Tomorrow I will be marking down my daughter's 180th official day of school. Maryland homeschool laws [PDF] do not specify a certain number of days of instruction, but they do mention that public schools have a 180 day minimum and that homeschool should be "of sufficient duration" for a child to be taught. I use my county for reviews, and my daughter's father also needs a way to be aware of what I am doing with her. I use an attendance chart to demonstrate "sufficient duration" throughout the year. What I count as a "day of instruction" is any day on my calander where I cover three or more subject areas with my daughter, or we have a field trip, even if that field trip covers only one subject area.
Realistically, most homeschoolers teach- in some way- daily. I do not always mark down teaching moments or I would be spending more hours doing paperwork than would be viable. My plan, actually, includes many more school days than the 180 days. Third Grade math is unlikely to be completed before August, and my daughter loves her history text, so has asked to keep working on that through the summer. Swimming, water safety, reading, writing letters, and more. Learning doesn't have to stop! I just don't plan on tracking attendance again until September.
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