(sung to the tune of "Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?")

I mentioned our homeschool portfolios on my Facebook page today, and someone asked if I could share pictures and explain how I put our portfolios together (thanks, Isabelle!).  Since I've been so lax at blogging lately, I thought this would make a great blog entry (which feeds into my Facebook page, so everyone can see!)  So, this post is a step-by-step on how to put together a portfolio (my idea - please take it and rework it to fit your needs), and the  value of keeping a portfolio (even if you don't have to).

People panic when they hear that we homeschool in PA.  Apparently, PA has a reputation for being one of the more "uptight" states when it comes to homeschooling.  I don't know if it's just my county, or if everyone is panicked over nothing; but homeschooling in PA is really not that hard to do.  One thing that is required of us, though, is turning in a portfolio (of each child's work) at the end of the school year. 

Here are the porfolios we turned in this year:

As you can see, I like to use the comb-binding machine to put our portfolios together.  The reason for this is two-fold:

1. It makes a much nicer keepsake
2. As opposed to a 3-ring binder (which most people use), it takes up so much less space on the bookshelf (or wherever you might like to store yours - we keep ours out so they're handy to pull off the shelf, look at, and share).  Here's how we store them:
   
   
   (sitting on the top of the bookshelf, right next to all my back issues of TOS)

Here is the way we go about preparing for our porfolio throughout the year.
We start out with a 3-ring binder for each girl, like this:

(this pink one is Gracie's, Ashley's is blue - this way it's easy to see whose is whose)

Inside the binder are 5 folders, like this:

These folders are labeled:
COVER SHEETS & AWARDS - this one is where I keep a copy of their Course of Study for the year, as well as educational objectives, and any awards or certificates they receive throughout the year.  This is a sample of Gracie's, which already contains her certificate from attending VBS:

LESSON PLANS - as we go throughout the year, filling our lesson plan forms, I move them from the front of the binder into this folder.  You can see Gracie's planning form above; here is a close-up:

I know I'm the co-creator of The Schoolhouse Planner and it seems rather hypocritical of me to make up my own planning form, but I'm silly that way.  Each year, we make up new forms for each girl - one that totally coincides with their curriculum for that particular year.  Also, though my planner pages are set up for 5 days per form, they are not labeled Monday, Tuesday, etc.  Mine have blanks to fill in the date and the # of the school day (1-180).  This way, I don't have to feel like I'm messing up if we only school 3 days one week, or if we want to do school on a weekend to make up or whatever.  And, I never fill these in ahead of time - we write out our plans each day, as we do them.  This is so much better for my personality (that freaks when I need to use white-out!)

PROGRESS REPORTS - though we normally teach to mastery, we do like to keep track of grades, and I always make up my own progress reports as well.  Here is one from Ashley's portfolio this past year:

SAMPLES & ARTWORK - I fill this folder with Gracie's artwork throughout the year.  If we do something we think is really "portfolio worthy", we'll put it in this folder right away.  Otherwise, this one gets filled at the end of the year when we're looking for things that might impress our evaluator!

FIELD TRIPS & PHOTOS - as we go on field trips and/or complete science projects, we make "digital scrapbook pages" of them to put into our portfolio.  Gracie's current folder (for 2009-10) already looks like this:

You might recognize the "Field Trip Log" on the left as the one from The Schoolhouse Planner.  We like to track our field trip days on this form.  Once our portfolio is put together, it looks more like this (these samples are taken from Ashley's 08-09 portfolio):

(Isabelle, you may notice these pictures as part of our field trips with you guys last summer!)

