The Best Tracking Style
Reverse planning for homeschool.
— November 13, 2024
After trying multiple ways to plan our homeschool schedule and track our lessons I finally figured it out. And no it doesn’t require you to purchase a fancy planner or notebook. At the end of this post you will find a free template so you can begin tracking your child’s progress effectively and efficiently today! I do encourage you to make it your own, more on that later.
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The best tracking for homeschool is by using reverse planning.
The easiest way to track your child’s progress in their homeschool lessons is to record at the end of the day. Or at least once a subject, task, or event is completed.
I attempted to keep a set planner and follow exact dates for lessons when I first began homeschooling. I did this because I saw other homeschooling moms sharing how they planned their homeschooling year. After a few months of frustration I realized that the season of life we are in is too unpredictable. I currently have three boys all 6 and under. I began this method when my eldest was 5.
Instead of beating myself up for not being able to stick to a set plan, I adapted. Now, I use the Subject Priority Approach to plan our homeschool schedule and days, you can read more about that by following the link. It could benefit your homeschool if you constantly feel frustrated not getting in all the lessons everyday. And I use the reverse planning style to track my children’s progress.
Reasons this may benefit you and your homeschool.
Allows you to record everything that was a learning lesson for the day.
Do you consider homeschool lessons to be more than the workbooks placed in front of them? Or do you have a lot of lessons that do not follow a workbook? If you answered yes to either of these questions then the reverse planning is going to help you.
I count baking apple muffins, observing a butterfly, or reading books aloud as lessons with my children. Grocery shopping and other errands should be counted as well as all the extra-curriculars. Such as sports, reading and visiting at the senior center, attending church and nature group. Record all of these!
You struggle to stick to a preset homeschool schedule.
Are you in an unpredictable season of life? Doctor’s visits, family visiting, play dates, disruptions at home? If so then you probably struggle to follow a set subject schedule on any given homeschool day. Because of this, the plans you made may not actually occur bumping everything back. You can become bogged down in “did we complete that?” if you skip a subject for a few days.
By following the reverse planning style you can track your child’s progress effectively and efficiently. No crazy upfront planning that makes you feel guilty when it falls through. And whether something is completed or not is never second guessed.
Track your child’s progress for every subject in one consolidated place.
By keeping every lesson’s records in one place you can see if a subject has been overlooked recently. And direct your time and attention to that subject. This is also excellent for portfolios, especially in the younger years.
How to make it your own.
If you’ve ever worked with Excel spreadsheets then you can probably create your own. I have included a couple of options in the printable that you can print and fill in by hand. Then make copies as you go. However, after a few weeks of tracking you may find that some space isn’t being used or you need more rows or less rows.
After I began using this way to track my child’s progress it took a few months to determine the exact template I wanted. Trial and error eventually led me to the templates you will find in the printable. There is one I use for 6 year old. This one has more lines and one week fills the whole page. For my 4 year old, two weeks fit on one page.
Consider playing around with your own spreadsheet to get the exact row count you want. You can also change out subjects easier for printing. Experiment and figure out what works for you and your family! Any special homeschooling requirements from your state can also be included in these tracking sheets. If you are unsure what the homeschooling laws are in your state, HSLD is an excellent resource.
Keeping it all together.
I keep a binder open almost all the time on a table in our homeschool room. In it is homeschooling paperwork, plans, priorities, beginning of the year activities, and more. At the very front is my 6 year old’s section. After printing, hole punch, and place the paper in the binder. Behind sheets that have been filled in is where I keep a few blank ones. I separate my 4 year old’s section with a divider and page tab from his big brother. I keep more blank copies behind his filled in tracking sheets as well.
A blank page is moved to the front when a new week begins. Then I fill in the name and date. Lastly, I fill in any pertinent information in the notes section. Such as books that we have been continuously listening to or reading aloud. Any major learning opportunities that have been occurring on the homestead, such as new chicks or planting a garden. The only thing left to do now is fill it in as we complete lessons.
Writing shorthand.
For every subject I do not rewrite the exact textbook or curriculum we are using every week. Instead I fill the blank page in with basic information that would require a bit more information to understand. For reading lessons I shorthand write, L89. I know that this means lesson 89 and comes from The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading by Jessie Wise. W12D3 means Week 12 Day 3 and comes from Writing With Ease by Susan Wise Bauer.
More examples for shorthand include the following. We use Singapore Math: Dimensions for 1st grade, Chapter 4 Lesson 5 is written in shorthand as C4L5. Or that each check mark next to “piano” means my 6 year old practiced for 10 minutes. These are all examples of shorthand to keep the time it takes to record short. I have included links to these curriculums and resources because we have loved each one in our homeschool.
The extra, necessary information, is all written in the front on its own page for quick reference. I have included this page in the printable for you.
Track your child’s progress with the Completion Tracking Style.
Give yourself grace by recording your child’s progress at the end of the day. See all the subjects together and in one place to know how your child’s progress is going overall. The reverse planning style allows for more flexibility in an unpredictable life and a more thorough understanding of all that your child is learning. Get the free template to start tracking your child’s progress the easy way down below.
Share you thoughts and suggestions in the comments. Have you tried this style? Did it work? Let me know!
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