Record Keeping in the Montessori classroom

Here is a long-awaited post about how I handle record-keeping in my Montessori preschool classroom.  I've had several readers ask this either in the comments section or in emails, and I've promised to write a post describing what I do to keep track of what work children have done, what lessons I've given, etc. 

My main day-to-day "tool" for record-keeping is one I learned from Mrs. Honey (yes, that is really her name) who was the Montessori teacher I did my internship under.  She just took a regular sheet of copy paper and divided it vertically in half, then into boxes horizontally so she had 20 boxes on a sheet.  She wrote a student's name in each box (20 students per class session) and xeroxed the page.  She kept one of these forms on a clipboard at all times and used it to jot down anecdotal notes about the children.  Since that school required children to attend 5 days per week she only needed one sheet to cover all her students.  I've had to adapt this for my situation since I have different children attending each day.

I have one page as described above for each session that I teach during the week. Therefore, I have 8 different sheets since I teach 5 morning and 3 afternoon sessions.  I keep the sheets on a clipboard and keep the clipboard with me or near me during most of the work period.  EAch time I give a lesson, I jot it down in that child's box.  I also jot down which children are working together and which activities they are choosing on their own.  This system is not fool-proof and doesn't not capture every single activity the children do throughout the work period each day.  However, it is the best system I've found for keeping notes and it helps me tremendously when I prepare for parent-teacher conferences.

Below you can see photos of my record sheets on the clipboard.  I keep the same sheets on the clipboard for several weeks.  I replace them with new sheets when they become too full of writing.  Then I remove them all and staple them together, noting the beginning and ending dates of the recording period.

 

 

When I get ready to prepare for parent-teacher conferences, I pull out all the sheet and use them to help me fill out a data sheet for each student.  The one I use is one I came up with myself last year.  It is basically a checklist of the main materials I present in each of the curriculum areas of the classroom.  There are many variations and even materials that are not represented on this list.  When I share the checklist at conferences I explain to parents that it isn't an all-inclusive list of what's in the classroom.  Instead, it gives an overview of the areas a child has been working in.  I color code my "checks" by semester so that over the course of a school year and between fall and spring conferences we can easily see what "new" work a child has chosen or received lessons on.  When I have students for the second year, the sheet will reflect 2 years of work in the classroom and should have a variety of activities "checked off." 

Below ou can see the form I've described above.  This particular form is an actual form for one of my second year students from this past school year.  In the second photo you can easily see how I've color-coded her work from each semester.

 

 

I know you may have MANY questions for me about all this, though I hope I've explained it clearly.  Below you will find a link to the form I use.  You are welcome to use it, adapt it, whatever you choose.

Download Curriculum sheet

I would love to hear from you about how you go about record-keeping.  If you would like to share, please do so in the comments section so we can all benefit from each other's ideas. 

Comments

[Heidi]

We use Montessori Buddy (www.MontessoriBuddy.com) and it is amazing! It really simplifies record keeping and makes parent communication a piece of cake. You would love it! Ever since we started using it, we've had such positive feedback from parents and administration is completely streamlined.

[Laura]

Thanks, Lori. Im glad youare finding useful information here. Take care,
Laura

To: [email protected]

[Lori]

Thank you for posting your curriculum. It was a wonderful jumping off point for developing the homeschool kindergarten curriculum for my son. I blogged about it and included a link back to your site. Thanks for helping the Montessori movement flourish.
http://mymontessorimoments.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/dream-educational-day/

[Heidi]

I am a homeschooling mom, but I just posted on our record keeping method last week. I do a similar anectodal type sheet combined with a planning sheet.

[Tracy]

I like your checklist-thanks. I do something similar to you-ah yes-clipboards!I tried pasting in my sheet but it hasn't worked. Basically, I create a word doc that is a table with each child's name in column 1. Then empty columns are headed with the various subject areas e.g. PL, Sensorial, Math etc. and the last column for comments.This will be on several sheets so that the grid is large enough to write in. Then I just date and record as I go throughout the day. I ask my assistants to do thesame- they each have their own set. The nice thing is you can easily see at a glance what work areas child is covering,and who you have worked with. For lessons I just name it: say pouring water or red rods or initial sounds. then I use a triangle system where one line means introduced, 2:working on it or 3:mastered. Again you can tell at a glance where they are. I use each set for about 1-2 weeks then transfer the info into the computer. I keep one large doc with each child's name and just record the date, work done and comments. I just keep adding on throughout the year so everything is in one place. Do I need to say be sure it's backed up!!!!!I also record any behavioral issues, concerns, parent conversations( usually in a colored font)right in the same word doc. This helps me rememer to follow up on any issues and also reminds me of what I've already covered with parents.

