Start planning your transcripts when your child begins his high school course work, or as early as possible. Don't wait for the child to begin filling out college applications, as it can be difficult to begin organizing all of this information, especially if you have not kept detailed records. By the time that your child is around age 14, you should begin keeping track of all of his educational endeavors.
Start your transcripts with a simple chart, divided into sections and columns. Sections may be divided by the child's age, grade level, or the year the work was completed. Whichever you choose, write it at the top of the section.
List all of the child's subjects or studies for the year in the first column. If you are homeschooling according to a school-like curriculum, this is easy. Just look at your text books and list the subjects. If you are working on unit studies, list the units that your child has worked on. If your child is not following a standard academic program, list some of the more in-depth projects and some long-term interests that your child has studied independently. Be sure to also list any additional classes your child may be taking at co-ops, community centers, museums, dance academies or any other source.
List in the second column the time frame for the subject, study, class or project. This can be as simple as listing the months during which the study took place (September through December, for example), how many hours your child logged in that study, or how many weeks you focused on it, or however long the class or project may have run.
List the instructor in the next column. For many subjects or studies, the instructor may have been you. You might also opt to list "Independent Study" for the work your child took on himself. If your child did take any classes or work with any tutors or instructors, list these classes as well.
List grades in a final column, if you keep them or if your child was assigned a grade by another instructor. If you do not keep grades, you can merely write, "Pass," "Satisfactory," or "Completed." If you prefer, you can eliminate this column altogether.
List extracurricular activities at the end of the section, such as volunteer work, clubs, sports or groups that your child was involved with during the year. List approximately how many hours were logged, or how often the activity was done. At this point, your section is complete for the year. You are ready to add a new section below, following the same format. By the end of their high school studies, there should be four sections--one for each year or grade level.
Prepare your transcripts by writing your child's name, address, your name, Social Security number and "Homeschooled," across the top of the transcripts. Then add your chart with its four sections.
List at the bottom of your child's transcripts any awards that were won, and any standardized test scores, such as from any SAT or ACT tests, that your child might have taken.
Save a copy of your transcripts and print them out. You are now ready to send them with any applications that your child fills out.