Tips for your portfolio

The end of the year is fast approaching, and many will be using the portfolio as an evaluation method. It is a very interesting method of evaluation, which allows the parent to really be at the heart of their child’s progress. However, there are some details that need to be addressed. 

This year the DEM requests, in its document on the requirements for homeschooling 2021-2022, for a minimum of 3 traces per subject. This provides an opportunity for the parent to put together a more reasonable sized document than last year, when 3 traces per competency were requested. That being said, and even though it is not mentioned anywhere in their reference documents, it is likely that many resource people are looking at the portfolio by competency. They could justify themselves by saying, for example, that the traces must be diversified. 

It is obvious that we, like you, would like to see portfolios where the parent and the child have the freedom to demonstrate what has been most important to them over the course of the year and what they feel is most significant to the child’s progress. Unfortunately, we must draw your attention to the fact that if you aren’t as comfortable with your resource person contacting you to ask for more details, it may be beneficial to vary the selected traces, while keeping in mind the different competencies and the idea of diversity. For example, do not present 3 similar writing situations in French, but have among others, a trace related to reading. 

It is also valuable to pay attention to the “learning context and educational intent” section, whether in the DEM template or in another template. This parent commentary on each trace is important in creating a portfolio. They want us to describe why we did the activity and what we observed while doing it. Feel free to write in your own words what you would say to a neighbor or friend who saw you doing the activity from a distance and asked what you were doing with your youngster, for example. 

Finally, while it is very interesting to look at documents made by other parents, I would like to advise you to trust yourself. The DEM requests change every year, each family has a different history and relationship with their unique resource person that can influence their requests. You have met with your resource person, and possibly even exchanged emails or spoken on the phone in relation to some of the documents previously submitted. You know what they typically ask for, and what information they already have about your family. Put together your portfolio with your family in mind, and it will be the best document for you.