How To Get Started Homeschooling: For Beginners

How To Get Started Homeschooling: For Beginners

For many new homeschooling moms, there's no bigger question than HOW to get started homeschooling.

"How does homeschooling work?"

"How do I start homeschooling?"

"Can you work and homeschool at the same time?"

...ah, so many questions. And this blog is dedicated to answering them so you know how to start homeschooling TODAY!

Let's answer them - starting with this one:

What Does Homeschool Look Like?

You may have visions of sitting on a rug in the living room with your little ones around you as they learn about science and math.

But is that really what homeschooling looks like?

Homeschooling looks different for each family - it doesn't always involve sitting on the floor... (I never sit on the floor - my hip spurs hurt too much, lol!)

It's important to figure out what works best for YOUR family so that everyone feels comfortable while learning together.

The main thing is: don't be afraid to try new things until you find a method that suits your needs!

In this blog post, you'll learn the 5 simple steps for how to start homeschooling today!

STEP 1: Understand Your "Why" for Homeschooling and Create A General Goal for Your First Year

Why should I homeschool?

For many, homeschooling has been the choice of education that families have wanted to participate in voluntarily - for both religious and non-religious reasons.

Other families have been "forced" to homeschool because of the banning of religious exemptions for vaccination requirements, such as those in New York State. (The state our family escaped from!)

And obviously, some families just want to "give it a try" after hearing the success stories of other homeschooling families and/or being unhappy with their local education system in some respect.

As opposed to a traditional classroom setting, homeschoolers may focus on personal interests and excel more as independent learners than as part of a group project; the curriculum is usually individualized for each child based on what he or she needs to learn next.

This can also be a great way for families who want both parents working full-time jobs but still want one parent home during the day so that children have someone around while mom or dad's not there.

Children thrive when given responsibility early—and this might just be the perfect opportunity!

If you're looking to homeschool as an alternative to traditional schooling, first think about your primary reasons for doing so. This will help you get a better understanding of where to start when determining your education plan for the year for your student.

What Are Good Reasons to Homeschool?

Here are some common ones:

-Your family wants to try something new. (You're adventurous just like me!)

-You comes from a family with strong values, which are not being taught in school and you want a greater presence of those values all day long. (Again, like me!)

-Your child has experienced bullying/harassment issues - or worries about them happening. (What parent doesn't?)

-You may desire for more academic challenges than are available at your local school. (I just love that!)

-Your neighborhood school has low academic standards, or is unsafe. (Can homeschooling really be any worse than an unsafe school?)

As far as my family's reasons, we chose to pull our 4 kids from public school (ages 4, 6, 9 and 13) after the "pandemic" forced remote learning at home. We were horrified at the left-leaning ideals that were weaved into the lesson plans "under the radar".

(We also refused to mask our kids, so the choice became clear.)

I began homeschooling while running 2 businesses out of my home alone while hubby was at his full-time physical therapy job in July 2020.

If I can do all that, YOU CAN TOO!

Whatever reason you might come up with as to why homeschooling is right for you and your family, take it seriously.

(Here's where you pause and think about the "WHY" of your reason for homeschooling... then move on from here!)

After you know your "why", formulate an overall "family goal" for as far as your first homeschool year is concerned. It may look something like this:

SAMPLE YEAR ONE GOAL: To allow my child(ren) to continue learning and growing, but focus on content that THEY enjoy and are excited about exploring in order to transition into homeschooling. We'll continue Language Arts and Math as primary subjects, but will be more flexible when it comes to the other subjects and breathe easy knowing that just because they aren't in public school doesn't mean their education will be any less meaningful.

Seriously, that was OUR goal and BOOM! The pressure was off to "bring public school to the home".

(We chat about this often, so check out our other resources on this topic, too!)

STEP 2: Know the Homeschool Regulations by State as Well as Your Legal Rights

Homeschool Regulations By State

Homeschooling is recognized in many places around the globe, but works differently in each country. It's critical to learn how homeschooling operates in your area, as it varies by nation, state, etc. Individual states oversee homeschooling in the United States, and they range from very strict requirements (like NY) to almost unrestricted in Texas.

In the United States, homeschooled students may be required to take state-mandated tests at certain ages or grades, whereas other countries may have a national curriculum that changes across years of schooling rather than differentiating between grades.

A great resource for homeschool laws in the United States by state is HSLDA - check it out here: https://hslda.org/legal

It's also important to note that in some other countries, like Germany for example, you can't legally choose to homeschool your child without an educational degree—so make sure you're up on local laws before deciding if this is the best fit for you and yours!

For families who live where there is no legal recognition of home school, I would still recommend keeping detailed records to share with their government in case you are ever audited. That would NOT be fun. And your kids will want to have some records of these cherished years when they are older, too!

Step 3: Determine Your Homeschool Subjects

There is no wrong or right way to homeschool, but it is said that the best-taught students are those who have a strong mastery of language arts and math because of the critical thinking skills those subjects teach.

