Homeschool records come in many shapes and sizes. The appearance of external records may have been decided for homeschooling parent by the person who will view it. Internal records offer the homeschooler more flexibility and choice. What layout the home school record keeping form takes and what it looks like depends on the uniqueness of your family structure.

Four Types of Homeschool Records

1. Check Off Sheets
2. Daily Planner
3. Charts
4. Journal
 

Each type of record has a general structure. One's availability, number of children and ages of children are factors that can help a homeschooling parent learn which record form to use. Keep in mind that at any time the homeschooler can change the record keeping forms to suit the home schooling parents’ needs. It is even possible to use a combination of internal record forms for different uses.

Each record may contain similar information but the nature of each record determines the layout and how the information is recorded. Each record for can be modified to be used for both parent and home schooling child to teach or learn reading, writing, spelling and grammar or what ever subject the parent chooses.

Check Off Sheets

Check off sheets are easy to use. It can be as simple as a list of activities that need to be done. Space is provided for the activity to be checked off when it is completed.

The layout can have a daily, weekly, or monthly format. The choice is up the homeschooling parent.

Example:
Daily record with only spelling and writing skills shown
Mon- write spelling words three times
Tue- write spelling words in a sentence
Wed- complete spelling activity, page 25
Thu- study spelling words
Fri- take spelling test
A check mark is placed next to the assignment when completed.

Check off records can be laid out with the days of the week as the column headings across the top and subject listed vertically

Example:
Monday
Write spelling words three times each
Complete grammar, page 25
Read pages 5-8

Index cards can be used. Different colored ink or pencil can be used for each student.

Benefits:
1. Quick to do. If the home schooling parent is in a season of life where she is working, a single parent, or has a new baby check off sheets work well. Check off sheets are easy for the home schooling child to read and understand. If a date is included, the check off sheet can also serve as an attendance record (required in some states).

2. A computer is not needed to make a Check off sheet. If away from home or computer not working the child will still know what to do and you'll know what has been completed.

If having a set block of time, like fifteen to twenty minutes a day to make up check off sheets is a challenge, one might want to fill out the sheets once a week.

Daily Planner

As its name suggests, a daily planner is a place to plan what needs to be done on a daily basis. A daily planner contains a section to write today's date, appointments, and a section to record lessons and assignments. It can contain such thinks as sections for supplies needed, menu plans and grocery lists. Depending on the layout, it can have boxed sections for the home schooling parent to fill in what to cover in each subject. Lines can be drawn on it to divide it into sections.

Daily planners can be made or purchased depending on the time and budget limitations. The daily planner can be used by the parent and home schooling child at the same time if the child used a different pen color to initial and date when the activity has been completed. If the parent does not want the child to write in the planner, the parent can make a copy for the child or provide the child with a check off sheet.

Benefit: All activities of the student are on one page in a large desk sized daily planner. Daily planner used for more than one student can be color coded.