Homeschool Attendance Record and Hours Log
A simple way to keep a year of attendance on one page per child, and to log hours by subject without a spreadsheet.
One page per child per year
The attendance record is a grid: twelve rows for months (you write the month names, so it works for any start date) and 31 columns for days. Each day gets a one-letter code. At the end of the month you count the marks and write the total in the last column; at the end of the year you add up twelve numbers.
| Month | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | F | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | C | ✓ | ✓ | – | 20 | ||
| Oct | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | H | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | F | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 21 | |
Illustrative example with made-up marks.
Suggested day codes
| Code | Meaning | Counts as a school day? |
|---|---|---|
| ✓ | Regular school day completed | Your call; usually yes |
| F | Field trip or educational outing | Many families count it |
| C | Co-op, class or lesson outside the home | Many families count it |
| H | Holiday or planned break | No |
| A | Absent or sick day | No |
| – | Weekend | No |
Decide once, at the start of the year, which codes count, and write that decision on the page. Consistency matters more than the exact system.
Hours log
Some families track time instead of (or as well as) days, and many simply like to see where the week actually goes. The hours log has columns for date, subject, what you did, location, hours, and a running total, so you never need to add up more than one page at a time. At the bottom of each page you carry the total forward.
Tips that save time
- Log at the end of the day, not per lesson. Five lines take two minutes.
- Round to the nearest quarter hour.
- Use the same subject names as your curriculum tracker so totals are easy to group.
- Field trips go on the attendance page as F and in the field trip log with what was learned.
A note on requirements
Whether you need to keep attendance or hours at all, and how many days or hours count, depends on where you live. This page does not give legal guidance; check your state or country's current rules with an official source or a local homeschool organization, then use the pages that fit.
The attendance record is in the free sample: US Letter · A4.