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I went a little crazy over the last few weeks organizing all our homeschool curriculum, paperwork, and records. I’ll cover how I’m storing our curriculum later. For today, I’ll discuss how to organize homeschool paperwork and records.
School paper storage is quite different from what I thought it’d be now that we’re homeschooling. In this previous post, I discussed how to declutter kids’ school paperwork, especially if you have a backlog. This post will build on that, but now taking into account homeschooling laws and regulations that require certain records to be kept. These vary from state to state.
No matter what state you reside in, there are simple ways to organize and store school papers and homeschool records.
In this post, I’ll cover which papers to keep, the easiest ways to organize & store homeschool paperwork & records, plus tips for record-keeping.
Homeschool papers & records to keep
If you’re homeschooling, each state has its own requirements for record-keeping. The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) provides information about which records to keep in each state. States differ greatly in homeschool regulation and reporting requirements.
Many states require attendance records and samples of students’ work. Personally, I keep copies of our curriculum schedules along with attendance records and work samples so that I know what we covered each year.
Here are some common records to keep:
- Grades
- Test scores
- Work samples
- Booklists
- Attendance
- Hours of instruction
- Awards & Achievements
- Extracurriculars
View homeschool requirements by state here.
How to store homeschool paperwork & records
There are many different ways to store homeschool paperwork & records:
Binders: Prepare a binder for each student for each school year, with a collection of each student’s best work and state-required records.
File box: Label a box for each student. Use hanging files labeled with each school year to organize records and work samples. (I picked up this inexpensive box on my regular trip to Walmart.)
File cabinet: Similar to a file box, use one drawer per student.
Photo albums: If you’re short on space, collect samples and records for each student into a single photo album. Check out services like Artkive to have them do it for you, or use a service like Shutterfly to DIY it.
Digital records: There are several online services that will track transcripts, attendance, report cards, schedules, etc. In a way, they’re like Brightwheel for homeschoolers, except there’s no worry about billing and they’re not just for preschoolers. If you’re a member of the HSLDA, a discount is available for select online recordkeeping services (see “Tests & Records”).
Additionally, if you like online records but you don’t want to use a service, set up folders on Google Drive or Dropbox to keep all your homeschool records in one place.
Tips for homeschool record-keeping
Don’t make the same mistake as me …label everything with a date! I think back to my days in school when we were required to write our names and the date on every paper. I see the logic to this now as I tear my hair out trying to sort through papers from the last 5 years.
It’s best to organize as you go rather than trying to figure it out after several years of homeschooling …as state laws change, disorganized records could become a legal nightmare.
Another piece I didn’t think of (until I put together this post!) is keeping track of all extracurricular and outsourced lessons, especially during high school years!
Find a system of record-keeping that works for you. I use this Homeschool Record Keeper (for now), where I mark down what I want to cover daily & weekly, the books we’re reading, and specifically what we’re studying. This works well for us, as we’re still in the elementary stage of learning.
Sign up below to download a free copy of the record keeper to see if it will work for you.
Keeping homeschool paperwork & records
To recap, storing and organizing homeschool paperwork & records doesn’t have to be a headache.
- Check state-specific requirements for records to keep.
- Store & organize records with binders, physical filing, photo albums, or digital.
- Label all paperwork & records with dates & organize them as you go.
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