A portfolio is an essential tool for any homeschooling parent. Not only does it allow you to track your child’s progress, but it can also be used as a college admissions tool.
Many schools require transcripts for entry, but if you homeschool without a distance education program, you probably don’t have official state records to share. A portfolio can be the key to getting your home school student into the college of their dreams.
Your child’s teacher will be looking for a well-rounded portfolio that includes not only test scores and grades, but also projects, essays, and a record of daily grades from ninth through twelfth grade.
Be sure to include a list of all the training materials you’ve used to educate your child, including textbooks, publisher, and title for each book.
It’s always a good idea to set some goals for yourself and your child at the beginning of each year. This can help you track your progress and see if you need to make any changes to your teaching methods.
If your child is struggling to reach their goals, don’t hesitate to give them a little extra help. Seeing that they can accomplish what they set out to do will give them a big boost of confidence.
You may want to keep a daily lesson plan. Jot down page numbers from the book you were studying so that you know where you left off. Add how well your child did in each lesson.
Keep samples of your child’s schoolwork. You only need some of their best work to show what progress they’ve made throughout the year. The rest of the papers should be kept elsewhere – in case they need to be referenced at a later date.
Keep a list of field trips you took your son or daughter on, with reports they may have done for assignments, photographs taken, and explanations of what they learned. This will make for a wonderful keepsake later in life.
It’s important to check with your state to see if they have any special requirements for what needs to be included in your child’s portfolio. Your child can help decorate the cover and stay involved in maintaining their own portfolio to show off everything they’ve accomplished.
