If you choose to document your daily activities as a regular part of your homeschooling program, you will surely find record keeping and reporting to be very easy! Many homeschool families create and maintain a teacher’s log which show each day’s planned lessons, an outline of your unit studies, marked absences if a child was ill, test scores, etc. Detailed records keep the homeschooling parent organized in seeing educational material that has been presented along with what you intend to teach. Your records will also serve as a solid reflection of the work done by the student in any given year. While few states require such detail, but it is always nice to have on hand, should the integrity of your program ever be called into question.

Homeschooling parents who practice less rigid methods of homeschooling, such as relaxed, eclectic or unschooling, may find record keeping to be tedious and time consuming to do, especially if your children are doing very little book work that is easy to document.  However, if you need to report to your local school district per your state’s laws and have not maintained a detailed record, find out what exactly is required by the law and do the best you can to compile information based on activities you recall happening throughout the year.

Some kids spend a great deal of time playing video and educational games – parents who then need to report to their local school district could list the video game activity as time spent problem solving, developing organizational skills, employing strategic thinking, etc. For children who may have spent most of their time playing outside, parents could list activities like physical education, nature study, kinetics, etc. And, of course, keep in mind the daily activities around your home like cooking (science & chemistry), cleaning (cause & effect, personal responsibility), shopping (consumer math), etc.

Keeping a record of your child’s academics can actually be something very neat to look back on years down the road, very much akin to photo albums and scrap books. If you must report per your state’s laws, keeping good records can make the process much easier or at least far less painful. If you choose, however, to skip over record keeping for the year, that’s absolutely your choice – just keep in mind that something as simple as a calendar on the refrigerator where you quickly jot down the day’s highlights can be helpful when it comes time to compile for reporting.

See these additional resources for homeschoolers.

Edu-Track is an electronic “organizer” for your homeschool records and more! Streamline your homeschool documentation, create rewards for your students, generate report cards, make lesson plans, track hours and more with this easy to use, affordable system.
School Days is  an Album for Your Child's School Records, Photos & Keepsakes.  This is perfect for early learning through elementary and maybe middle school.
FergNus Services has Notebooks for tracking your elementary and high school home school programs in order to track your child’s progress plus track attendance, assignments, field trips, etc. A handy tool if you prefer to have documentation in your hands as tangible evidence of your homeschool year.
Homelife Academy serves the Christian home educating family by providing an “umbrella” school under which you can operate your home school. Homelife Academy members enjoy many benefits including the issuance of diplomas to your graduating seniors, trained counselors, grade and transcript recording, etc.
Homeschool Edge provides everything you need to start your homeschool program on Day 1! You can create, maintain and print out at a moment’s notice report cards, transcripts, attendance records, daily assignments by student, and a course syllabus. Homeschool Edge allows you to focus on enjoying your child instead of stressing over your lesson plans.
Homeschool Tracker is easy-to-use software which allows you to track everything pertinent to your home education program. You can create and maintain your lesson plan, attendance records, grades, and more! Plus, you can download the basic edition for free and upgrade to the Plus edition at any time.
Printed Resources offers a plan for record keeping for every homeschooler.
The Master Planner is over 160 pages of homeschool forms-everything you could possibly need and then some to organize and keep records for your children’s at-home education. The Master Planner prides itself on the flexibility offered and in meeting ALL of your needs instead of just hitting a few. Fully customizable and suited to any style of education; even flexible if you alter your education style over the course of time to better fit your child’s needs. This is the only planner you’ll need from preschool through high school for your home education program.
Homeschool Transcripts simplifies your home school record keeping with credible, sophisticated transcripts. You can learn what documentation you need and why. With planning junior/senior high curriculum, documenting all secondary level training options, preparing for college and career decisions, and presenting professional credentials for prospective opportunities.
Transcripts Made Easy  is a Homeschooler's Guide to High School Paperwork is written for you! It's all you need to know about home school trancripts, high school diplomas, and simple record-keeping.

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