose, no notebook to get destroyed or wet or ruined, and there's an area for me to journal how each day went.

There's also a section for lesson planning, the ability to keep track of finished/unfinished assignments, and SO much more! Honestly, I love this program. And did I mention that it's free?!? LOL

 

[lilyka]

Tht is so cool. it wouldn't let me instal but as soon as dh gets home . . .

 

[moominmamma]

A great little piece of freeware for portfolio journaling is http://www.yeahwrite.com . It's under 1 MB, really flexible and idiot proof. I have a "drawer" for each kid, and one for "general" homeschooling stuff that applies to everyone. For each kid I have tabs for each subject area, subtabs for various different types of learning within the subject areas, and tabs for "wish lists" (things the kids have expressed an interest in having or doing), "books read", "questions asked" (for future research) and "day in the life" journalling.

I only wish it supported embedded jpeg images so that my photos and scans could be integrated right into it.

Miranda