The build blueprint
This is the complete structure of the template — every page, every database, every property and type, the relations between them, and the views. It's free to read for two reasons: so you can judge the depth before buying, and so you could rebuild a basic version yourself if you'd rather spend the evening than the $19.
Buying the template just skips the typing. The paid version is this exact structure already built, wired, and filled with sample data and a quick-start guide — you duplicate it and start logging in minutes. Get the template →
How to read this
The system is one dashboard page plus seven Notion databases. Each database below lists its properties (with the Notion property type in brackets) and its views. "Relation" properties are how databases link to each other — they are what makes one edit show up everywhere. Build the databases in the order given so each relation has something to point at.
One-time build order:
- Students (everything links to this)
- Subjects & Curriculum
- Lesson Planner
- Attendance Log
- Grades & Portfolio
- Reading Log
- State Requirement Tracker
- The Dashboard page (built last, from linked views of the above)
1 · Students database
The spine of the whole system. One row per child. Every other database links here so you can filter the entire workspace to a single student.
| Property | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Title | The child's name (or nickname). |
| Grade level | Select | K, 1, 2 … 12. Drives reporting and transcript context. |
| School year | Select or Relation | e.g. "2026–2027". Keep it a Select for simplicity, or a relation to a School Years database if you want per-year archives. |
| Birthdate | Date | Used to check your state's compulsory-attendance age. |
| Photo | Files & media | Optional — nice on cards. |
| Lessons | Relation → Lesson Planner | Auto-created when you build the Lesson Planner relation. |
| Attendance | Relation → Attendance Log | Auto-created from the Attendance relation. |
| Grades | Relation → Grades & Portfolio | Auto-created. |
| Reading | Relation → Reading Log | Auto-created. |
| Days schooled | Rollup | Rollup on Attendance relation → Count of entries where Status = Present. Your running attendance total per child. |
| Books finished | Rollup | Rollup on Reading relation → Count where Status = Finished. |
Views: Gallery (cards with photo + grade, the friendly home view) · Table (all fields, for editing).
2 · Subjects & Curriculum database
One row per subject you teach. This is the "list of curriculum and books used" that some states ask for — keeping it here means you can produce it instantly.
| Property | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Title | e.g. "Math", "Language Arts", "Science". |
| Student | Relation → Students | Who studies it (can be more than one). |
| Curriculum / program | Text | e.g. "Saxon Math 5/4", "The Good and the Beautiful". |
| Books & resources | Text or Multi-select | The materials in use this year. |
| Core / elective | Select | Core · Elective. Useful for mandated-subject checks. |
| Color | Select | A color tag reused across the planner and calendar. |
| Lessons | Relation → Lesson Planner | Auto-created. |
| Lessons done | Rollup | Rollup on Lessons → Count where Status = Done. Progress per subject. |
Views: Table grouped by Student · Board grouped by Core/elective.
3 · Lesson Planner database
The day-to-day engine. One row per planned lesson or assignment. Plan ahead by week; check things off as you teach; carry incomplete work forward by changing its date.
| Property | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lesson | Title | e.g. "Fractions — adding unlike denominators". |
| Student | Relation → Students | Who it's for. |
| Subject | Relation → Subjects | Pulls in the subject color and curriculum. |
| Date | Date | The day it's planned for. Drives the calendar + weekly views. |
| Status | Status (or Select) | To do · In progress · Done. (Status type gives the nice grouped board.) |
| Week | Formula | formatDate(prop("Date"),"YYYY") + " W" + ... — a week label so you can group by week. (Optional; a Date-range "This week" filter also works without it.) |
| Lesson notes | Text | Pages, problems, what to cover. |
| Work sample | Files & media | A photo/scan of completed work → feeds your portfolio. |
| Minutes | Number | Optional time-on-task, if your state counts hours. |
| Grade entry | Relation → Grades & Portfolio | Link a lesson to its graded result, if any. |
Views:
- This Week (Calendar) — Calendar by Date, the planning surface.
- Board by Status — To do / In progress / Done columns for the day.
- Today (Table) — filter Date is Today, the "what are we doing right now" list.
- By Student — table grouped by Student, filter Date is within this week.
4 · Attendance Log database
One row per school day per child. The point is a defensible count of days actually schooled — remember HSLDA's note that attendance days are the days the child is schooling, not merely at home.
| Property | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Day | Title | Auto-name it from the date, e.g. "2026-09-08 · Lily". |
| Student | Relation → Students | Who. |
| Date | Date | The school day. |
| Status | Select | Present · Absent · Half day · Holiday. (Only "Present"/"Half day" should count toward required days — the Students rollup counts Present.) |
| Hours | Number | Optional, for states that count instructional hours. |
| Notes | Text | Field trip, co-op, sick, etc. |
Views: Month (Calendar) · This year (Table) grouped by Student with a Count on Present · Quick-add (Board by Status).
Tip: a template button "Mark today present" pre-fills Date = today and Status = Present, so logging a day is one click.
