by Sara Mcgrath

Created on: April 04, 2010

Some parents enjoy keeping records, some don’t, and some do it only in order to meet legal requirements. Homeschooling parents typically take an active interest in their children’s activities, so they don’t necessarily need grades or tests to show them which skills their children have demonstrated. Nonetheless, some parents document their children’s learning activities.

Records can serve as keepsakes for personal recollection, as well as for reference for future college and job applications. They can take numerous forms, including journals, portfolios, charts, and fill-in forms. Each record keeping strategy carries strengths and weaknesses and can serve different purposes. Some parents purchase record keeping systems while others choose to create their own. Whatever method you use, I recommend keeping records mostly to yourself, especially with young children, so they don’t feel measured.

Conventional styles of homeschooling lend themselves more easily to record keeping, whereas relaxed homeschooling and unschooling typically requires more creativity in fitting learning experiences into subject categories. However, families of all styles have found ways to satisfy record keeping requirements.

Perhaps the simplest way to record a child’s learning activities involves periodically listing what the child has spent time doing, i.e., reading, making, watching, listening to, visiting, talking about, etc. The parent or child can record these notes in a spiral notebook or a journal such as Recordkeeping for Unschoolers, which tips and information on record keeping and legal requirements, as well as inspirational quotes.

Overview of Methods for Keeping Records

Journals. Historically, a person added to a narrative journal at the end of each day (i.e., a journey takes a day), but you can jot down notes weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Either you or your child, or both, can keep a journal. The journal may contain lists of activities, descriptions of trips taken, specific learning observed, etc. You can later take the information from a journal and transfer it to a portfolio or to forms, as necessary.

Some parents write in their journals at the end of each day, noting every observable activity. Other parents write less frequently, taking note of prominent activities and interests. I made more frequent notes during my children’s younger years when they added major abilities every day. Nowadays, their projects span longer periods of

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