How to Make a Homeschool Portfolio

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This post was sponsored by Five Star® as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

In some states it is required to keep a record of all of your work for homeschooling. We are lucky to not have to, but I kind of like to anyway. Today I want to show you one way we have done a homeschool portfolio with our Interactive Notetaking notebooks from Five Star®.

Never heard of interactive note taking before?  I am new to it as well, and I am in LOVE with this new style of notebook. It is perfect for organizing notes and projects. These notebooks are like a combination of a bullet journal and a scrapbook. They integrate notetaking, concept mapping and the organization of information. This style of note taking allows students to interact and better retain information presented. The notebooks make it possible to create a chronological record of  notes with a table of contents and page numbers!  We used ours to start a new homeschool portfolio for the upcoming school year. It is PERFECT for this purpose!

What is a Homeschool Portfolio?

A homeschool portfolio is basically a giant record of your school year. You can keep it digitally or in a notebook.  I make a great big notebook for each kid each year for them to keep track of the things they have learned and done in school that year. We do it as a keepsake but also I like my kids to see their progress each year. They can share their favorite things they have done and learned throughout they ear and I can do the same.

Many states require parents to keep them as a record of what is being accomplished through the school year. (See your state requirements.) It can be a lot of work to put together , but if you just do a little bit each week throughout they year, you can get it done easily!  We set aside a little time each Monday morning to report on our previous week of school.

How to Make a Homeschool Portfolio

It can be done in a lot of different formats. We typically use a 3-ring binder and sheet protectors. However I also give them a spiral notebook to keep a record of things as well. The Interactive Notebooks are the perfect notebook to use!  We do it sort of like a scrapbook. I save different samples throughout the year of things they have written and drawn. The kids put in their keepsakes from activities we have done. I print pictures of the field trips we have gone on.

Other people use an accordion file to store their portfolio items. Some even do it all digitally.

We are planning our portfolios for the next school year and are using these awesome notebooks from five star. I love the table of contents in the beginning of the notebook, the space for writing n page numbers at each corner, and the section on the side for extra notes and illustrations.

What to Include in Your Homeschool Portfolio:

• Table of contents- The Interactive Notebooks have them built right in!
• Goals and learning objectives from the beginning of the year
• School calendar
• Subjects studied/curriculum used
• Samples of work for each subject
• Reading log of both the books they read on their own and the read aloud done together
• Daily/Monthly schedule
• Field trips Attended- pictures, brochures, or other items from them
• Art work or drawings
• Pictures of completed projects or activities
• Extracurricular activities- music, dance, drama, sports, etc.
• Community service done
• Samples of handwriting
• Physical Activity tracker for P.E. requirements
• Awards and achievements received
• Legal forms if needed by your state (immunization records, letter of intent to homeschool, attendance records)

This may seem like a huge amount of work, but it is actually a wonderful thing to do for your kids. They will have this marvelous notebook full of memories!  It is always so much fun to go through their old school notebooks and see their progress and how they have changed. Don’t worry, yo do not have to keep everything! This is meant to just be a sampling of their work and progress.

We will definitely be working hard on our portfolios this school year and will be regularly adding the Interactive Notebooks to our back to school shopping list!

The Five Star® Interactive Notetaking product line will make note booking and note taking easier on you. Check out their product line:

• Interactive Notebook (College Ruled)– Table of contents, page identification and custom pages for topic organization, interior pocket for quick and easy paper storage, fold-out quick reference guide for frequently used materials, 100 pages, college ruled, no binder holes. Non-perforated pages.
• Interactive Notebook (Wide Ruled)– Table of contents, page identification and custom pages for topic organization, 3 closure pockets for loose cut-outs and small supplies, fold-out quick reference guide for frequently used materials, 100 pages, wide ruled, no binder holes. Non-perforated pages.
• Customizable Interactive Notebook – Table of contents, page identification and custom pages for topic organization, interior pockets for quick and easy paper storage, plus mid-size closure pockets for loose cut-outs and small supplies, durable, clearview plastic cover for customization & quick paper storage, fold-out quick reference guide for frequently used materials, 100 pages, college ruled, no binder holes. Non-perforated pages.
• Customizable Interactive Composition Book – Table of contents, page identification and custom pages for topic organization, interior pocket for quick and easy paper storage, durable, clearview plastic cover for customization & quick paper storage, quick reference guide for frequently used materials, 100 pages, college ruled, no binder holes. Non-perforated pages.

Make sure to add Five Star ® Interactive Notebooks to your back to school lists this year!