Today I passed my third homeschooling review for Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, and I didn't even worry about it. I felt much more confident than I did last year when I showed up for my first ever review. I thought I'd take a minute to share what made me feel relaxed and confident before heading into the meeting.1. I knew the rules. Simply put, I only need to show two dated samples for each of the eight required subjects (Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science, Art, Music, P.E., Health) for each of my two children. I have two children currently under review (1st- and 3rd-graders), so I need to collect and show 32 total samples of instruction. There are no bonus points for including more samples, and there is no judgment regarding the type or grade-level of instructional materials used. The samples do NOT need to be workbook pages or samples from formal curricula; anything that shows that you offered instruction in those subject areas will suffice.
2. I simplified the product. Last year, I spent days reflecting on our semester, sifting through work samples, selecting items, arranging a variety of print and digital materials, and then printing them all out, stuffing them in laminated sleeves, and inserting them into 3-ring binders. This year, I used my cell phone to take pictures or screenshots of each sample, opened a Google Slides document, and inserted the images into the slideshow. I also added Subject Heading divider slides (Health, Art, etc.) to keep myself focused; the whole endeavor took about an hour, and I was ready to go. I brought my iPad to today's review and was ready to present!
3. I used a variety of work samples to give the reviewer a taste of our homeschooling style. This is by no means required, but I'm proud to share how our family does it. Each of the three reviewers I've met so far have seemed genuinely kind and interested in how I'm teaching my children. At first, I was concerned that they might try to "catch me" making a mistake or doing something wrong, but have sensed nothing but open-mindedness and curiosity from my reviewers. Some of the types of samples I included were:
- a play program we attended at Imagination Stage
- math workbook pages
- typed summaries and photographs of field trips (Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Sandy Spring Underground Railroad)
- screenshots of subject-area YouTube playlists I created
- a typed list of books read by each child last month
- photographs of my children engaged in active play (rock climbing, swimming, etc.)
- drawings created by my children
My children were excited to join me today and talk with the reviewer about school. We got all of the necessary check marks and went on with our day. I've considered switching to an umbrella program to avoid going through these portfolio checks, but I actually kind of like being forced to stop for a moment, reflect on our progress, and share our work with someone else.
If you'd like to take a look at the document I made for the review, please click here. If you're preparing for your review, good luck!
