I love to plan.
I don't like to keep records.
But, it's necessary in homeschooling. Thankfully in Oklahoma there are no laws regarding homeschooling other than on the number of days and/or hours you have to have "school" when providing an "alternative education".
But, I want to keep records. I like to have them "just in case". And, I always feel like we haven't done much until I look back and see exactly what we have done.
I keep records in three ways:
1. My Planner. I do a lesson plan page for each of the kids for each day we do "book school". It is a simple page that my husband created for me. It basically just has a place for the date and a slot for each subject so I can write down our plans for the day. It keeps us on track. It is simple but very effective. I even write the "scores" next to the assignments after I have graded them to make my gradebook-inputting more efficient.
2. My Gradebook. I don't take grades for Brynne. But since Dawson is in high school, and I will need/want to prepare a transcript one day in the future, I do assign scores for all of his work, even reading or watching a video. I input grades on a free gradebook site called Engrade. I am behind in inputting grades and need to get on it! We only have three weeks of school left.
3. My Blog. The greatest record-keeping tool I have is my blog, Journey to Excellence. I post on it at least a few times a week, and always do a Weekly Wrap-up on Fridays. If I ever want to remember what we did each week, I can go back and read my wrap-ups. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with all we have accomplished. And, since field trips are usually blogged about, even those school days are recorded.
Between these three things, I have a full record of all we have done in a school year.
The TOS Cruisers are weighing in on the topic of record-keeping. I am excited to read about the others' techniques. Maybe I'll pick up some tips! The post goes live tomorrow.
I don't like to keep records.
But, it's necessary in homeschooling. Thankfully in Oklahoma there are no laws regarding homeschooling other than on the number of days and/or hours you have to have "school" when providing an "alternative education".
But, I want to keep records. I like to have them "just in case". And, I always feel like we haven't done much until I look back and see exactly what we have done.
I keep records in three ways:
1. My Planner. I do a lesson plan page for each of the kids for each day we do "book school". It is a simple page that my husband created for me. It basically just has a place for the date and a slot for each subject so I can write down our plans for the day. It keeps us on track. It is simple but very effective. I even write the "scores" next to the assignments after I have graded them to make my gradebook-inputting more efficient.
2. My Gradebook. I don't take grades for Brynne. But since Dawson is in high school, and I will need/want to prepare a transcript one day in the future, I do assign scores for all of his work, even reading or watching a video. I input grades on a free gradebook site called Engrade. I am behind in inputting grades and need to get on it! We only have three weeks of school left.
3. My Blog. The greatest record-keeping tool I have is my blog, Journey to Excellence. I post on it at least a few times a week, and always do a Weekly Wrap-up on Fridays. If I ever want to remember what we did each week, I can go back and read my wrap-ups. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with all we have accomplished. And, since field trips are usually blogged about, even those school days are recorded.
Between these three things, I have a full record of all we have done in a school year.
The TOS Cruisers are weighing in on the topic of record-keeping. I am excited to read about the others' techniques. Maybe I'll pick up some tips! The post goes live tomorrow.
I'll have to see what others are saying. I am a "wanna be" record keeper. When I keep up my notebook, I am amazed at what we do. Looking back, even a week later, there are so many things I know I would forget if they were not written down. Often, life gets the better of me and I just don't do it.
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