<\/p>\n Do you ever wonder what you should be documenting in your When I started homeschooling I just sort of dove in. My husband had just finished homeschooling my daughter through Kindergarten. As circumstances would have it, a career change had us switching roles within a couple of weeks of her starting grade one.\u00a0<\/p>\n I had no idea what to do, how to plan, or how to document our progress. I\u2019ll admit, the process was overwhelming (especially for a Type-A personality such as myself). In the first year of homeschooling, I learned a lot!<\/p>\n I would like to save you some stress and frustration by sharing some of my biggest The first thing I would advise is to find out what is the legally required<\/strong> Some areas simply require a notification to Even if your area has loose regulations, One of the best things about We\u2019ve all heard or read the story of a neighbour reporting a family to child services because they are concerned that the child isn\u2019t in school. I tend to give these individuals the benefit of the doubt and like to think that they take this kind of action out of genuine concern for the child\u2019s well-being.\u00a0<\/p>\n Regardless of the intention, if Children\u2019s Services is on your doorstep investigating a complaint, it\u2019s best to have evidence that your child is indeed engaged in learning activities in your Even if you \u201cunschool\u201d, there\u2019s no harm in documenting what they\u2019re learning.\u00a0One of my favourite sheets in the Deluxe Homeschool Planner<\/a> is the \u201cNatural Learning\u201d sheet. This sheet is perfect for the unschooler. You simply jot down the magazines\/journals read, documentaries watched, projects worked on, etc. Then you file the monthly sheets in a binder!<\/p>\n Let\u2019s face it, the years go by quickly.\u00a0Homeschool documentation helps capture and preserve the memories and joy of homeschooling. I can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019ve looked through one of our homeschool photo albums<\/a> and was inspired by the projects we did and the joy we had from past homeschooling years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Plus, on those really bad days, when I feel like quitting homeschooling<\/a>, I take some time with our homeschool albums<\/a>, and in no time I\u2019m reminded of my passion for home education.<\/p>\n At the end of every This form of documentation has helped me select curriculum and activities for subsequent If for any reason, you decide to stop homeschooling and transfer your child to the school system, adequate documentation of your child\u2019s learning will assist the school in determining the best placement\/classes for your child. While your child may still have to undergo some placement testing, documentation could help alleviate some of the testing.\u00a0<\/p>\n So now that we\u2019ve covered why It doesn\u2019t hurt to keep an ongoing record of when your children are schooling. Even if you unschool, consider documenting the days that your children watch extra documentaries, work on a project, etc.<\/p>\n Medical documentation is essential if you have a child with special needs, but it\u2019s also beneficial to all homeschoolers. Track the doctor appointments, medications, and sick days your child had throughout the year. If you have a child with special needs, store your O\/T, P\/T, and Speech Therapy reports as well as any IPPs that have been developed during the school year.<\/p>\n Schedules, planning sheets, and\/or natural learning sheets help you to clearly see progress and track what kind of activities were completed on a daily basis.<\/p>\n Keep assorted samples of your child\u2019s work throughout the year. Some ideas for samples of work are:<\/p>\n I also like to take a photograph of my children at the beginning of the year<\/a>, to document how they physically change from school year to school year.<\/p>\n Literacy is the cornerstone of any education. Keep a copy of your child\u2019s reading lists in your portfolio. For younger children, you can document how many minutes they read every day. Older children can assign star ratings to the books they read.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s also very helpful to keep a record of any community service and\/or volunteer projects your children engage in. This is especially helpful for children who may be applying to colleges or universities.<\/p>\n You will also want to store various marked\/graded assessments from the year in your child\u2019s portfolio. Generated reports from online programs such as Rosetta Stone<\/a> and CTC Math<\/a>\u00a0are also easy to print out and store.<\/p>\n Documentation in your If you want to rock your homeschool documentation<\/a>, these five ideas may be exactly what you\u2019re looking for!\u00a0<\/p>\n How to you document your child\u2019s learning in your Psst \u2013 Here are some fabulous homeschool planning secrets and hacks.<\/a> You don\u2019t want to miss these!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Jennifer Bly<\/span><\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n![\"Do](\"https:\/\/thedeliberatemom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/homeschool-documentation-what-should-i-keep.jpg\"\/ "\\"What")
<\/p>\nWHAT IS THE REQUIRED
\n
WHY IS
HOMESCHOOL DOCUMENTATION HELPS GAUGE PROGRESS<\/strong><\/h4>\n
HOMESCHOOL DOCUMENTATION OFFERS PROTECTION<\/strong><\/h4>\n
CAPTURE THE JOY OF HOMESCHOOLING BY DOCUMENTING<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"Homeschool](\"https:\/\/thedeliberatemom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/homeschool-photo-albums.jpg\"\/ "\\"Homeschool")
<\/p>\nHOMESCHOOL DOCUMENTATION HELPS YOU ASSESS THE CURRICULUM<\/strong><\/h4>\n
HOMESCHOOL DOCUMENTATION SIMPLIFIES TRANSFERS INTO THE MAINSTREAM SCHOOL SYSTEM<\/strong><\/h4>\n
WHAT
ATTENDANCE<\/strong><\/h4>\n
MEDICAL DOCUMENTATION<\/strong><\/h4>\n
SCHEDULE, PLANNING SHEETS, AND\/OR NATURAL LEARNING SHEETS<\/strong><\/h4>\n
SAMPLES OF WORK<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\n<\/blockquote>\n
READING LISTS<\/strong><\/h4>\n
COMMUNITY PROJECTS<\/strong><\/h4>\n
ASSESSMENTS<\/strong><\/h4>\n
FINAL THOUGHTS ON
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<\/p>\n![\"Jennifer](\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7bf49b7690b0fb84c65be35ba12b25bccdb1f2c559fce7850baffa38dc28fc40?s=78&d=identicon&r=g\")