Preparing for a Homeschool Evaluation

Gathering Evidence of Growth

Think about your child's progress over the past school year and then gather items that show that growth. Many parents think that this needs to be written work, like worksheets or samples of writing. While these do often show evidence of growth, there are so many more ways to demonstrate how your child has progressed through the year. If your child has created any kind of project as evidence of their learning those are great examples to have on hand. Photos of hands-on learning, projects completed, experiments, or field trips are excellent ways to demonstrate their learning. It is also helpful to know about clubs, sports, theater, or other activities that your child is involved in.

Depending on your child’s age, they could write or draw about some of their most significant learning experiences. It isn’t necessary, but many children find that compiling a notebook that showcases some of their best learning from the year is very rewarding.

Your evaluator will not want to see every bit of learning that occurred during the year but only a small sample from a variety of subject areas. It is helpful to see a few items from the beginning of the year, the middle of the year, and the end of the year to see the progression of learning. If you have completed workbooks, it can be helpful to place tabs on a few key pages to show your evaluator.

Things you may find in a portfolio…

Of course, you will often have worksheets or other pieces of writing that students have completed but here are some other ideas. Photos of projects or science experiments are a wonderful way to document learning. When looking back at portfolios from the past, it is the photos that we enjoy the most. Depending on the child’s age, I find it helpful to see the progression of a piece of writing that includes a rough draft and a final copy.

Ways to Demonstrate Learning

Here are some ideas for how your child can show what they have learned other than worksheets or tests.

·         Make a diorama or a scene with small toys or Legos

·         Create a game based on the topic

·         Write a song or poem related to the topic

·         Cook a dish related to a specific culture or period of history

·         Make a cookie dough map of a place you learned about

·         Build a model of what you are learning about (clay or Model Magic, Lego, balsa wood, cardboard, paper Mache)

·         Create a Minecraft world based on history/culture

·         Write a skit, play, or puppet show

·         Dress up in period clothing

·         Create a lapbook

·         Create a dance or pantomime that represents a historic event

·         Create a journal page or letter from a famous person or from an anonymous person from a specific time period

·         Create a newspaper front page from a specific time

·         Pretend to be a news reporter and give a brief account of what you learned about

·         Write a children’s book or cartoon about a certain period of time

·         Create an advertisement (for a product from history, a science tool, a building or land as examples)

·         Create a poster

·         Design a t-shirt

·         Create a PowerPoint presentation, slide show, or video