Maintaining a record of home schooling activities and progress is mandatory in many states in the US and elsewhere. In places where it is not mandatory, it is useful to keep a record for the parents to check the process and progress of learning. Hence, keeping a track of curricular, extra curricular and test results on a daily basis makes record keeping simple and efficient. Since most of the learning is informal, record keeping is very important in the home schooling method.
There are several methods of record keeping; and parents can get forms and guidance for entering data from internet sites or local support groups. Parents also can buy record keeping systems including personal organizer from the market. Let’s now discuss some of the common record keeping methods that are easy and efficient.
Maintenance of a ‘Daily Planner’ is simple and easy. It requires noting down in advance the weekly record of the teaching schedules and activities in a planning record book. The items are marked on the record book as and when these are implemented. An extra page is reserved for recording any other extra activities, such as outings, that were undertaken during the week. And a quarterly summary of the activities that are covered during the week are registered in the book on a regular basis.
Another method of record keeping is ‘Portfolio Assessment.’ This is a record of the child’s achievement and activities during the course of learning. It is an effective way of assessing the child’s progress and also for providing a structure to the otherwise informal way of teaching. It keeps a record of all the activities that the kids do in relation to various subjects and the progress they have made. For example the language portfolio records activities such as spelling, essays, reading and so on.
The portfolio assessment enables the kids to see what they have accomplished and what is needed to be done. This will prompt them to finish the remaining task on time and move forward to the next session. They are in control, and this is the biggest advantage of the Portfolio method.
Posted on May 4th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Child Care, Learning, Toddler, school
Leave a Reply