How to Create a Simple Homeschool Portfolio
We are going through the Beginner’s Guide to Homeschooling step by step. Last we covered Establishing your “Why” for Homeschooling.
Today we are giving attention to the next step Finding Out Your State Homeschool Laws.
After deciding why you want to homeschool, it’s essential to follow the laws in your state. You can find these laws by Googling your state laws for homeschooling or referring to the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) website. Then follow the laws and you are all set.
Some states have more stringent guidelines than others. Almost all begin with a declaration of intent to home school. Typically you would keep an attendance record as well.
Whether or not your state requires year-end documentation, a homeschool portfolio is still nice to have, even for yourself. So I thought I’d go into a little more detail on how to go about making a homeschool portfolio for your child.
Hopefully, making the process as simple and as doable as possible. If you think of it as an educational scrapbook you can almost stop reading the rest of this post. It is that easy. 😊
If you would like an overview of how to begin homeschooling, read my online Beginner’s Guide to Homeschooling. In it, I’ve outlined the first steps to homeschooling successfully.
What is a Homeschool Portfolio?
A homeschool portfolio is typically held in a binder that records what’s been learned that year. It can include worksheets, tests, and papers of all kinds. It can also include essays they’ve written, a record of books read, and a list of field trips taken. And anything else you can think of.
It is a record of learning (a snapshot, if you will) of what you’ve covered that year with your child. It’s good for you. And it’s good for them. My kids have thoroughly enjoyed looking back at what they’ve learned and how far they’ve come.
At first, I tried to keep everything. Still, it didn’t take long to realize that our family would be buried in papers if I kept trying to save everything for 13 years. Not to mention we have four children! So even though my state does not require a homeschool portfolio, I still do one for each of my children yearly.
What Supplies are Needed for a Homeschool Portfolio?
You don’t need much outside your child’s work that you’ve completed together throughout the year. A binder, some tabbed page dividers or subject sheets, a hole puncher and whatever supplies to decorate it should you choose to do so.
Note: Some have asked about the binder size. I found a 1- 1 1/2 inch size has enough space for a small sampling of one year. But for high school, a 3-inch binder works better and can contain all four years of work in one place. You can opt for a larger binder if needed. I started smaller with the intent to go bigger if necessary. So far, it hasn’t been.
- a binder
- hole puncher
- tab dividers or subject sheets
- child’s complete work
- supplies to decorate it should you choose to do so
What is Included in a Homeschool Portfolio?
Cover Sheet
Creating the cover sheet can be a fun project for littles and even middle schoolers. You can decorate with pretty paper, coloring pages, crayons, and markers. (glitter too, if you’re brave) We used to make a trip to the scrapbooking section, and I’d let them pick out a set of stickers they loved. Teens are happy to print something off the internet or skip the project entirely, which is fine too.
Declaration of Intent
I have multiple copies of our declaration of intent, one goes in the binder and the rest are kept in other safe locations.
Attendance Record
Depending on the requirements of your state, you may or may not need an attendance record. Remember to check.
About Me Page
About Me Pages are something I regret not having done throughout our homeschooling. In truth, they were hit and miss for us. The world will not end if you don’t have them, but I’ve seen other moms who did them faithfully, and they are priceless. We have pictures, and that’s nice, but I wish I would have thought to do these too. But I digress…
About Me Pages include things like:
- name
- age
- grade
- my favorite things today are
- hobbies
- books
- color
- place
- animal
Resource and Curriculum List
A simple list of resources and curriculum you used throughout the year. Easy peasy.
Subjects
You can do simple tabbed page dividers or be more creative and do subject sheets. Either one works. Do what brings you joy. I tend to love all the creative cutesy coloring and things like that, but I have friends that don’t. They just want to get it done, and that’s okay too.
Subjects sections may include:
- math
- history
- grammar
- spelling
- phonics
- handwriting
- science
- record of books read
- record of educational media
- field trips
- art
- stem
- any elective or delight-directed learning
For every subject, include a sample of work from the beginning and the end of the year. You will most likely have more, but this is an excellent bare minimum goal to start.
Example of sample work
- handwriting samples
- essay or papers written
- worksheets
You can take pictures if something is too big to fit into a binder. A list of things you might take photos of include:
- art projects
- science projects
- history projects
- field trips
Report Cards or Year End Report
In whatever way you document your homeschool, it would go here. Some people do report cards others do evaluations and year-end reports.
Conclusion
And there you have it, a simplified way to create a homeschool portfolio. Remember, always check with your state laws first. You can check HSLDA or with your local state office. Then use this post as a guide of things you could include in your child’s homeschool portfolio. Finally, have fun and enjoy creating them. I know you will treasure them for years to come. 😊
Do you create homeschool portfolios for your child? What is your favorite part about them? Comment below 🙂
