Crafting a well put together high school transcript begins by collecting and keeping items that can be used to document and back up your teen’s transcript. Look at these 10 things to keep when homeschooling high school.
1. Keep a daily planner.
When I started with my first high school son, I didn’t have a fancy record keeping system.
Simple is best when you first start with the high school years. My son and I both recorded activities after each day.
He used a student planner and I just typed information in a Word document. At the end of high school, it was easy to construct what I needed because I wrote down everything as I plodded along.
2. Keep book descriptions, pages and course titles.
Some parents I help want to give their child high school credit for finishing up a middle school book.
High school means that your child is doing high school level curriculum and books.
Write down book titles and page numbers because these convert to course descriptions which is what goes on the high school transcript.
3. Keep photos.
With the amount of free photo editing apps and high definition phone lens, taking photos is easier than it has ever been before.
Photos of course do not go on a transcript, but you keep them because they can be used to verify work that your teen has completed.
4. Keep certificates of completion.
When my niece moved into my home and I helped her after graduation, she had to take classes like CPR and First Aid before she could start college.
She found out that she could have completed those courses during the high school years as a certificate program.
Though my sons were not in high school yet, I took note of that and remembered that certificate programs could be counted as high school credit in science or other courses.
5. Keep the end of the chapter tests.
When my second son started high school, he wanted to run through courses faster than we had scheduled them because some of the courses he was very familiar with.
So spending a minimum number of days on the chapter, he completed the end of the chapter tests and I stored them away as proof of mastering the material.
6. Keep all receipts.
It is hard to prove some things your teen has learned like computer software.
Keeping receipts of software you paid for helps to verify the work if called upon to produce proof.
7. Keep videos.
However, now with technology, making a video is another way to prove your teen’s work whether he is learning software or playing a musical instrument.
8. Keep research papers.
In a lot of regions, you as the homeschool teacher can make the decision on the number of research papers written, along with determining the grading standard.
You have flexibility, just keep the research papers stored away neatly.
9. Keep a record of volunteer or community work.
Both of my oldest sons completed voluntary Bible community work.
I could not find a document to track this, so I created one.
By the way, I share the document freely on my site if you want to download it. Again, tracking this weekly, I have dates or a log of where my sons went and what they did.
10. Keep a letter from an employer.
Most teens have endless energy and don’t mind having a jam packed schedule for the day. And if my boys could finish their school, they were allowed to work.
A letter from an employer or on the job training can be turned into a credit for vocational skills. It backs up the transcript.
Form a strong foundation for the high school years and prove your teen’s hard work by keeping everything to support the work your teen did during high school.
When the time comes, your gathered information will be a treasure trove of testimony that will speak volumes about all the hard work your teen has accomplished.