Once we've completed our school year, we take all the forms that are in the 5 folders, and compile them into the nice comb-bound books you see here:

And when I go to pick them up at the school district office and see nice words of affirmation on them, it makes me happy!    Here are the notes from this year:

(Ashley's)

(Gracie's)

The nice thing about these portfolios is that what goes into them is all that we save each year.  This is really something because I come from a long line of packrats.  I believe the "packrat syndrome" maybe came about because my grandparents were poor and had 11 kids; so when they got something of value to them, they saved it.  Many of my aunts and uncles have carried on this trait.  My own mother saved every single school paper I ever brought home - she even saved all the Trapper Keepers and binders!  When they moved about 10 years ago, I inherited all of it.  Though it's fun to look through, we simply did not have the room to keep it all (especially when we decided to convert our attic into a bedroom for Ashley). 

Once we've put our portfolios together, everything else goes (what's left of the workbooks, worksheets, etc.)  We do make some lapbooks and notebooks for various subjects and we save these things as well (pictures of them often make it into the portfolio).

And lest you think I'm a total doofus, I must say that I really do use my Schoolhouse Planner.  I actually have 3 of them saved on my computer - one for each child - and we have some favorite pages that we are filling out already (and will definitely take up residence in our 09-10 portfolios):

• Course of Study (page 149) - we use this one or make our own, which looks essentially just like it - the one in the planner is my original creation, used for years
• Beginning/Ending Page (page 150) - I think I'll use this one for Gracie and Ian this year
• Educational Objectives (page 155)
• End of Year Report Card (pages 158 - 159) - I'm not sure yet which one of these we'll use this year
• High School Transcript (page 160) - I already have Ashley's transcript started - the one in the planner is a model of mine  (this one will NOT be in the portfolio)
  
• Bible Memorization Record (page 190) - this form is an awesome way to track the memory verses your kids learn throughout the year, ours already has the  verses the kids commited to memory at VBS this summer
• Memory Work Record (page 191) - this one is for other things that are memorized
• Audio/Video Log (page 192) - I love the idea of this form; we've always tracked all the books read and used throughout the year, but I've never thought to actually log audio and/or video items - this form will be a great addition to our portfolios this year
• Books Read This Year (page 193) - I print this form out and the  girls each have several of them in the back of their binders - they fill them in as they complete a book and let me know when it's time to restock with more forms!
• Crafts Completed This Year (page 194) - this one is one that Gracie will be using (Ashley hates crafting)
• Field Trip Log (page 196) - I mentioned this one above, but wanted to list it by page
• Science Lab Sheet (page 212) - we will use a combination of this form and some new ones that will be coming when TOS releases a brand new line of unit studies in September! 
  
• Attendance Chart (page 228) - this is another one that I printed out and the girls can check off as we go along - just a nice visual to see how many days we have left
• Community Service Record (page 229) - we'll use this one for Ashley this year - she occasionally volunteers at the local thrift shop and/or helps with various things at church
• General Book Report (page 230)
• Educational Activities for Preschoolers (page 253) - I'm going to use this checklist for Ian this year

Yes, Ian will have his own portfolio this year.  Though he won't be doing 180 days of school, and we don't have to turn anything in for him, he likes to be a big boy and do schoolwork when the girls do, so I'm keeping track of things, and figure it's never to early to start his keepsake portfolios as well!

Hope I've given you some ideas.  Please feel free to ask any questions or share your portfolio ideas in the comments.

 

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This week's Homeschool Memoir theme is to share our favorite study spot.  This is an easy one!  I've been loving this "no brainer" topics because my brain has been out-of-commission lately!  LOL

Though there are times that my kids like to sit in the living room, for the most part, we do ALL of our schoolwork in the dining room - either around the dining room table, or on the computers.  I've shared pictures before, so I won't be redundant.  I'm sure many people are much more clever than we are with their study spot - but this is what works best for us, at this time.

DON'T FORGET - The Homeschool Blog Awards are COMING SOON!  You will be able to enter your nominations, starting Monday, the 13th.  So, be thinking about those blogs that you JUST LOVE and you think they might deserve this honor! 

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Wow - I'm loving this week's Homeschool Memoirs theme!
Thanks, Jocelyn, for the no-brainer.
My brain has been working overtime on the TOS Homeschool Crew project,
so this is a nice "aside" for me this week.

