Great Question!If this is your first time having your student’s portfolio evaluated, you might be a little nervous. This is to be expected. After all, we homeschooling parents put our hearts and souls into our children’s education!  Not to worry.  A portfolio evaluation with me is casual and informative.  You will come away feeling encouraged and empowered. Oh, and please bring along any questions you may have for me, general or specific. 

​Please contact me with any questions that cannot be answered below and I’ll be happy to assist.

Q. What is required for a portfolio review? 

I must look at portfolio of your student’s work, your log of academic activities, and have a conversation with your student in order to satisfy the requirements of a portfolio review.

Q. What is a “log of academic activities”?

This means your homeschool plans, which can take many forms. Some people use a traditional plan book. Others simply make a list of broad concepts covered during the year. Still others list extracurricular activities that their children took part in and describe how each of these taught academic concepts. It is really up to you.

I’ve seen unschoolers keep a portfolio of pictures of projects and places they’ve been which relate to the academic concepts they’ve studied that year.

I’ve seen other families keep very detailed logs of everything their children did each ay.

Both (and everything in between) are acceptable. The thing to know is that you must keep these with your children’s work samples to make the portfolio complete.

Q.How will I get samples of work to you?

You may send samples any way you choose. Here are just a few ways that my clients use:

Create a private Facebook page where you upload photos of your student’s work throughout the year and send me the link.

Use Google Drive and send me the link (just be sure to choose the correct sharing option.)

Send them to me via email.

Use DropBox

Create a personal blog and keep track of everything there. Then send me the URL.

Choose whatever is easiest and most convenient for you.

Q.How much work do I have to show you?

I encourage you to organize your student’s work for your own sake, and then choose various samples from each subject area to send me.  Choose samples from the beginning, middle and end of the year.  

I highly recommend that you have your student assist with the choice of work to send me, or if you student is old enough, have them put together the portfolio themselves.  This helps your student take ownership of his/her learning and becomes a yearly “rite of passage”.

It is not required by Florida law, however, I love to see pictures too! You might send pictures of:

any fun projects or experiments
field trips
family vacations
art work
anything else your student would like me to see

I love to put a name (and voice) to a face!

 Q. What will the conversation portion of the evaluation be like?

After you schedule your appointment, please go ahead and send me the samples. I will review these and call you or meet with you in my Zoom meeting room at your chosen appointment time for our chat.  You will choose your preference for phone or Zoom when you book your appointment. The chat is casual and fun, so please tell your student not to worry. You can read more about my philosophy here.

Q. I have a special needs student.  I am not sure how much work I can show.  I also don’t know how well they will communicate with you via phone. 

I have evaluated dozens of special needs students over the years. Just as the curriculum is modified for your student, we also understand that the evaluation may look a little different from that of another student.  What we have to note as evaluators is “progress commensurate to his/her ability.”  We understand that your special needs students portfolio may look different from that of another student.  As far as the conversation goes; always remember that this is a time for us to have a casual chat and a time for you, as the parent to ask questions.  Some students communicate more than others.  This is expected.

Q. What are your credentials?

I come to you with over twenty five years experience as an educator and have taught all grade levels from elementary to college level. I am certified in FL and LA in Elementary Ed and High School English. I have homeschooled my own children from the beginning and they are now in high school doing dual-enrollment.

I have been doing homeschool consulting and evaluations since 2008 and have helped hundreds of homeschooling families with all aspects of their homeschool. I’d love to help you, too!

Q. How long will I have to talk with you after you talk with the children? 

One thing that my clients enjoy about working with me is that they can bring any and all questions about anything homeschool-related to their evaluation appointment, making this appointment part consulting, part evaluation. Bring your questions and concerns and I’ll be happy to discuss during this time.

You may also schedule a private consulting appointment with me.

Q. How much do you charge? 

I charge $45 for the first child, $30 for the second, $25 for the third child. Also, if you have four or more children, you will never pay more than $100 because large large families pay only $100.

Q. How can I schedule my appointment and make payment?

Simply choose the best day and time for you from the calendar below.