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Keeping Records

© Belinda Moore

Whether or not to keep detailed records of your family’s home learning journey will depend on your own beliefs, and sometimes the requirements of your state education authorities. For me, keeping organised and on top of things is my main sanity saver – without any lists my life gets jumbled! With our home learning journey, I started with detailed plans and timetables of how to achieve our goals. I soon came to realise that while these lists suited my needs, they weren’t ideal for our children. So, I relaxed into a more open planning method – lists of goals and lists of resources, with approximate timeframes (we use the same four terms they do in schools – gives me some deadlines to work with for gathering resources, and frees up holidays for meeting with our schooled friends). It then became important to me to keep thorough records. Instead of checking off our completed tasks and writing a monthly summary, I wanted to keep notes of our daily activities and now only write a learning summary each term, and a longer one at the end of each year. With each home educating year, we alter our methods a little, and that includes our record keeping methods.

All of this planning, record keeping and summarising is not done for other people. In fact, it is specifically for my future reference. I need to look over what we are achieving on this journey to feel more secure in our decision to home educate. I share it with the children – but only as documentation of my ideas of some of their achievements. They are learning, growing, changing every day in ways I cannot document. They themselves know their true progression. They do love to see their “old” drawings and photos of themselves though!

Record keeping can take many forms: diaries, note books, folders, computer files, scraps of paper! I have used a week-to-a-page diary most often and feel that these best suit my needs. I am currently using Beverley Paine’s Homeschooling Diary, which can be purchased from her for $5 plus $2 postage. It can be purchased directly from Beverley, PO Box 371, Yankalilla SA 5203. Ph: 08 85583212. Beverley has recently produced a Home Education Report too, which at $8 plus $2 post may be just the sanity (and time) saver you’re looking for!

Other methods of record keeping include – records on a computer using your own format or a diary program, journals – daily, weekly or less often, ticking off checklists/timetables, photos, home videos, report cards and other summaries – weekly, monthly, each term or year, scrapbooks, collections of art work, lists of books read and library books borrowed, star charts, portfolios, tape recordings, records of all outings and extracurricular activities, summaries of discussions you have had with the children, mental notes, newsletters and children’s own journals.

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