Guide
The homeschool reading log, done once
Many families keep two records: a quick daily note and a separate portfolio for the end of the year. If the daily note has the right four fields, the portfolio writes itself. Here is the version that does both.
In short
Keep one log with four fields per lesson: date, lesson taught, how it went (Needs support, Developing, Secure) and minutes. Add an absence or holiday when there was no lesson. That log is your daily record, and a date-range summary of it is the year-end record most families need.
The four fields
- Date.
- Lesson, by its place in the sequence you follow.
- One rating.
- Minutes, if your records need instructional time.
Days without a lesson
Mark them. A holiday, an illness or a family day is part of the year. A log with unexplained gaps looks worse than a log with honest ones, and the pauses explain the wobbles you will see afterwards.
Two children, two logs
Each child has their own place in the sequence, even when you teach them together. Rate them separately; that is where the differences show and where you learn who needs review.
The year-end record
Pick the date range and list: lessons taught with dates and minutes, the skills that are secure, the skills still developing, and total instructional time. That is a portfolio page. Add a certificate when a unit or the program is finished, because children like them.
In Literacy Trail
Today shows each child's next lesson. One tap records it with a rating and the usual minutes. Pauses mark holidays and shift the schedule. The instruction log and progress report print for any date range, and unit certificates print when a unit is complete.
Questions people ask
Does it work for a child who is far ahead or behind grade?
Can I use a program other than UFLI Foundations?
How much does it cost?
Literacy Trail is an independent tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the University of Florida Literacy Institute. It contains no UFLI lesson content, only lesson names and order.
One log for the day and the year
Add your children, pick their lessons, and the record keeps itself.