Homeschool Tips: Activities for Homeschooling Children

If you keep a journal account of things your child is doing each day, you'll have a ready reference book in case anyone ever challenges you, inferring that you might not be teaching your child enough. A journal is especially important if you're unschooling.

My state, California, requires a Course of Study when filing the Private School Affidavit. Nobody ever asked to see my Course of Study, but I always had it in a file cabinet near the front door.

Many states are more demanding of homeschooling parents, and want a curriculum list. If that is the case in your state and you want to homeschool without a purchased curriculum like Calvert or Abeka, you can use the list and scan Amazon for titles that fit the subjects and would interest your children.

I almost always kept a curriculum planner, not to plan our lessons, but to write down what we actually did each day. I thought this was an easy, organized way to keep a record proving that learning was happening in our home. I used the subjects above to label the columns and there was just enough room in the boxes to keep track of what was done. I also used a page in the planner for an attendance record - something required for private schools in California. Just like with the Course of Study - nobody ever asked to look at our attendance record or my notes on what we'd done - but knowing it was there as ongoing proof was a great stress reliever.