5 · Grades & Portfolio database
Graded work, evaluations, and assessment results. With the work-sample files attached, this database is your portfolio — the thing a moderate- or high-regulation state may ask to review.
| Property | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Item | Title | e.g. "Unit 3 test", "Fall standardized test", "Q2 evaluation". |
| Student | Relation → Students | Who. |
| Subject | Relation → Subjects | What area. |
| Type | Select | Assignment · Test · Project · Standardized test · Evaluation. |
| Date | Date | When it was graded/taken. |
| Score | Number or Text | e.g. 92, "A−", or a percentile for standardized tests. |
| Out of | Number | Denominator for a percentage formula. |
| Percent | Formula | round(prop("Score")/prop("Out of")*100) when both are numeric. |
| Work sample | Files & media | The scan/photo. This is the portfolio artifact. |
| Keep permanently? | Checkbox | Tick for state-required assessment results (HSLDA: keep those forever). |
| Notes | Text | Evaluator comments, context. |
Views: Portfolio (Gallery) showing the work-sample image · By Student & Subject (Table grouped) · Keep forever (Table) filtered to Keep permanently = checked.
6 · Reading Log database
A real reading record without a second app. One row per book (or per reading session, if you prefer granularity).
| Property | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Title | Book title. |
| Student | Relation → Students | Reader. |
| Author | Text | |
| Status | Select | To read · Reading · Finished. |
| Started / Finished | Date (range) | For a finished-books-per-month chart. |
| Pages | Number | Optional running page count. |
| Type | Select | Assigned · Read-aloud · Free reading. |
| Rating | Select | 1–5 stars (child's own rating — kids love this). |
| Notes / narration | Text | A sentence of narration doubles as a comprehension record. |
Views: Currently reading (Board by Status) · Finished this year (Gallery) · By Student (Table).
7 · State Requirement Tracker database
Where the "records" half gets organized. One row per requirement or deadline for your state. The template ships with a few states pre-filled as worked examples and a row template you copy for your own. Each row links to the official HSLDA page — this organizes the rules, it does not replace checking them.
| Property | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Requirement | Title | e.g. "File notice of intent", "Annual standardized test", "Q1 quarterly report". |
| State | Select | Your state. |
| Regulation tier | Select | No notice · Low · Moderate · High (HSLDA's four tiers). |
| Applies to | Relation → Students | Which child(ren) this requirement covers. |
| Due date | Date | The deadline. Drives the dashboard "upcoming" view + reminders. |
| Status | Select | Not started · In progress · Filed/Done. |
| Retention | Select | 3-year cycle · Permanent · Until filed. (Pre-set from HSLDA's guidance.) |
| Official source | URL | Your state's HSLDA page — the authority, not this template. |
| Proof / filing | Files & media | The submitted form, the test score PDF, the confirmation email. |
| Notes | Text | Specifics you read on the official page (e.g. "test at grades 3,5,8"). |
Pre-filled example rows (verified 2026-06-10 against HSLDA):
| State | Tier | Notice? | Annual assessment? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | No notice | No | No | HSLDA TX ↗ |
| North Carolina | Moderate | Yes | Yes (+ immunization records) | HSLDA NC ↗ |
| New York | High | Yes (IHIP) | Yes (+ quarterly reports) | HSLDA NY ↗ |
These three are included as filled-in examples so you can see the pattern; specific day/hour/grade numbers live on each state's HSLDA page and should be copied from there. Replace or add your own state the same way.
Views: Upcoming (Calendar by Due date) · My state (Table) filtered to your State · Open items (Board by Status).
Not legal advice. The tiers, retention values, and example rows are general information drawn from public HSLDA pages on 2026-06-10. Homeschool law changes and varies by district — confirm the current requirements for your state and district on your HSLDA state page or with your state Department of Education before relying on them.
8 · The Dashboard page
Build this last, as a normal Notion page, using Linked views of the databases above (type /linked view of database). Nothing here is new data — it's windows onto the seven databases, so it's always current.
- Header: a callout with the school year and a "Mark today present" template button.
- This week's lessons — linked view of Lesson Planner → Board by Status, filtered Date is within this week.
- Attendance at a glance — linked view of Attendance → Table grouped by Student with the Present count (or show the Days schooled rollup from Students in a Gallery).
- Now reading — linked view of Reading Log → Board, filtered Status = Reading.
- Upcoming requirements — linked view of State Requirement Tracker → list/calendar, filtered Due date is on or after today, sorted ascending. Your early-warning system.
- Students — linked Gallery of Students for one-click filtering into any child.
Relations at a glance
If you build only one thing right, build the relations — they're what make this a system instead of six lists:
- Students ← linked from Subjects, Lesson Planner, Attendance, Grades, Reading, State Requirements (every record knows its child).
- Subjects ← linked from Lesson Planner and Grades (every lesson and grade knows its subject, and inherits its color).
- Lesson Planner ↔ Grades (a lesson can point to the grade it earned).
- Two rollups on Students — Days schooled (Present count) and Books finished — turn the logs into the numbers on your dashboard.
That's the whole system. Seven databases, the relations above, and a dashboard of linked views. Build it yourself from this page, or get the ready-made template — built, wired, sample-filled, with a quick-start guide — and skip straight to logging your first day.