Oddly enough, the first 'how to homeschool' book I read was written by a former public school teacher and she encouraged the keeping of records. So I just naturally started doing it in NM before we moved to TX. So when I didnt have to, I still did. Since my last two kids are 9yrs apart, the records of older dd did come in handy for lil dd. At least what books we read and activities.
For many years I used this inexpensive lesson planner from Rod & Staff, simple big boxes to write in plans/or just keep records of what you are reading or activities. It has a plastic cover.
http://www.milestonebooks.com/item/1-65 ... cher_Helps