Every great cooking project requires great ingredients. And homeschool records are the same way. You want to start with a great ingredient list!

You know how a Thanksgiving dinner usually includes a turkey, and Easter may always mean lamb? Well there are common ingredients in homeschool records too.

There are 5 major ingredients for comprehensive homeschool records.

1. Official Transcript

•  This provides a one page overview of all the educational stuff, using words and numbers that colleges understand, in an easy to read format.

2. Course Descriptions

•   Each course description should be no more than one page long per class. It should include three things: a description of what you did, a list of what you used, and some sort of explanation for how you evaluated your child.

3. Reading List

•  This is a list normally self-reported by teenagers that includes the books they read for fun & school, but it does not include textbooks.

4. Activities and Awards List

•  This is similar to an adult resume. On a transcipt there may be a small mention of groups and clubs, but this list is longer and more detailed - like a course description for activities.

5. Work Samples

•  Some college may ask for something specific, which is why I recommend keeping samples from every class in high school. For most kids, though, it's just helpful to provide some excellent writing samples.

Together, all of these things are GREAT outside documentation that prove you completed your calling of educating your child.