Pennsylvania Homeschooling Portfolio...A Review of our Year.

I will admit, I was intimidated at first with the more rigorous requirements of Pennsylvania homeschooling law which required a portfolio containing samples of work, standardized tests, an evaluator's report, and a book log, especially after homeschooling in states that didn't have any such requirements. But after just finishing the compilation of my son Ryan's portfolio for this year, I am glad that I had to collect and put together his work in a bound notebook because I now have a fantastic record of all that he did this year which will come in handy when it is time to apply for college.

There is a lot of flexibility in how the portfolio is prepared and an excellent website to refer to when assembling the portfolio is Ask Pauline. Not only will this site provide you with portfolio advice, but offers a wealth of information on homeschooling in PA. In the picture above, I show part of Ryan's book log by subject.

In the science section of Ryan's portfolio shown above, I show some samples of his work, pictures of him doing science experiments, and part of the listing of science resources used. This is just a small sample of the work included in his portfolio and the portfolio itself is just a small sampling of work done for the year.

Under the English tab of his portfolio shown above, I feature a partial listing of English resources used, a sample of research done, and have spread out the manuscript of a novel he is in the process of writing. Again, just a small sampling of work in the portfolio and work done during the course of the year.

We went on lots of field trips this year so much of the history section of Ryan's portfolio includes pictures of our trips. Visiting the places where history was made is the beauty of homeschooling and makes history come alive. Even so, Ryan still used some books as resources and that list is included in the history section of the portfolio as shown above.

Samples of my Ryan's math work and pictures of him doing math along with a list of math resources are shown above.

Finally, above are pictures of some of the electives Ryan participated in along with him taking part in physical education related activities. A resources list is also included.

What I didn't show and what was also included in our portfolio was a daily log of activities we did along with an attendance log. There was also a required health and safety section. When all finished, the portfolio filled a 2 and 1/2 inch binder.

As a homeschooler, Ryan won't receive a typical transcript for high school so portfolios will serve instead. He has already tested how well this portfolio will work in place of a transcript by bringing it to an interview at the local community college and being accepted for fall of 2012- just after he turns 16- the work of assembling this portfolio already paying off!