Homeschool Record Keeping – What to Keep & How to Keep it Organized

Homeschool Record Keeping 

Importance of Homeschool Record Keeping

As with everything related to homeschooling your sweet kiddos, learning what works best for you is key. This is especially true with how you choose to maintain your homeschool record keeping. 

I know I wasn’t quite sure of what to do when we first started homeschooling but after trying a few different ways I found a system that is now effortless and keeps us organized. 

The first thing that needs to be done in your quest to conquer homeschool record keeping is make sure you’re up on your state’s homeschool laws.

What you need to keep will vary depending on where you live.  If you move while homeschooling, remember to check your new state’s laws as well. 

Finding the Perfect Balance

You do not need to keep EVERYTHING your child does throughout the school year.

However, a good thing to frequently remind yourself when it comes to homeschool record keeping, is it’s always better to have more than not enough.

You can always weed through what you’ve kept at the end of the school year.  This is especially true as your children get older. 

Remember, the hard work you put into keeping your children’s hard work organized will help them with their future.

Getting into college, a trade school, or any future employment will most likely depend on their school records you keep. 

It’s important you know what to keep, and file it away as the year progresses. This will help you from feeling scattered & trying to remember what you did throughout the year as you’re wrapping up the school year.

This is such a helpful tip I learned a few years ago! 

It will also help you at the end of the year from frantically trying to get things together for an end of year evaluation or portfolio review.  

Whether you are just starting out homeschooling or looking to get more organized I hope this post will help inspire you and keep you from feeling overwhelmed.

What to Keep

If you are a “planner” make sure to include your curriculum plan with your homeschool record keeping. Even a simple bulleted list of intended curriculum is worth hanging onto. 

Here are some other items (again depending on where you live) that are helpful to keep:

Legal/Admin Records to Keep:

• Notices of intent: And all end of year testing or evaluation records: all the legal stuff should definitely be kept. 

• Attendance records: you can keep track of the days you do school a number of ways, from a simple attendance/days printable to marking in your own planner to an online form with print option.  

• Instruction hours:  if your state requires set hours it’s a good idea to keep a record of them. Again even simply recording the hours you formally do schoolwork on a page in your planner would work.

Academic Records to Keep:

• Grades/test scores & high school level transcripts: this probably applies more to older children, but wouldn’t hurt to start a grading system while they’re younger. 

• If you have high school level children you will need to create (assuming you are not a part of an umbrella school or other organization that provides transcripts) transcripts for your high schooler. There are many tutorials online on how to go about creating transcripts yourself. 

• School work: keeping examples of your child’s work throughout the year is important. In fact keeping them for the current year and for the previous two years is recommended by the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association).  This can include workbooks, worksheets, print outs of online classes & work. 

• Projects: for science, art and any other subjects keep smaller projects and take photos of larger projects and maintain digitally. 

• List of all curriculum used: no need to hang on to the actual books you used for curriculum (unless you keep for younger children). Make a list of all curriculum books and add it to your file for the year. 

• Reading list: I have found the best way to keep track is to create a log at the beginning of the year to track all books read, aloud and silent. 

Library Records:

Another great idea if your children have their own library cards  is seeing if your library offers a printout at the end of the school year showing all books that were checked out for the year. 

If not, but your library gives you receipts for each borrowing transaction, those would be worth saving. 

• Movies or documentaries: keep a log like the reading log, for any films or documentaries watched as part of your school work. 
• Any extra classes: homeschool co-op classes, any homeschool geared lessons you attended etc. can be added to your child’s records. A dated list of classes can easily be generated from your planner if you keep track throughout the year. 

• Community service hours: create & keep a log if your child participates in any community service.

• Photos: any photos of special activities or field trips, printed or digital, can be added to your kiddo’s records. This is also so nice to look back on in the years to come.

How to Organize 

Now that you’ve figured out what to keep, coming up with a plan on how to maintain your homeschool record keeping is next.

With so many options to be organized these days it can be hard to decide where to start. 

Take a little time and be realistic about your storage capabilities in your home.

If you have an attic or basement, those are perfect places for records that you won’t need daily. But even if you are in a smaller space you can still be organized. Read here for some great homeschool organization ideas in small spaces.

Here are a few ideas on how to keep the records all together:

• Clear storage bins: this is my choice to store our previous year’s records. I use folders or binders for the papers like the attendance, evaluations/notice of intent etc., and then keep workbooks and physical work as well in the bin. I also hang onto my planner for the year and store that in the bin. Label the outside of the bin & stash away! 

• I also use storage bins for curriculum I will use again – read here for helpful tips on how to homeschool multiple ages without pulling your hair out!  

• 3 ring binders: perfect for smaller storage spaces, or for a more simplistic way to keep track of all the “stuff”. 

Dividers, clear pouches and even pocket folders within the binder can help with sorting and filing. If you choose this way, you won’t be saving whole workbooks obviously. Be sure though to save enough workbook pages to show your child’s progress throughout the year.

Paper vs Digital Homeschool Record Keeping:

• File folders in a file bin or box: kind of a hybrid system to the other two above. Storing your children’s work in file folders but in a bin is a great option to keep things neat and tidy. Annie from The Moffatt Girls shared this great way to keep this type of system for storing classwork years ago. It’s such a clean, easily accessible way to store your child’s work & records. 

• Digital storage: I am a paper and pen kind of gal, so I have not personally tried this method but know others who swear by it! If you have a more minimalist viewpoint on your home and what you keep this may just be the best method for you. 

There are two FREE options that I have heard other homeschool families love using. Evernote and Seesaw can both be used as a way to create a digital portfolio. 

Don’t Stress Over Homeschool Record Keeping – It’s Easier Than You Think!

Homeschool record keeping shouldn’t overwhelm you. Like anything else getting started is the hardest part – but you can do this!

Once you have an idea of what you need to save and find a system that works for you, it will all become second nature!

I’d love to hear your ideas for organizing your homeschool records – leave a comment below!