Homeschool 101: Getting Started

You’ve made the decision to homeschool! Now what do you do?

The first few weeks can be extremely overwhelming, and you may question whether or not you’ve made a huge mistake. This is completely normal! It would be weird if you didn’t, it is your child’s education we’re talking about after all.

Research the Homeschool laws in your area

This should be done right away! The rules and regulations on homeschooling vary drastically by location. Some places are extremely lenient, and require very little from the parent; and some are more strict, requiring testing, portfolios, a set amount of hours per year, etc. Get to know the laws of your area before you get started so that you aren’t scrambling later to meet the government requirements.

If your child was previously in public school, Deschool first!

Deschooling is essential to getting off to a good start when transitioning from public school. It is essentially a break period between leaving school and starting formal academics at home. If you haven’t heard of deschooling before, or would like to know why it’s an important first step, read more here.

Find a local Homeschool group

Finding other homeschoolers in your area will be your holy grail to finding clubs and activities that operate during the school day. It will also be where you and your child will find and meet new friends that are also homeschooling. There are tons of homeschool groups on social media, and if you can’t find one, I would strongly recommend starting one!

Choose a Homeschooling method

There are SO many curriculum options for homeschoolers, it can be pretty overwhelming at first. To help narrow down your choices, start by selecting a method that will work for your family. You can read more about the different methods of homeschooling here. If you’re still not sure what method is right for you, I found this quiz from Eclectic Homeschooling to be very helpful.

Choose a Curriculum

Unless you’ve chosen unschooling as your homeschool method, you will likely need to find a curriculum. Having narrowed down your method, you will be able to search for curriculum specifically tailored to your method of homeschooling. Once you’ve found a few you think you might like, check online for some reviews, or ask around on a homeschooling group to see how they’ve worked for other families. Take some time to get feedback before you buy anything, as it’s very common to go through a few different choices before finding one you like — getting other people’s opinions might help save you some money.

Get Started!

It’s time to get to work! Try to plan some meet-ups with other homeschoolers and get to know what’s available in your area. Start making friends and having fun!