Once again I am looking at homeschooling on the cheap. This time I am looking at the record keeping side. It surprises me how intimidated people are by the idea that the need to keep records. It just isn’t that hard. Now granted, I am in California where we don’t have a lot of rules but still. I think this is something anyone can do with out any fancy, expensive stuff.

Personally I take the calendar approach. Since this is first grade I am just getting an idea of my oldest’s output. I have an overall minimum plan but not a daily plan (doesn’t allow for much flexibility). I bought a calendar with a page a day. Then I just write each kid’s name and what they did for the day. It is that simple. When this calendar is done I will just use the undated teacher’s planner I got at the Dollar Tree. It has plenty of room and the price is great;). I prefer the paper version right now and then I will convert it to a computer file at a later date for prosperity.

There are also a couple of free sites. You can download a free version of HomeSchool Tracker. It is a software program that you can put everything in to plan and track. I haven’t tried it but have heard good things, especially for multiple kids. The other tool out there is Donna Young’s site. It has all the printable paper work you can imagine. She has planning pages, notebooking pages, calendars, etc. I have already used them many times.

Well, hopefully that helps someone with the bookkeeping and tracking that goes with homeschooling. If you have any other free or cheap resources for record keeping please leave them in the comments. Also, if you haven’t checked out my post on reproducible books please do and add your finds too!

As always remember homeschooling doesn’t have to be hard or expensive!