Some of our favorite snacks are:
chips (though we try not to eat too many of them)
popcorn
pretzels
crackers
cheese
fruits

The little kids (Gracie & Ian) also enjoy snacking on
dry cereal
marshmallows
poptarts

Ashley loves baking, so we also enjoy
brownies
cookies

One of my favorites at this time of year is
pumpkin chip cookies (shared recipe on my blog)

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This week's theme is to share about our summer in pictures.  Some of these pictures have been shared previously on my blog.  I just compiled the highlights of our summer into a slideshow, complete with captions.  Enjoy!

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This week for Homeschool Memoirs, we have a simple assignment (praise the Lord! because I love participating, but have a very busy week!) - we are to share a few of our favorite things.  So, here is my list (it's definitely not complete!):

My family (both immediate and extended)

My friends

My church (the building and all the people in it)

Books (if you don't believe, start reading my reviews column at Take Root & Write or start clicking on the links in my sidebar)

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine (I've always enjoyed this magazine, but now that I work for TOS I love it even more)

Homeschooling (wow! there are no more words to say - it's just such a blessing!)

Homeschool Convention (what a fun time - I love meeting new people and seeing all the new things that are available to homeschoolers)

Shopping (but only if I'm not shopping for clothes for myself and only if I'm finding good bargains - otherwise, shopping is stressful)

My computer, my message board, and my blog

Fall (or pretty much any season that's not winter!)

Disney World

Planning things (vacations, etc. - 1/2 the fun is in the planning!)

To read other's favorites lists, visit Homeschool Memoirs.

Edited to add: I guess I misunderstood the assignment - I didn't realize we were to share our favorites in certain categories.    I don't have time to fix it right now - maybe I can come back and do that next week.  If not, sorry!

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This week's Homeschool Memoirs theme is to share about something new we are using in our homeschools this year.  It seems like I buy something new each and every year.  We are very eclectic in our homeschooling approach anyway, and I enjoy trying new things.  Plus, with doing so many reviews, I end up with so many wonderful products that we just have to use!

This year, one of the new things we're using is the Latin programs by Memoria Press.  Ashley is using Latina Christiana and Gracie is using Prima Latina.  So far, so good.  They are both on Lesson 2 and are actually learning!  I think Latin will be a nice addition to our schooling, and that it will be fun to learn.

Gracie is using Christian Kids Explore Biology (Bright Ideas Press) for science this year.  In the past, we have used Apologia's elementary science courses or we just "did our own thing".  We decided to try this because I got a really good deal on it, and I thought it would fit in well with our schooling this year since Ashley is doing high school biology this year.

For Gracie's handwriting this year, we are using the Biblical Character Traits to Learn and to Live cursive copybook by Proverbs 22:6 Academy.  This is a nice way to combine Bible, learning important character traits, and cursive writing practice.

Ashley is using Where the Brook & River Meet unit study (based on Anne of Green Gables).  We don't use every aspect of this book (for example, we are still continuing our study through Mystery of History instead of using the history lessons in this study).  I wanted to test out the unit study approach; and, though we like this, I'd say unit studies really aren't our ideal method of learning.

I think I've pretty much covered all the new stuff for right now.  I say that because, as we progress through the year, if we find something else we like and want to try, I'm not beyond switching mid-year or adding new things in to what we're already doing.  I love the flexibility of homeschooling.

To see more of what others are adding this year, go to Homeschool Memoirs, over at The Homeschool Blog Awards.

If you would like to win a $50 gift certificate to Tiny Prints to use toward the purchase of your holiday cards, I'm running a contest - click here for details.

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I'm so behind this week!  That blog template mix-up really threw me for a loop.  Though I still haven't gotten to the bottom of the problem, I have seemed to manage to get my sidebar back into some semblence of order.  It will do for now.  I need to find something else to focus on, so.....

