heartofdakota.com

I have one daughter who I am graduating this coming year, so I am beginning to work on her portfolio. This is the first time I have had to put a portfolio together, so I am a little lost all around honestly. She was home-schooled mostly eclectically because I could not find a program that fit what I wanted for my kids until I found Heart of Dakota. Many of the colleges here in Georgia require a portfolio of proof of work along with the regular admission requirements like test scores and transcripts. One of the college admission for homeschoolers pages suggest that normally portfolios are at least one inch thick. That is the only guidance I have as to what they expect.

I will be using the World Geography Guide for my Freshman daughter and will be allowing the Senior daughter utilize the history portion of the guide as well. I see that HOD uses student journals and notebook pages that are thick and colorful which I love, but I am wondering how to use them in a portfolio. Would I make copies for each portfolio submission? How will these pre-made pages look in a highschoolers workload?

I am beginning to research and try to teach myself how to make a good portfolio, so any advice from mom's who've gone before me in this area would be greatly appreciated.

Blessings,

Letha

Wow, I hadn't thought about creating a portfolio. We are in GA too, but I hadn't really seen that requirement, of course we are looking at small, local colleges or online. I'd start with a books read list and samples of writing. If you use HOD, then you could add the notebook pages. I have my oldest's stuff all thrown in a box, so I really hope I don't have to make a portfolio. Yikes.

I have not heard of this before either (I am in NY). The only thing I have heard a portfolio used before is for if they are going into fine arts. I was also very eclectic for the material my daughter used in HS also (she is a senior this year). I worked on making her a transcript but that is all that.

Letha,
I have not done a portfolio even though I have graduated two, who have both graduated from the Christian university in Minnesota. I would suggest you print the Table of Contents/grading criteria for the WH guide (or was it WG). The WH is 45 pages long. I would also just find samplings of her work in each subject. WH does have art projects. Again I would take the original and only a few samples of her best, not the entire notebook or class. I would think this includes writing and science labs.
In Minnesota homeschooling is more accepted and proven successful so that might be why portfolios have not been requested. Also, in Minnesota students can take college classes as high schoolers. My daughters did this for 2 years. They submitted their annually required testing and passed an accuplacer test at the college. They also did online classes, so perhaps they had proven that their knowledge and abilities through this route rather than a portfolio.
In college they did portfolios for their degree program. One was in education and the other was in theater. Their portfolios were samples of their work and critiques from advisors, other students, and themselves.
So, I would recommend syllabus and examples of work in the portfolio. Put forward her best work in all subjects. I assume she will get her portfolio back. If not then copies would work.

I'm in Canada, but every university I've looked into is asking for a portfolio showcasing their work. I'm more thinking 2-3 of their best pieces from each course. We have 30 credits here. So, that's 60-90 pieces. A focus will be thier writing assignments as writing is a critical part of their education. I may submit more. Idk. I intend to box everything up, by grade, and select the best work at the end. Universities here also want to interview the kids. So, it'll be brought in in person, and kept. Not submitted, so no photo copying.

Thanks for all the comments and advice. It is desperately needed. The community colleges I've looked into only require a transcript of their junior and senior year and a compass test before admission. The college that is an extension of our university system is close to home and is the one that requires a portfolio. They also require that homeschool students have higher ACT and SAT scores than regular freshman applicants.

I am thinking that it will be a safe route to go to go ahead and put a portfolio together just in case. Even if we end up not needing it now, she may decide to pursue something that will require one later. Thanks again for taking time to respond.

Blessings,

Letha

The schools here that will sometimes request a portfolio want to see essay examples, science lab sheets and some tests. I would just pick 2-3 things from each course. I would include a notebook page or 2 for history that has an excellent written narration. I would also make a note that these type of of writings were done weekly. I would also then include literature narrations and essays from EIW.

As far as the college that requires higher ACT or SAT scores from homeschoolers I would steer away from that school unless they were the only school that offered a degree my child wanted. That sets the tone right away to show they are not homeschool friendly and have a bias against homeschoolers. Freshmen year of college is tough enough without throwing that in to the mix.

I am so glad you asked this. We aren't at the college point yet, but having an idea of how to prep for this is grand! My dd does want to go more into the fine arts realm. I am not quite sure what Storyboarding is in.... I was thinking about having her take classes in an art center her senior year specifically for their portfolio building portion. She has taken art classes for several years in a Mona Brooks franchise. From her artwork there and at home she has had 3 pieces of artwork published in books this past year. Those will definitely be part of her portfolio.

One thing mentioned was originals. When submitting portfolios, are copies not acceptable? Or is each school different in requirements? We definitely don't want originals to get damaged.

I am in Michigan. My dd's piano teacher years ago said that U of M Ann Arbor required a portfolio from her dd in addition to their own testing. They were quite rigorous with her and their requirements. At that same time others were telling me how their friends children got into this same college with no further testing or portfolio requirements. They were astonished when I shared about the piano teacher's experience. It did seem as if the school was not requiring the same thing across the board from everyone. The only difference I know of is that her daughters were homeschooled for K-8, then attended public for high school when the teacher and her hubby became quite ill. Her sons, who were older, weren't homeschooled until their high school years.

Thanks again for your responses. I am finding that almost all schools we look at have different requirements. Some are very homeschool friendly and some seem to be weary of homeschoolers and require more from them. It is frustrating, but something we have to deal with. I find that the women on this board give good sound advice and I appreciate the opportunity to communicate with others who have gone before, those who are exactly where I am now, and those who are approaching this season in their homeschooling journey.

Blessings,

Letha

Can't we just bury our head in the sand and not deal with any of this? That's where I want to be right now.