The End of the School Year!

The end of the school year is here!  I don’t know about you, but I am pretty excited about that.  Well, I was until I realized that there is so much work to do to get ready for next year!  Recording keeping, ordering more materials, and cleaning up from last year kind of killed my happy place.  Here is a list of easy things to do from year to year…

• Keep all of your records in one place.  If you keep each students’ records in their own folder, it will fight half the battle.  I recommend one folder per student with three files in it.  One file will have Tests to Take, one will have the Permanent Record (report cards, art work, essays, standardized tests results, and academic assessments), and the last one will have Tests Taken.  Do yourself a favor and organize the last two with like things together.  If all of your standardized tests are together in consecutive order, you can find it!  If you sort finished tests by subject and place in numerical order then you will thank yourself later.  Nothing like having to track down somebody’s tests to find that they lined the bird cage with it!
• Record your students’ grades on a report card as they complete their tests (Permanent Records and Quarterly Report Forms are great tools). Doing it throughout the year makes filing a snap.
• If you have a high school student you will need to record an average grade for each course and the number of credits earned. The PACEs have the name of course written on the lower, left hand corner.  If the course was twelve PACEs then it is worth one credit, six PACEs is ½ a credit.  Keeping very accurate records for your high school student is vital.  This will back up your transcript and validate their diploma.
• Order earlier in the summer. Ever find yourself going, “What month is it?  August!?  I planned to start next week!”  Ordering early gives your supplier (BCE J) time to get your materials out to you and for you to order anything else you may have forgotten.

For those of you who are enrolled in BCE Academy, your record keeping is much easier because you have me.  Points one and four are very important for you as well!  The file marked Tests Taken will make it easier for you to store everything you need for mailing items back to BCE.  Keep the report cards and white copies of the Quarterly Report Forms in your Permanent Record.  These will provide a safe backup for your student’s records.

Following these tools will help keep you sane as you navigate your homeschool world!  Keep in mind that I am here to help you as well.  Give me a call anytime!

Nicole