Homeschool Record Keeping: Book Lists

by Allie Olsen

homeschool Book List
I hate it when I forget a book’s title. If it’s a tome our kids loved, I can usually count on them to remember the title for me… but sometimes we both come up short. The thing is, I want to recommend great, tried-and-true books to my young mamma friends! And I want to recall books that have shaped me as well!

Homeschool Manager’s book list feature solves this problem for me. I don’t have to worry about remembering book titles. I don’t have to remember where I put the list (I’m sure I jotted it in a journal… which one though?). I now keep a running book list for myself and have each child keep theirs as well.

We have 2 ways to keep a book list with Homeschool Manager:

  1. Quick-Entry Book List
    In about 30 seconds, you can record date read, title, author, number of pages & ISBN number.
    Use as many or as few fields as you’d like. The goal is to record what was read, when.
  2. Book Journal
    Homeschool Manager’s “notes” field allows a student to journal one paragraph about each book. Summarize the story, record favorite quotes, or write cautions to recall when recommending the book.

Primary & Middle Grades: Parents can keep track of book titles for future reference as you teach younger siblings. As students gain typing experience, transition this responsibility to them. The 1-paragraph limit for HSM’s Book List keeps this from being a daunting assignment.

High School: Book lists are often required by colleges in evaluating a student’s education. Students should record fiction and non-, pleasure reading and assigned lit throughout their high school years.

Many states require that homeschooled families keep a book list, which is why we originally designed the Book List feature. Homeschool Manager’s goal is to make all homeschool record keeping “easier than paper”. But as our children grew up, we decided to utilize it as a streamlined book journal- to remember what they loved and why.

Use HSM’s book list feature however you’d like. We’re just glad to lighten your load.

Happy Homeschooling,
Allie O.
co-founder of Homeschool Manager

Book List (1)

Published by Allie Olsen