Planning the Homeschool Year: Portfolios

I don’t know about you, but in our neck of the woods it’s back to school season. This month, public school buses will go chugging down the street, ready to pick up those eager (at least for the first week) children. While we don’t have to be on the curb at the crack of dawn or make sure our children have their lunch money, we do need to plan out our coming year of homeschooling.

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When most people think of a portfolio, they think of an artist or professional showing their well crafted work in order to gain recognition or obtain employment. However, did you know that homeschoolers can have a portfolio as well?

When I first began to homeschool, I read everything I could on the laws of our state and ideas on how to keep ourselves protected. One great suggestion made was portfolios; simple, three-ring binders that hold all pertinent work and tests the student has done for the year. In the event it should become necessary, examples of the students’ work are on hand and available. (These are not required by our state, mind you, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. Plus, it’s always fun looking back on our hard work, especially after several years have passed.)

Click on the image above to discover what’s inside!

Every fall, we create unique covers which inspire and encourage us to fill these will beautiful work. In previous years we have used a wide variety of art mediums to create our covers. We have drawn images, water colored, and used decoupage for our art projects. For the past two years, we have chosen to use a new medium: computers! Using digital images and art programs, we have made the most beautiful covers for our binders.

Well, here we are again! It’s time to put our imagination to use and get those fingers moving. Besides a few images which reflect our goals for this year, I have also included a few funny comments which I hope will encourage my kiddos and help keep us on track.

If you don’t already, consider putting together a portfolio for each one of your children. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it doesn’t have to be time-consuming, and it doesn’t have to look professional. Dig out whatever materials you have on hand and get busy!

Having portfolios of your children’s work is always a good idea. Besides having proof of all your hard work, it’s a great way to store memories. One day, you’ll look back on these and shed tears of joy.

Time to Chime In: We’d love to see what your portfolios look like. Take a picture and send us a link to your Instagram page so we can!

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