Creating, maintaining, and presenting a homeschooling portfolio

Many school districts now require homeschoolers to submit portfolios that show their students’ progress in an organized manner. This is actually a very convenient method of recording as long as it is done correctly. Here are some ideas on how to create, maintain, and present your homeschool portfolio for successful evaluation, evaluation, and review.

First of all, it’s important to have a firm understanding of what exactly a homeschooling portfolio is. Basically, a homeschool portfolio is a collection of materials used to show what your child has learned over the course of the “school year.” This is important because many states require an annual evaluation of home schooled students, either through tests or the submission of a portfolio. While it may seem like keeping a portfolio is only good to the extent that you need to comply with the law. However, this is not the case. Portfolios can also help parents and their children record their progress and achievements. This becomes even more important once the child has reached high school and needs a diploma.

Now that we understand the importance of a portfolio, it’s also important to understand that there is no right or wrong way to create a portfolio. It is up to the parent and/or child what materials the portfolio will contain. However, it is a good idea to choose a variety of material to reflect what the child has learned, experienced, and accomplished throughout the year. Some items that should be included in your portfolio are: Suggested items to include are:

(1.) A journal containing notes on activities and progress that has been made.

(2.) A list of resources (ie books, computer software, games, toys, and outside classes).

(3.) Samples of the child’s work (i.e., samples of creative writing and drawing, pages from a textbook or workbook, and if possible, may include audio or videotapes of your child singing, playing a musical instrument, reading aloud, or taking part in a dramatic performance – pictures will sometimes work well instead of audio or video tapes as well).

(4.) Photos of field trips, artwork, projects, and family life.

(5.) Brochures and booklets for excursions and other activities.

(6.) A list of books the child has read including both the title and the author.

(7.) A list of your goals for the year.

While this may seem quite daunting, you’d honestly be surprised at how easily you can pull it off when you start preparing your portfolio at the beginning of the year. Just use a three ring binder and add paper for your journal. Start by listing some of your goals for the year and what resources you will use to achieve those goals (these can be modified throughout the year as needed). Then start collecting work samples, organize them by subject, and punch holes in them to place in your binder. Always keep at least one disposable camera handy so you can take pictures of anything you’d like your child to do (ie read, play, dance). You’ll also want to take pictures on field trips, as well as pictures of your child’s projects and creations. These images can be placed in a photo album or, if you’re feeling really crafty, you can organize them in a scrapbook. You’ll also want to make sure you save brochures or other paper items you collect during an educational outing. These can easily be placed on clear, clear sheet protectors. This is also a good time to start accumulating a list of books you are reading.

Once you’ve gathered your portfolio beginnings, don’t stop there. Regular maintenance (I suggest weekly, as it will help you write your lesson plans for the week ahead) should include regular journal entries and an ongoing collection of work samples, photos, and anything else you want to include. Some school districts will require a quarterly assessment during the home school year. This is a time for parents and children to reflect on their progress and accomplishments from the previous months. However, even if your school district doesn’t require a quarterly review, you don’t want to wait until the end of the year to scramble and compete to put together a portfolio that your school district approves. Neither you nor your child deserve to have to go through the unnecessary stress of sorting through all the material that has been collected throughout the year.

When review time comes, you may choose to remove some of the material from your portfolio. You’ll find that some of these things just don’t adequately reflect what you’ve accomplished over the year. If/when you decide to review your portfolio, you should remember that the purpose of the review is to provide an overview of the homeschool year, demonstrate that the child is engaged in homeschooling, and that progress is being made.

Portfolio review can be exciting as it gives parents and children time to talk about what they have been doing at home. As you discuss this with your child, you may find it helpful to write a summary of the items you want to highlight during their year before review. For example, if your child has learned to read or mastered a skill, she may want to point this out to the reviewer. Of course, you should never view her portfolio review as a time to be judged or ridiculed. It is a time to listen, learn and support your reviewer. Your child does not need to be present during this time. However, if your child wants the opportunity to “bragging” her achievements and progress to other homeschoolers, then this review is a perfect opportunity for her to do so.