How to Keep Track of Hours Spent on Homeschool Lessons

Written by: Nichole Bolton • Edited by: Amy Carson
Updated Jun 28, 2011 • Related Guides: Microsoft Word | Homeschooling

There are many options for keeping track of hours spent on homeschool lessons. These include using the computer and writing about lessons in day planner books. Each method can be helpful in keeping homeschooling organized.

Many homeschooling parents feel that it is important to set out a certain amount of time for schooling each day and ensure that their child meets that goal. Keeping track of hours spent on homeschool lessons helps to keep everything organized and allows parents to make sure that children are working on school lessons enough each day. Tracking hours can be completed on the computer, in a day planner book or both ways.

Tracking Homeschooling Hours on the Computer

Software on the computer can be helpful in tracking time spent on homeschooling, along with setting reminders for lessons and activities. Using a computer day planner software, such as Remind Me, parents can program each time that they would like to start working on a lesson or activity with their child and an alarm will go off to notify them when it is time to start. This is helpful for busy families with a lot to do throughout the day or lots of children to work with.

Simple spreadsheets can be used on the computer to record the time that a lesson was completed and finished each day during the week. Expensive software is not needed to track homeschooling this way. Parents can use Microsoft Word, simply by adding in seven columns for each day of the week. A number of rows can be added in depending on how much time parents want to spend on schooling, or they can just add 12 rows for the hours spend awake. This way, whenever a lesson is completed it can be added to the spreadsheet and they can all be totalled up at the end of each day.

Using a Day Planner to Track Homeschooling

Keeping Track of Hours Spent on Homeschool Lessons, Image Credit: .reid.

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Day planning books are important for homeschooling, as they can be used to not only track hours spend on learning but also track the specific topics that were covered each day. Similar to homework books used in school, children can write down a few details about each lesson in their day planner including what they studied, how long it took, and what they can do to study more for the next lesson. This can be helpful in tracking each day in more detail than there would be on a computer day planner program. Giving children their own day planner books can help them to feel more independant and in control of their own schooling, along with teaching them better organization and time management skills.

Parents who have their children keeping track of hours spent on lessons have a better sense of what has been completed each day and how long it took. This can help to keep lessons organized and figure out which topics kids complete faster and which topics take longer. Tracking hours is also helpful if the family needs to meet with the local school board each year to evaluate what their children have learned.

References

Kwika.org: How to Keep Track of Homeschool Activities - http://www.kwika.org/homeschooling/how-to-keep-track-of-homeschool-activities.html

Photo Credit

Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahreido/4442226810/.