This can be such a difficult issue for us homeschool moms! Do we, don't we and if we do, how? This is especially true when it comes to language arts which can be very subjective.
Barbara Blakey, author of the Total Language Plus study guides, has just started a blog series on grading I encourage you to follow. She has graduated several students successfully and is a wealth of information.
Personally, I don't use grades all that much. Now that I have a highschooler I do keep track of a few for transcript purposes. For the present I correct only his tests and then I simply write the score next to the chapter in the table of contents. At the end of the year I will transfer it to his transcript form. I find this easier to do all at once. Some subjects like Apologia Chemistry recommend giving credit for lab notebooks as part of the final grade. This for us will be a credit or no-credit situation. I don't want to have to correct his daily work and I also concur with Barbara in her blog mentioned above that the daily work is part of the learning process and I don't want to grade that, I want to encourage "learning".
Why are grades and tests given anyway? Well, if you think of the typical classroom it's a way for the teacher of many students to assess how each one is mastering a subject. That teacher isn’t always in tune with exactly where each student is, how could she be? I hope that you as a parent/teacher can't say the same.
Think about how many times you look over their shoulder or discuss questions. You know from their answers if they've got it or not. In a classroom it's often hard for each student to get in on meaningful discussion. Where have they been struggling and where do they need your help? I bet you can answer that one in a heartbeat.
If you're not giving grades you probably are already doing other things to measure their success. Think about lapbooks, narrations, web pages, "newspapers", journals, not to mention reports and essays. Do you have a co-op or academic fair?
There is no better way to learn the subject then to become the teacher. If you're ever taught a Sunday school class or led a Bible study you realize that you learned more then any of the students. When your children do a lapbook each time they show a friend or relative they are presenting their material and reviewing at the same time. When you participate in a science or history fair once again they get to "teach" others what they learned not to mention the interpersonal skills they develop.
Bottom line, don't stress you or your children out about "grades" but rather enjoy the process and pay attention to them so that you are comfortable and knowledgeable about what they are learning! And if you do find you need grades especially as you get to high school try not to make it the "focus" of your school. Have FUN learning.
Gina
| 