We are similar to you in that most of my students leave for kindergarten in the public school ( we too are a small church preschool). So usually around February or so I meet with my assistants and the anectdotal doc. and we make lists of things we would like to work on with the children so they are prepared when they leave us. Here is a sample:
Grace: work on letter e for name writing sand then crayon/pencil
scissors skills -advaced cutting strips
number recognition 1 to 1 correspondance
think of a game to work on vocal modulation
We keep one copy of this on a clipboard and try to target the areas when a child is "floating" or wants to work with a teacher. I know some of my fellow montessorians would frown on this but I want my children to have a leg up on the basics when they get to k'garten so we offer suggestions if they seem stuck or (horrors) aren't making good choices during worktime (i.e. are getting rowdy)

[TJ]

Thanks for the great idea. It's so simple, yet it's exactly what I needed to hear.

I already have a clipboard that I keep my lesson plans & checklists on, including a log that I used when either getting to know my kids or if I was seeing some behavior issues. The log wasn't quite working for me, and now I see that I need to use it in a different way so it not only helps with behavior issues, but also helps me prepare lessons & track info for parent conferences.

[Laura S.]

I use a similar sheet of boxes that I use each week. I write lesson plans to give each child a language, a math, and an "other" lesson.

Thanks so much for sharing this great resource!

[P Ryan]

The Curriculum sheet is fantastic!
I have been looking for a sheet like this for a long time! You angel! I am so grateful and your site is so wonderful - it is so generous and loving and everything you have posted is really really appreciated - Thank you so much!

[Sarah@MontessoriFromScratch]

Sorry, I didn't switch user ID's and when I tried, it somehow published part of my comment anyway. I was also going to ask if it would be worth it if I decided to do Montessori style childcare out of my home. Since it would looks slightly more professional. But the glitch gave me time to decide that I'd have 5 kids max so it probably wouldn't be necessary.

[Sarah@NeotericTraditional]

That's a really neat (looking) program for a school environment.

[Anna]

my school also uses the MRX system for record keeping - I also have a clipboard with a similar sectioned paper to keep notes on the children during the week and then update the MRX every couple of weeks using my notes

[Anne]

Oops! http://www.montessorirecordsxpress.com/index.cfm

[Anne]

This is our second year of using Montessori Records Xpress (http://www.montessorirecordsxpress.com/learn_more.cfm). We keep a laptop in our classroom, and whenever we do a lesson with a child, we just enter it in. It's pretty fabulous - and, now that we have everything set up how we want it, it is really efficient, too. I still jot things down on paper all the time, of course! :) Before we had MRX, we had a binder notebook for each child. There was a section for each area of the classroom, and tiny black and white photos of each lesson within each section. When we did a lesson with a child, we would check it off in his or her binder, and record the date and any little notes about the experience. I liked this record-keeping method because the children were able to look through their own binders whenever they wanted to.

It's so interesting to read about how everyone keeps track of where their children are at - it's no simple task! Thanks for discussing this topic, Laura!

[Kerry]

This is a good visual for me because you can see what types of activities kids are drawn to and master from this checklist system. I bet its kind of eye-opening for parents to see where their children's strengths are during conferences.

[Sarah@MontessoriFromScratch]

I homeschool so my methods are a little different but I made a post about it in response to this that includes a link to download a copy of my record sheet.

[Andie]

I use a very similar system for my home based Montessori preschool. I'm glad to know that even the professionals do something like this! LOL

Using stickers, from another comment, is a good idea. I might have to try that!

Andie

[Colleen Bowers]

Just wanted to let you know that if you end up with a random photo of math addition work, I apologize! I was trying to upload it to our family blog and may have uploaded it to the comments section of your blog...so sorry about this, if it happens!
Thanks for all that you do...your insight is really appreciated.

Colleen

[Rinna]

I do the same thing in my classroom - I have a new sheet at the beginning of the week. Then I also have a main checklist similar to yours. It is nice to hear what other people do! Your blog is such a good resource for me - thank you!

[Colleen Bowers]

Thanks so much for sharing your record keeping sheets! I really appreciate your sharing.
Hope that you have a wonderful school year.
Warmly, Colleen

[Ashley]

I had a very similar system in the EI level.

[sbrooke]

I did the same type of record keeping, except I used sticker labels. I used one sheet of labels. I gave each child a number and wrote it on their label. When their sticker label was full of my comments, I removed it and literally "stuck" it in their file.