This week's Homeschool Memoirs topic is to share our homeschool agendas/plans for this coming school year.  Last week, I shared our intended curriculum.  So, this week, I'll just share a bit about what we hope to accomplish this year.

This is Ashley's first year as a high school student (9th grade), so I've really been focusing on learning more about high school credits and transcripts.  I have gleaned information from Janice Campbell, having attended one of her seminars at our homeschool convention last year.  I've been reading her blog and she had a great essay in The Schoolhouse Planner.  Also, lucky person that I am, I have the inside scoop on the Fall issue of TOS.  If you, too, have first time high school students, or if you've had a high schooler for a few years and you're still not quite sure what your responsibilities are, then you will LOVE the upcoming issue!  It is filled with great resources for homeschooling parents just like you and me.  I got a sneak peek and have been pleasantly surprised and very well-informed.

Another goal for this year is to become a bit more serious about foreign language.  Ashley got a 1/4 credit in American Sign Language last year and she absolutely loved it.  I'd like to find a place closer to home where she could continue with her sign language lessons.  However, we have also decided to add Latin to our homeschool this year.  So, just the other day, both girls started their Latin lessons, and I think we're really going to enjoy it.  I took 2 years of N.T. Greek in high school and I think I can groove right into the Latin conjugations, etc. 

Ashley will also be working toward a Child Development credit, as we have been blessed by being able to spend some quality time with our dear friends' baby girl.  We are going to track hours and I'm going to have Ashley do some reading, researching, and writing on the topic to fulfill this requirement for credit.

And another thing we'd like to incorporate is finding a group to join - one in which we feel that we can fit in.  Our local group has just never appealed to any of us, for various reasons.  I've been looking into a group in a neighboring county, and am liking the prospect of some connections for all of us this school year. 

So, those are just some of our goals and things we hope to stick with and accomplish.  I'm sure there are many more, but these are the things that immediately come to mind.

*Thanks to all of you who took the time to visit my blog last week and leave a comment.  I have  been so swamped with trying to get our school year off the ground, running a household and keeping after a toddler, and keeping up with my expanding work load (I love my job!) that I just don't have a lot of extra time to visit blogs.  But, I do so love meeting new people and making new friends! 

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I'm going to *try* to participate in the Homeschool Memoirs meme being hosted at the Homeschool Blog Awards website.  This week's theme seems like a fairly easy one to get started with.  My regular readers will already know most of this about me, so just skip over this post!  If you're new to my blog, however, here is my introduction:

My name is Heidi.  I'm married to Brian, my hubby of 16 years.  We have 3 children - Ashley (14), Gracie (8), and Ian (2).  Other than 2 1/2 years in the local public school, Ashley has  been homeschooled all along, and Gracie has never been schooled anywhere but home.  Homeschooling has  been a wonderful blessing to me, not only in being able to stay home with my children and train them up in the way they should go, but in so many other ways.

Through homeschooling, I have met a great group of online friends.  Some of these are a part of my MSN message board, while many are right here in the blogosphere - what an amazing place!  I have treasured my time here at HSB, and have made so many wonderful friends and had some excellent opportunities.

In addition to being a stay-at-home mom, I'm also employed with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine as the E-Book Reviews Specialist for the Schoolhouse Store and as a Marketing Assistant to the publisher.  This job has been a real Godsend in my life and I just love it!  I also am a product reviewer, and have recently started writing my own column at Take Root & Write (where you will find all my current reviewers - link in right-hand sidebar).

I've recently been published - in both the Spring and Summer issues of TOS magazine.  In these articles you will learn about the postiive aspects of E-Books in your homeschooling (Spring) and my family's experience with international adoption (Summer).  If you are a subscriber, I hope you will take the time to read these articles and learn more about my family and my passions.  In case you are not a TOS subscriber, here is a picture of my family (shared in the summer issue):

I hope you've enjoyed your visit to my blog.  If you see anything of interest to you, great.  Feel free to ask questions - I'm always here to help!

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