Lesson Records

This post is part of our series on our favorite homeschool resources.

I have shared in the past about the lesson record sheets I use, but I have made some minor changes and want to give you the updated version.

You will find the lesson records in this Google Sheet. There are 5 sheets. Feel free to copy them, edit them, and share them. If you have an idea on how to make them better, please share it with us.

 How I Use Them

For those who are not familiar with the sheets, they are a place for me to record what we accomplish in each subject each day.

There are 5 sheets to correspond to the number of days you repeat a subject (LR1, LR2, LR3, LR4, and LR5). For example, I use the LR1 sheet for American History as it is once a week, and I use the LR2 sheet for dictation as it is twice a week.

In the table on the top of the sheet, I record our main subject (for example Science), our sub-subject (for example Biology), the title of the book, and our starting/ending page/chapter. There is also a place to make notes.

After the child narrates, I make a few brief notes on what the child shared. This might only be the chapter title or at most a sentence or two summary. For subjects like grammar or dictation, I will record the topic or passage.

Finally, I print each child’s lesson records on a different color of paper (see the examples below). I will share in a future post how I organize them in a binder.

Benefits

1. A record. I have a concise record of what each child has accomplished in each subject for the year.
2. Recap help. When I ask the child what he recalls from the week before, sometimes he needs a little help. Usually, my notes are enough for me to give the child just a word or two to help him get going.
3. Exam help. The record makes it very easy for me to look back on the term and write exam questions.

Changes

If you have used these lesson records in the past, here is a brief summary of the changes I have made.

1. I changed the top of the sheet to include a space for me to make notes. Previously, the subject headers stretched the width of the sheet. I found I was making subject or book notes in the margin or in the first week row on a regular basis.
2. I included a week for exams. The previous version stopped at week 11. Our third term of the 2018-2019 school year was only 11 weeks long (as opposed to our normal 12), and I used the week 11 for exams. I found I really liked having a place to write down the exam questions on our lesson records.
3. I have added a spot above the notes section to record the school year, grade, and term.

Printing

From the Google Sheet, choose Print. This will open the Print Settings page.

1. Page Orientation: Choose Portrait.
2. Scale: Choose Fit to Width.
3. Margins: Choose Custom Numbers and set each margin to 0.7″.

After you select Next, this should open a 2-page PDF. I print 2-sided lesson records.

Examples

Please note, my examples are of a previous version of my lesson records. I will be implementing the new version next term. I apologize that some are hard to read because of my use of pencil on a darker paper. I now actual only use pen on the record sheets. A blank square means we missed the subject that week, and I didn’t write down the reason.

Handwriting, 5th grade

Grammar, 9th grade

Shakespeare, 7th grade

Physics, 11th grade

I hope these lesson records are a help to you.