Free printable

Homeschool reading log template

A one-page log of books read: title, author, dates, pages, a one-line reaction. Doubles as a portfolio record and a memory.

Reading logs have a bad reputation from school, where they became a nightly signature chore. At home they can be something better: a record of what the child read this year, which is the single most informative document about a homeschooled child's education, and which several states and evaluators ask for directly.

This log is one page with room for about twenty books: title, author, start and finish dates, pages or chapters, and a one-line reaction. Keep one per child per year. The older child fills it in; the younger one dictates. By June you have a list that tells the story of the year.

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The printable sheet

One page, US Letter or A4, black and white. Prints or saves to PDF from your browser.

Reading log

RA = read-aloud · AB = audiobook

Reader
Year
TitleAuthorStartedFinishedPagesOne line

How to use it

Using the homeschool reading log

  1. 1Print one per child; start a new page when it fills.
  2. 2Log books finished, not books started. Abandoned books get a line and an 'abandoned' in the reaction column; that is information too.
  3. 3Include read-alouds and audiobooks, marked RA or AB. They are reading.
  4. 4Ask for one line of reaction, not a report. 'Too sad', 'best one this year', 'skipped the whale chapters' is exactly right.
  5. 5File the completed logs with the portfolio. Evaluators in Pennsylvania, Virginia and elsewhere ask for reading lists by name.
Do not attach rewards. A log that earns pizza produces short books and fake reactions.
Add the child's reading level or a note when it jumps: 'first chapter book alone' is a milestone worth dating.
Photograph the finished log at year end. Paper gets lost; the list is worth keeping.

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Describe your children and what you use, and Kuraplan drafts the plan, the report or the record so you print a finished page instead of a blank one.

  • “Suggest 20 chapter books for a 3rd grader who loved The Wild Robot”
  • “Turn this reading log into a one-paragraph summary of reading progress for a portfolio evaluation: [paste]”
  • “Make a reading list for a 7th grader mixing classics and contemporary fiction with a sentence on each”
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Homeschool reading log FAQ

Do homeschoolers need to keep a reading log?

Some states and evaluators ask for a list of books read as part of a portfolio (Pennsylvania's regulation names it). Everywhere else it is optional and useful: it is the clearest single record of a child's year.

Should read-alouds go on a reading log?

Yes, marked as read-alouds. Listening comprehension runs ahead of reading level and read-alouds are where vocabulary comes from; they belong in the record.

How many books should a homeschooler read a year?

There is no right number. Upper elementary children who read daily often finish thirty to sixty books; a teenager reading serious literature may read fifteen. Time reading matters more than the count.

Should I make my child write about every book?

No. One line of reaction. Book reports teach summarising and make children hate logging. Save written responses for the two or three books you study properly.

More free homeschool templates

Homeschool portfolio checklistHomeschool weekly plannerHomeschool report cardAll templates12 printables
Looking for the rules in your state or country? See homeschool requirements by state or the guides for the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland.

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