You'll want to create a system to keep important documents.
What records should you keep?
What record-keeping resources are available?
Careful attention to keeping good records now will help reduce confusion and wasted time later.
What records should you keep?
Each homeschooler can have a different idea of which records must be kept. Here are a few of the many possibilities:
Health records (immunization records, physical exam records, etc.)
Attendance records The State of Iowa requires 148 days of instruction per year, 37 days per quarter. Even though there really is no mechanism in the law to verify this (other than the number of days the parent writes on the CPI form at the beginning of the year), it is a good idea to keep a record the number of days that you provided instruction for your child.
Completed assignment records Some parents use a journal, a teacher's planbook, or even scrapbooks. Other parents keep a portfolio of their children's educational accomplishments.
Test scores, grades, or other assessment records If you have used any type of assessment tool, either formal or informal, you'll want to keep the results in your child's records. This is especially true if you have chosen to use the annual assessment option as your legal means to assure the state that your child is making progress.
Transcripts for high school students Does that sound scary? It's really not! There are lots of wonderful tools -- some are even free -- to help you create a transcript.
What record-keeping resources are available?
NICHE has lots of forms available to help with homeschool record-keeping.
Here is a link to just one of many free record-keeping resources: Free Homeschool Forms
Remember, just because the forms are available, doesn't mean you are required to use them! Record-keeping should be a tool to help your homeschool run more smoothly and efficiently, not a mind-numbing burden.
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Serving Families Homeschooling in Iowa - Since 1992 Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators - Box 158, Dexter, IA, 50070 - (800) 723-0438 in Iowa - (515) 830-1614 outside Iowa
