🌟 Building Your Homeschool Portfolio — It’s Easier Than You Think!

Homeschooling in Florida? One of the requirements is keeping a simple portfolio that shows your child is learning.
Good news: it doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated!
Here’s an easy checklist to help you stay organized, confident, and compliant — without the stress.

📚 What Florida Law Says:

Florida Statute 1002.41 requires every homeschooling family to keep:

  • A log of educational activities

  • Samples of student work

  • A Book List

  • Portfolio saved for two years

That’s it — no standardized tests, grading, or fancy formatting required!

📋 Your Easy Florida Homeschool Portfolio Checklist:

✅ 1. Log of Educational Activities
Keep a simple, dated list of what your child is doing.

Real-life examples:

  • "March 1: Read Charlotte’s Web, Chapters 1–3"

  • "March 3: Science experiment – built a volcano"

  • "March 5: Field trip to the aquarium — learned about marine life"

Helpful Tip:
You can use a notebook, planner, calendar app, or even a basic Word document. Weekly or monthly summaries work perfectly! Even writing the date that each lesson was completed next to each skill in the table of contents of your curriculum textbooks works!

✅ 2. Samples of Student Work that show growth
Save a few examples that show your child's learning across the year. I love things that show GROWTH. Think about saving things from the beginning, middle, and end that show growth in each subject that you worked on.

Easy examples:

  • A math worksheet (addition, fractions, multiplication)

  • A short story they wrote (one from the beginning, and another from the end)

  • A science project photo

  • A drawing of the solar system

  • A handwriting practice page

  • A simple history report

Helpful Tip:
You don’t need to save everything — just 3–5 samples per subject is plenty!

✅ 3. Book Lists and Resource Lists
Track some of the books your child reads and programs or curricula you use.

Examples:

  • Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

  • Teaching Textbooks Math 4 (online math program)

  • MasterBooks Science workbook

  • Adventures in Odyssey audio series

Helpful Tip:
A few titles are fine! No need to make a massive list. This could even be photos of all the books you’ve read together as a family saved in a photo album on your phone. Saving library receipts is another easy done for you idea.

✅ 4. Save Your Portfolio for Two Years
You can store your portfolio:

  • In a 3-ring binder

  • In a storage bin

  • Digitally (take photos or scan papers into folders)

Helpful Tip:
Label your materials by year so it’s easy to find if ever needed.

❓ Common Questions:

Do I need to record every day?
👉 No! A weekly or monthly summary works just fine.

Do I need to assign grades?
👉 No. Grades are not required — just samples showing the progression of learning over time.

Will someone ask to see my portfolio?
👉 Just me. However, if your local superintendent requests it, you must provide it within 15 days.

✨ Keep It Simple and Celebrate Learning!

Remember: your homeschool portfolio doesn’t have to be perfect.
It just needs to show that your child is learning and growing!

Focus on progress, not perfection — you’ve got this! 🌟

📅 Ready for Your Evaluation?

When you’re ready for your annual homeschool evaluation, I’m here to make it simple and encouraging!