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Homeschool record keeping: the one book

Write each thing down once. Every report your state or a school asks for is then a printout, not a weekend of copying.

Homeschool record keeping works best as one record you add to as you teach: days, hours, books, marks, work samples and high school courses. Peabody's free Record Book keeps all of these in one book on your device and prints the attendance sheet, hours log, portfolio, report card, transcript or a full evaluation packet. Your state law page says which of these it actually asks for.

Checked October 27, 2026.

By Peabody editors.

This is a plain-words summary, not legal advice. Laws change: check your state's current law and its education department before you act.

What goes in the book?

  • Children (up to 12), each with a grade, date of birth and graduation date.
  • School years with a first and last day, the state, terms and the day or hour target you choose.
  • Subjects (eight to start, yours to change).
  • Attendance: full, half or no school, with a note.
  • Hours by subject, typed or from the Tap Clock.
  • A reading log, report card marks, progress reports, work samples with photos or files, and high school courses.

Which report reads which records?

PrintoutReads
AttendanceAttendance days and notes, hours total
Hours logHours by subject and month
Reading logReading lines and books finished
Report cardMarks by subject and term, grading key, comments
Progress reportHours by subject, your notes, books finished, goals
PortfolioWork samples with their photos and notes
TranscriptCourses, credits, grades; the reading log for descriptions
Evaluation packetAny of the above behind a contents page, with room for the evaluator's comments

What does my state ask me to keep?

It ranges from nothing to a full portfolio. Of the 49 checked records, these few show the range; every state's rule is on its own page and in what to file, by state.

StateWhat its record says
TexasWe found no record-keeping rule for home schools in the Education Code or on the TEA's home schooling page. The TEA says it does not regulate, monitor, approve, register or accredit home school programs, and state law bars it from adopting…
IndianaKeep attendance records. There is no special form. The law lets the local public school superintendent and the State Attendance Officer ask for copies to verify attendance. The Department says that if educational neglect is ever…
FloridaKeep a portfolio: a log of educational activities made at the time of instruction that names any reading materials used, plus samples of writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials. The parent decides what goes in it and keeps it…
PennsylvaniaThe parent keeps a portfolio for each child: a log made at the time of teaching listing the reading materials by title, samples of writing, worksheets, workbooks or creative work, and the grade 3, 5 and 8 test results. School districts do…

How is the book kept safe?

  • It lives in your browser's own storage on this device. There is no account, and nothing about your child is sent to Peabody.
  • After 40 changes it asks you to download a backup: one file with the whole book and every photo, named with the day's date.
  • Reading a backup checks and cleans the whole file before anything stored is touched, so a damaged file leaves your records alone.
  • Every printout ends with the page it came from, the date printed and the Record Book's version.

A routine that keeps up

  1. Daily: mark the day, or tap the Tap Clock on and off.
  2. Weekly: "Mark this week", add a work sample or two, log books finished.
  3. Each term: type marks and comments.
  4. Each month: download a backup.
  5. At year end: print what your state asks, and the evaluation packet if you have an evaluator.

Open the book

Start with attendance or the portfolio; every page shares the same book. For teens, add the transcript. Check your state in what to file, by state.

Sources