Keeping track of what we do

Happy Wednesday to you! Last week I shared my popsicle-stick weekly planning method. Did you miss it? You can read about it here.

My monthly recordkeeping system is also super simple. I use a no-frills spreadsheet that allows me to keep track of what subjects we cover on which days. The first column is wide enough to list subjects. In the rows, I list each child's individual subjects and then the subjects we do together. Then I have 31 narrow columns to account for the days of the month. (I reuse the same form for each month, so I just cross off unneeded columns in months with less than 31 days.) I can fit it all on one page for my two kids, but you could create a page for each child if you prefer.

I print out one spreadsheet per month. At the end of each day, I put a checkmark in the corresponding day column and subject row. I like being able to survey the month when it's over. I can see if we covered the subjects we planned to do, easily identify what days we did school, and keep count of our school days for our yearly record.

I hope that between hearing about my weekly popsicle stick method and monthly spreadsheet, you can relax in knowing that homeschool planning and tracking don't have to be fancy. The important thing is to use methods that work well for you and align with your state's requirements for reporting (if applicable in your state).

As we kick off September, I'm wishing you a happy fall season!