As the school year draws to a close there are two things to consider before you put the books away: documentation and your plans for next year. The two questions you need to ask yourself are:
How will you document your child’s progress?
What will you do next year?
To help you with this process here are 3 tips to help you wrap up the school year.
Tip 1: Check Your State Laws
Each state has different compliance regulations for homeschoolers. To find your state rules go to www.hslda.org. If you live in the state of Georgia our rules are pretty simple. You must do a nationally standardized test in grades 3, 6, 9 and 12 and you must write an annual progress assessment report in each required subject area (Math, Reading, English, Science, Social Studies) for each child. These reports must be kept for at least three years.
If you find that you are not in compliance in an area (i.e. you did not give a national standardized test like the ITBS or Stanford 10) seek to rectify it as soon as possible. EPIC Homeschool Network, Inc. has testing sessions in the fall and in the spring so contact us to register.
Tip 2: Prepare Your Documentation
After checking your home school laws now it is time to prepare your documentation such as attendance sheet and report cards.
We have attached some documents that our members have found helpful.
- Attendance Report
- Elementary or Middle School Report Card
- High School Transcript
- Grade Tracker
- Shop around for pre-made report cards and portfolios.
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Tip 3: Look Ahead
Don’t end the school year without doing some evaluations on what you are currently doing and look ahead to what you will do next year. Did your curriculum work this year for all of your kids? Why or why not? What will you change? When will you start the year?
Would a co-op be helpful? EPIC Homeschool Network now offers an Academic Studies Program. Check it out here to learn more or go to www.epichsn.org/academy.
Need help evaluating all the resources? Check out our Tips for Navigating Homeschool Conventions for a free curriculum budget worksheet.
If you are homeschooling high school students you need to ask your child, “What are your future career goals?” If the answer is “I don’t know” then think about some summer experiences to expose your child to different careers. If their answer is in one or more areas, that is great! Look up the top 5 schools in each area and what their requirements are for home school students. You do not necessarily need to have an “accredited” diploma to enter college, however, some schools do have special requirements.
If in doubt, accredited diplomas always make it easier, check out North Atlantic Regional High School at http://www.narhs.org/. They will evaluate your child’s course of study and issue you an accredited diploma. There is a charge though so sign up early!
After you have wrapped up the school year, now it’s time to take a break! You have earned it.
What are some things you do to wrap up your school year?
EPIC HOMESCHOOL NETWORK, INC. 