Homeschool Tracker is by far my most favorite and most important homeschooling tool!
By Barbra-Sue Nelson, Virginia
By nature, I am an organized person (sorry, I know that's frustrating for some of you ).... I thrive on order and having a plan, without a plan.... my stress level goes through the roof!
Without Homeschool Tracker, I could not homeschool!
Homeschool Tracker software is a complete reporting, record keeping, tracking and planning software system to organize your homeschool. It was designed by a homeschooling family specifically for homeschoolers.
Homeschool Tracker (HST) comes in two versions. The basic version is a free download. It is fully functional and a great organizational tool. I used it for a few months before upgrading to Homeschool Tracker Plus . For me, the Plus version was well worth it's very affordable price tag (no yearly fees)! While Basic is a great organizational tool.... Plus has the bells and whistles that push it over the top!!
My reason for upgrading was I wanted to use the Lesson Planner , a feature only available in Plus. The Lesson Planner allows me to plan lessons, but not submit them to the assignment grid or assign them a specific date until I need them. This allows me to plan all of my lesson plans in the summer when I have more free time and then submit them to the assignment grid and a date every 6 weeks or so. The planner has features that make planning easier, I can create lessons in groups, rather than individually, which speeds up the planning process. It really is much easier than you might think....
One of the most useful features and one that I seem to be using regularly as of late, is the reschedule feature. This feature allows me to move assignments forward or backwards in the assignment grid. I use the rescheduler VERY, VERY slowly.... just one subject and one resource at a time. If you try to use it too fast, you can make a mess of your database. (The creators actually don't like the rescheduler , but users begged for this feature and so they supplied it). If you do make a mess of your database, in the Plus version, you have the option of deleting all the assignments you have made a mess of and start over.... since the assignments in the lesson planner always remain as a lesson plan... you simply go back into the lesson planner and start over. This is not a feature in the basic version. In Basic, you assign all assignments a date as you make them, if you delete them, they are simply gone!
Another feature I like about HST is knowing exactly where my kids stand grade wise at any time. Tracker keeps a running overview of the grades, with up to the minute averages. I know some homeschoolers don't keep grades, but as former public school students (and my organizational nature) grades help us to see where we are.... it's a evaluation method we understand. I can even print out report cards and take them to Chuckie Cheese to get free tokens! Always a bonus! Tracker also keeps attendance up to date, for those in states that require reporting of such details.
Tracker allows me to create reports in 21 different areas. Report cards, assignment sheets, reading logs, schedules, field trip lists, resources lists and many, many more. I am enrolled in an umbrella school.... HST makes it easy for me to print my lesson plans that my school requires.
Another great feature is the ability to network Tracker to all of our computers. This is permissible per the licensing agreement. We have Tracker loaded onto four of our computers. Two of my children have computers at their school desks. This has allowed us to go "paperless" when it comes to assignment sheets. My children each have a login and password. They are able to look at all of the features specific to them, assignments, grades, reading logs, memorization logs, etc. The networking feature has different security levels. You can lock down the database so that they can only look at it and mark assignments as "done" or you can allow them full access to input assignments and grades (plus a few other options in between). I love this feature!!
By far the greatest "feature" of Homeschool Tracker is not a feature at all, but the incredible customer service provided by the creators. On the website above there is a discussion group. There, other users and the creators answer questions about product usage and problems. They are very quick to answer questions, sometimes within the hour! The creators are very open to suggestions of ways to make Tracker a more user friendly product. They release a major upgrade once a year and frequent mini-upgrades when needed. All upgrades are free.
They also offer free online classes in a chat room atmosphere that allow you to see the screen of the instructor. There she answers questions, or teaches people how to use HST to it's full potential. The classes are fantastic, tailored to those of the meeting. She keeps the meeting's group size to 5 to 6 participants in order to be able to offer classes that are specific to your needs. Some people come to "listen and watch" while other come with specific questions. I've learned how to use many features that previously I had left unused in Tracker.
The website has screen shots that explain the features of HST and the user manuals can be downloaded to give you an idea of Tracker's full potential.
Whether you are an organizer, like me, and need order to be able to start the day, or you simply want to use Tracker as a means of documenting what you've already done, I highly recommend this versatile product!
