Best methods for record keeping?

[Momma Jade]

I thought I posted this already, but since it's not showing up I'm
trying again......

Are there any unschooling parents in California here? If so, what do
you find works best to help "protect" your learning methods from state
scrutiny? Have you ever been asked to provide PROOF that your child
is learning? Or is this just a scare tactic? Do you keep records at
all?

thanks in advance

[Schuyler Waynforth]

The best place to go to find information out about local concerns of record keeping is a local list. California Homeschool Network, for example, would be much better placed to answer your questions. Also I'm sure there are California unschooling lists that could help you out. Try here for local lists: http://sandradodd.com/world#us

Schuyler

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[Pam Sorooshian]

On 11/10/2010 10:27 AM, Schuyler Waynforth wrote:
> The best place to go to find information out about local concerns of
> record keeping is a local list. California Homeschool Network, for
> example, would be much better placed to answer your questions. Also
> I'm sure there are California unschooling lists that could help you
> out. Try here for local lists: http://sandradodd.com/world#us

HomeSchool Association of California has a great email list. Not an
unschooling list - but lots of unschoolers there. This is the place to
go to get the best homeschooling information, advice, and support in
California:

Send an email to; CA-Homeschoolin...@yahoogroups.com

We don't have to keep academic records of our kids "school work" of any
kind in California.

-pam

[Momma Jade]

Pam - you said,

"We don't have to keep academic records of our kids "school work" of
any
kind in California."

SERIOUSLY???? This amazes me!!

So, basically, I need to keep on file a record of attendance and an
outline of what we'll tackle in a given year (like the curriculum
"lists" on Sandra Dodd's website)??

I know I'm asking again, but this seems WAY too simple LOL.... the
whole if it seems too good to be true it probably is?

[Pam Sorooshian]

I'll email you offlist to talk more about California-specific stuff. But, yes, you are correct.

-pam

[Sandra Dodd]

I had deleted the first post for being too local for an international
list, but then couldn't find an address to notify the poster. Sorry.

-=-So, basically, I need to keep on file a record of attendance and an

outline of what we'll tackle in a given year (like the curriculum

"lists" on Sandra Dodd's website)??-=-

Because people are from dozens of jurisdictions, discussing legalities
isn't a great use of this list. It's better to be in contact with
local people for technicalities of law, and with international people
for discussions of learning.

"A record of attendance" doesn't make any sense with homeschooling.
They're home. Schools keep attendance records for financial reasons,
mostly, and to "give credit" for more attendance than less, morally
(when there are perfect attendance certificates to be awarded, or
parents to be talked to if there's too much absence). Those things
aren't factors for us.

Sandra

[Jacquie Krauskopf]

I have always used a spiral bound notebook of some kind and just made notes. I also keep all his work. We are in Indiana and we don't have to report anything to anyone but i do this for two reasos:

1. My own record to keep track of things.

 2. If in the event that the state decides to make all homeschooling families report then i am already in the practice of it somewhat.

 

Jacquie

[Pam Sorooshian]

On 11/11/2010 7:49 AM, Jacquie Krauskopf wrote:

I also keep all his work.

Unschoolers don't have "work," though, in the schoolwork sense. (Sometimes they have jobs.)

I just want to reassure people - my kids are in their 20s and they are in various stages of college - a graduate student, a senior at a university, and one at a community college. We kept NO records. Not a note. Not anything. So - it is possible to do that - we did it.

If it isn't required, I wouldn't do it, because it keeps you thinking in school terms, for one thing, and also record-keepers tend to over-value the things kids do that provide them with good record-keeping material over other activities (watching tv, playing in the mud, playing videogames, listening to music, having a conversation, playing in the park, etc.).

If it is required by law in your state, there is one nice trick I can recommend to doing it so that it will have the least harmful impact on your family life. Keep records in terms of "reality" as opposed to school subjects. Keep track of things like: playing, talking, visiting, building, making, watching, listening, conversing, debating, and so on, rather than typical school subjects. If you have to translate them into school subjects at some later date, then you can do it when you have to, but you won't have to be thinking about it that way on a daily basis.

-pam


-pam

[k]

Pam I do that by regrouping occasionally and recording things in categories like movies/tv/vidgames, places, people. I would have difficulty putting most of the items in those lists only in one category: there are characters who are people in a place that Karl sees in movie/tv/games. I had a lot of fun putting my lists in this: http://www.thebrain.com/ program where I can draw connections between categories and include an item in more than one place yet only listing it once. It will let you link things up all kind of ways. It's fun for me because it visualizes what I'm thinking about.

~Katherine