HINT: Learning isn't always about the content itself, but more often about HOW they think and explore the content. (This was something that took me a while to embrace!)

Different levels of instruction can be achieved through different materials: from textbooks used in school classrooms to self-developed curriculums that suit individual learning styles better than a one-size-fits-all book.

You'll hear many terms along your homeschool journey such as "unschooling", "deschooling", "unit studies" and more! We'll explore these as we go, but don't hesitate to look up different homeschooling terms if you're unsure - I promise they aren't as scary as they sound, lol!

When choosing which subjects you'll teach during homeschool, it's important to take into consideration your local requirements, your child's developmental level, your child's interests, and your own teaching style. (If you don't know yours now, don't worry - you will once you start!)

I recommend asking your child casual questions throughout the day about their interests as opposed to a "let's sit down and talk about homeschooling" approach.

...Keep the pressure off and learn what your child loves through everyday conversation and observation of what activities they choose to participate in each day!

At first, your subjects will be very general...such as "Science" or "Math". But the great thing about homeschooling is that you often get to decide the details of what you teach - especially in the elementary and middle school years.

For instance, depending on your local requirements, if your child loves dogs & cats, you could use "Dogs and Cats" as your topic for a whole year of "Science" curriculum. And the great thing about homeschool is "all learning counts"!

And because "everything counts" in homeschool, you can "count" the hours your child cares for any pet dog or cat, walks a neighbor's dog, reads books about dogs or cats, watches informational videos on dogs and cats, trains a dog...the possibilities are endless!

So when it comes to choosing what you'll teach, I recommend thinking "outside the box" whenever possible.

*Remember, the whole point of education is to spark the imagination and love of learning - and to encourage independent observation, thought, research and conclusions to their everyday encounters.*

STEP 4: Explore & Choose Homeschool Curriculum & Supplemental Materials

Since the curriculum choice is usually determined by what you are teaching your child, and since I have no idea who my readers might be or where they live, it's impossible to recommend a specific curriculum outright for those who want a done-for-you package. (Remember, you don't HAVE to use a set curriculum in all cases - you can develop your own!)

Instead, I'll offer some questions that should help anyone narrowing down their curricular choices:

• What does your child need to know NOW?
• What are your child's interests?
• How does your child learn best?
• How do you want to personally influence the foundation of their education?
• Do you have a preference for secular or religious curricula?
• Do you prefer a "low-prep" curriculum or are you interested in a more creative approach with looser guidelines and a plethora of ideas to pull from?
• How much time can you devote each day/week for teaching your child hands-on as opposed to self-guided learning?

When we started homeschooling, this was the TOUGHEST part.

So, I want to share with you one of the most valuable resources I was given to examine the different reviews of the hundreds of homeschool curriculum available!

Here's the link to "Cathy Duffy's Reviews" : https://cathyduffyreviews.com/

Her website states "Cathy Duffy has been reviewing curriculum for the homeschooling community since 1984. She also reviews other resources she believes are important for those interested in homeschooling, education, the origins debate, and related political and spiritual topics. While we stretch beyond homeschooling, our primary goal always remains the same:

To help families successfully educate their own children!"

(I couldn't have said it better myself...so I didn't, lol!)

But this site help me get started with homeschooling and I know it can help you, too!

HINT: You are usually never "stuck" with a curriculum you don't like. I've never heard of anyone not being able to switch whenever they wanted...so just pick one and get started!

Step 5: Develop a Homeschool Schedule (or Un-Schedule) that Suits Your Family's Needs 

Homeschooling is not usually "cut and dry" since there are so many natural opportunities to learn each day, so make sure to embrace the fact that just because your child isn't sitting at a desk for 6 hours doesn't mean they aren't learning.

You will be teaching your child every day of their life, but you needn't do it all at once!

But the easiest (and most common) way to start homeschooling is to come up with a loose daily plan for your first few weeks.

Just like in public school, try to map out what your child will be learning and how they may be spending their time doing it.

You can take this as far or as light as you'd like- if you want to do it all at home at the kitchen table working on subjects one at a time, that's great! If not, head to a picnic table at the park, a blanket on the beach or the swings at your favorite playground!

Just because it's called "homeschool" doesn't mean you have to do it at home!

Once you've tried out your "schedule" for a few weeks, determine what changes may need to be made and be open to making them. Maybe you'll find that your child needs a quiet place to focus on math - so maybe the kitchen table IS the best place. Great!

Or maybe your child just can't seem to stop wiggling during their history and science videos. Switch it up and add in little extra playtime outside between the two subjects.

Best rule of thumb? Be flexible.

As with any "job" you have in life, there are going to be days when you just don't feel like doing what needs done - so give yourself grace. You'll all have days like that. So guess what? Take some time to recharge and maybe continue lessons later into the evening or perhaps make them up on the weekend if needed. Whatever works for you is fine - and best!

No matter what, remember that homeschooling is about providing your child the opportunity to learn in a way that they enjoy and thrive.

Keep it fun and know that it WON'T be perfect, but it will be perfectly fine - I promise!

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