Homeschool World Forum

I am new to homeschooling and live in the state of Mississippi, though in my profile I put Memphis, TN because I am extremely close to Memphis and that is where we do all of our activities. However, technically I am in Mississippi.

Mississippi does not require a certain number of days or hours for a school term. All they require is a letter of intent to homeschool to be sent to the Superintendent of Schools if your child is 6 years of age or older. My son is only 5 now and will not be 6 until February.

My question is this: Just how meticulous should I be in record keeping of what we do each day? I lean more toward and unschooling/child directed style of learning. I try to keep up with everything but sometimes it is hard. I will be utilizing the HSLDA membership should any real problems arise, but what about record keeping? Are there any good ideas out there to help keep up with what you do and when? Is it really even necessary?

Confused, Robin

http://www.mhea.net/laws.htm

I don't see anything here about being required to keep records:

The certificate card - available from your city or county school attendance officer - should include names and address of the parents, the child's name and date of birth, and "a simple description of the type of education the children are receiving." (emphasis mine)

Since I assume the card isn't huge, the "simple description" probably just means a list of the subjects and extracurriculars you are/will be covering, and at what grade levels. Mississippi homeschool law has no requirements as to subjects, attendance, testing, etc., so anything more detailed certainly won't be necessary.

Wow, Theodore!! You are really on top of things around here. Thanks alot for your help!!

Smiles, Robin

My school district is similiar to that but I keep a folder and put in a few papers for every new thing that they do. I don't have a curriculum, just math books, everything else is pretty hands on, so even a little anecdotals note, or picture of something they made, is nice to put in the folder, than at the end of the year if your really organized you can haveit bound, or just filed away, and then you can look back and see how cute they were, and how far they have come. Even if the state doesn't require it, it is good to have a few samples of their work to see their progress or to keep track to spot where they aren't progressing.