Rollcall ResearchHow to keep homeschool attendance and hours records
One sheet a month, a tick for each school day, the hours written the same day, and a signature at the end. Here is a worked week, what else is worth keeping, and a free printable log.
To keep homeschool attendance, tick each day you do school on a monthly sheet, write that day's hours next to it, and sign and file the sheet at the end of the month. Check your own state's or country's rules before you start, because some ask for a set number of days or hours, some only ask you to keep the record, and some ask for none.
Get the free one-month log See the full planner
What counts as a school day?
Whatever your local rules say counts, and many don't define it closely. A practical habit is to tick a day when you did planned learning, at home or out of it: a museum trip, a co-op class or a nature walk with a worksheet afterwards can count when you would be happy describing them to someone checking your records. Write down what made it a school day in the notes box, especially on days away from the table.
How to log hours (worked example)
Write hours at the end of each day, rounded to the nearest quarter hour. Here is an example week for a family, the way it goes onto the weekly table of our free log:
| Day | What happened | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | Maths, reading, spelling, history read-aloud | 4.5 |
| Tue | Maths, writing, science experiment | 4 |
| Wed | Co-op morning (art and PE), reading in the afternoon | 5 |
| Thu | Sick day, no school. Noted, not ticked. | 0 |
| Fri | Field trip to the science museum, written recap after | 4.25 |
| Week | 4 school days | 17.75 |
Two habits make this painless. Log on the day, because reconstructing a month from memory is where records go wrong. And log the family day once rather than per child unless your rules ask for each child's hours separately; if they do, keep one sheet per child.
What records should a homeschool keep?
Most families end up with the same four things, whatever the rules:
- Attendance: one sheet a month with the days ticked and signed. Twelve sheets make a year.
- Hours: a total per week and per month, if your rules count hours.
- What was taught: subjects covered, books and resources used. A weekly page with every child side by side is the quickest way to keep this.
- A termly summary: one page per quarter pulling it together for a portfolio review, an evaluator or just your own records.
Some places are specific. North Carolina, for example, tells home schools to "maintain annual attendance records for each student" and to teach for at least nine calendar months a year, and recommends keeping records indefinitely. In England, the government says you must make sure your child gets a full-time education but you do not have to follow the national curriculum, and it sets no attendance form. For every US state, HSLDA keeps a state-by-state summary of homeschool laws; your state's education department has the official wording. This page is about record keeping, not legal advice.
Our pages, as they print
These are pages from our Secular Homeschool Planner, shown exactly as they print. The monthly attendance page:
The weekly page, with up to four children side by side, so "what was taught" gets recorded as you go:
And the quarterly portfolio and records summary:
Free log or full planner?
- Free one-month attendance log: days, hours by week, subjects, notes and a signature. Print a fresh copy each month. Download it free, no sign-up.
- Secular Homeschool Planner (£11.99): 63 undated pages with 12 monthly attendance logs, 36 weekly pages for up to four children, reading and field trip logs and the four quarterly summaries above. On Gumroad and Etsy.
Both print on a home printer and work in GoodNotes, Notability and Xodo. Related: all free printables and printables & guides.
Sources
- North Carolina DNPE, Home School Requirements & Recommendations.
- GOV.UK, Educating your child at home.
- HSLDA, Homeschool laws by state.