Many homeschoolers are required to submit a portfolio to their local school district each year (or depending on the state, multiple times per year). This portfolio is intended to demonstrate academic progress and document work the student has completed throughout the year. Some homeschoolers are not required to create portfolios, but do so anyway as a way of recording their children’s progress for a variety of reasons. A well-put-together portfolio can even make a wonderful keepsake, taking its place alongside traditional photo albums.
If you’re learning with Lesson Pathways, you may wonder how to document things like online lessons and hands-on activities.Think about using a log. A written log is great, not just for in-print books, but also for reading materials accessed online. You can record the name of the website, website address, name of the lesson read, and the date you and your child read each lesson, putting this log in your portfolio along with your log of in-print reading materials. If you like, you can even record in-print and online reading materials on one log.
Hands-on activities are tons of fun, but storing and documenting them can be a challenge. You just can’t submit that paper mache bust of George Washington to your school district! Instead, whip out your trusty camera, and use it to record the projects and experiments your child does throughout the year. Then, you can keep only his or her most prized masterpieces, adding the pictures to your portfolio as documentation of work completed, and keeping the pictures as fun remembrances of educational projects your child enjoyed.
Keep at least some of what your child writes and draws for the portfolio. If your child practices writing spelling words, looks up vocabulary word definitions, writes his opinions on freedom of speech, or draws storm clouds, these things all make excellent additions to a portfolio. If your child learns the lyrics of a new song, print them out and add them too. You might even have your child illustrate the lyrics for a personal effect.
The Learning Tools section of Lesson Pathways units is often a gold mine of documentation for a homeschool portfolio. In this section, you’ll find worksheets, maps, diagrams, and other printables that are perfect for adding to a portfolio. You just print them, have your child complete them, and pop them in the portfolio. However, you can keep track of other learning tools as well, adding online games and interactives to a written log.
How much or little you have to include in your portfolio may depend on your school district as well as your personal desire to keep certain items. Some parents create a scrapbook-style portfolio while others use loose-leaf binders and even large envelopes to contain their child’s work. If you can, allow your child to help you compile the portfolio. Turn it into a fun project you can both enjoy! It also helps to add a little to the portfolio each month or even every week, helping you to stay organized and avoid the end-of-the-year crunch.