Home School Record Keeping
Home School Record Keeping
To home school your child is perfectly legal. Each state has their own set of legal standards regarding the parent’s rights and responsibilities. Quite a few states require that parents keep a record of the child's progress. This particular article will cover some of the ways in which you can keep track of your student’s activities. Please keep in mind that the legal requirements for submitting records varies greatly from state to state. Knowing exactly what your state requires is your legal responsibility.
Home School Record Keeping: Lesson Plans
Lesson plans are a summary of what activities have been pursued by the child each day. In addition to providing information on what has been covered, it also allows one to see the personal progression of the student. School officials often want to review these plans to see whether or not the student is advancing.
Home School Record Keeping: Time Dedication
Some states may require the home school parent to specify how much time is dedicated to one lesson or another. If a student seems to be experiencing difficulty in a particular subject, or on a particular topic, evaluating the time spent may be important. You may need to spend more time on a particular subject with the child. Tracking the time is a part of the learning process. You may want to create an Excel document that tracks time to the minute of what the child is doing each day. Of course, if you use this method, you will want to create a backup of the document, possibly on an external hard drive. You can make a hand written copy as well, especially if your state requires submition of this information.
Home School Record Keeping: Daily Journals
It is a wonderful idea to keep a daily journal regarding what happens in your day while teaching your child. You may want to note personal concerns that you have. You can also document all the successes or failures your child may be experiencing, as well as any interests that they have gained in order to plan for future lessons. This will serve as a wonderful reminder of what you have covered, what you need to cover in more detail and things that you and your child would like to cover.
Home School Record Keeping: Grades
Grades can be an important component when evaluating your child’s progress in the home school environment, if you or your state requires it. They provide a base standard on the level in which your child is performing. In addition to showing just how far your child has come, it also can provide a sense of accomplishment to the student. This can be a very important step in developing your child’s character. A child can learn from success and failure. It is the role of the parent to explain to the child that feeling emotions from both of these can help them to grow into responsible and emotionally mature adults.
Home School Record Keeping: Portfolios
A portfolio can tell a simple, yet well defined story of your child’s progress. The parent can put anything they like that represents the child and his progression in the portfolio. In addition to a wonderful record keeping technique, the items in the portfolio can be kept through the years and would make a wonderful scrapbook each year.
Home School Record Keeping: Testing
Many home school parents have their children take a standardized test, either because it is required by the state or their own home school. It can allay a parents fears of where the child stands up against their counterparts that attend a formal facility. Test results can let a parent know which specific issues of weakness need bolstered. It can also give a child experience and confidence in taking these sorts of tests in the future.