Record Keeping

Some of us are required to keep and/or submit certain types of records. Some have high-school aged kids who might want to go to a college that will ask for some sort of transcript. Others simply want to keep themselves on track or need a way to reassure themselves that yes, the kids are learning and moving forward. Finding the right form of recordkeeping to satisfy your family and any legal requirements you are subject to will be one way for many of you to stay sane. :)

Paper Records

-Journaling. Many families simply get a notebook and write down what the kids do each day. This can be as loose or as structured as you like. Write down what is accomplished each day, dividing into subject area and noting hours if you like.

-Detailed notebook. Get a 3-ring binder for each child and start printing out useful forms. Luckily, there are sites out there that offer free forms that are specifically designed to be useful to homeschoolers.
http://donnayoung.org/index.htm - Donna offers a wide variety of useful forms. Check out the options and choose the ones you like. She has everything from planning sheets to forms to record volunteer hours on. Well worth spending some time clicking around this site. if you download in Word format, you can edit many of the forms to suit your needs.
http://www.homeschoolhelperonline.com/records.htm - A few useful forms. Most look most useful in the earlier grades.
http://tinyurl.com/7cckch - A daily assignment plannning page from about.com. Could be used for any age.


Online

Homeschool Tracker http://www.homeschooltracker.com
Windows only
Many homeschooling parents swear by this program. Others swear at it. You'll need to check it out and see if it works for you. The basic version is free and allows you to manage assignments, track hours and some resources used, and generate some reports. The Plus version will cost you money, but does offer a number of extra features, ranging from a transcript feature to weighted grading to the ability to copy assignments into a weekly or lesson plan.

PER (Plan, Educate, Record) http://www-homeschoolplanner.com (note the dash, not dot, after the www)
main site - http://www.home-school-inc.com
Any OS can use this. For Macs, Firefox seems more stable than other browsers when using this site.
A free tool you can use to plan out what you'd like to do, schedule class times, record what gets done, and generate reports on things like attendance and resources used. You define your term lengths, using the dates most useful to you. The kids have their own area to log onto to see assignments, grades, etc. You can even assign work to be done that can be turned in and graded within the system. If you don't take the scheduling too seriously, this can be a very useful tool. (You do have to define class times, but nothing says you have to stick to that time schedule - just enter completed work in appropriate boxes and you're good.)