Why Do I Need to Keep Homeschool Records?

A very common question people ask is about why in the world they should do any homeschool recordkeeping.

I understand some parents like to use a freestyle method of homeschooling, or your state may not require you to keep any kind of records.

But there are also a few things to consider.

1. Your state may not require you to turn in any records, but what if they ask for a portfolio review for some reason? If you could show them professionally generated lesson plans, daily task lists, attendance records, and report cards, how would they react? Or if you brought out a big stack of papers that had no organization to them, how would they react?
2. What will happen when your child gets to high school and starts applying for scholarships, for college admission, and for jobs? Do you want to be scrambling to remember everything your child did in order to create a professional transcript for him or her? Or what if doing a little bit of daily or weekly entry would have everything ready for you at the press of a button?
3. There are some things we don’t like to think about, such as you becoming sick or having to care for a sick family member. Unexpected events can throw your home out of balance very quickly, and do you want your kids sitting around not knowing what schoolwork they should be working on? What if you had a few weeks pre-planned for them in advance at all times, so that they would always know what to do?
4. Do you often get stressed on the weekends, spending a lot of time prepping for the following week or trying to keep your children’s schoolwork organized? Why not spend just a little time entering information (just once!) and letting us keep those records safe for you, allowing you access to them from any device and from anywhere in the world?

Diligent Homeschool allows you to plan out your children’s lessons in advance and then create professional-looking reports at the press of a button: lesson plans, daily task lists, report cards, attendance records, and transcripts are all calculated for you automatically!

Our mandate is derived from Deuteronomy 6:6–7 (emphasis added):

“And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

Are all things in your homeschool “done decently and in order” (I Corinthians 14:40)?

As always, we love to hear from you and get your ideas for improvements we can make to the system that will make your life easier. Leave us a comment below or send us your feedback.

Blessings!