How to Start Homeschooling; A Comprehensive Guide

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A child coloring a map with crayons beside the map & a book open to maps.

How to start homeschooling; A comprehensive guide

Homeschooling is growing in popularity lately, and I am getting asked the question more and more often, “Where do I even start?”

If this is you, if you have decided you want to homeschool, but feel totally lost as to what to do first, this post is for you!

As a large homeschooling family and a mom of 9 who has been a home educator now for over 13 years, I love to pass on any knowledge that I can to new homeschooling parents. I think homeschooling is a great option for most children and is a beautiful opportunity to create rich family bonds and relationships.

First, I suggest thinking about why it is that you want to homeschool. What is your motivation? Bullying? A struggling learner? Religious values? A health crisis? A desire to travel? Realizing you don’t want to miss out on these precious years?

There are many different reasons someone might want to homeschool, so think about all of the reasons that might be driving your decision.

Will it be temporary or long term? Do you plan to send them back to public school at some point? Or are you in this for the long haul?

I suggest talking these things over with your spouse, praying about them and getting really clear about your intentions and reasons why. It will be really important in the next steps that you take. It will impact your curriculum choices, and pretty much every decision you make after.

Homeschooling can be a bit daunting at first, so I want to reassure you that it’s okay to take it slow and not rush. Even if you have already pulled your kids from school or your local public school is starting back soon, and you still aren’t prepared.

Take some time to research, decompress and for you and your kids to DE-SCHOOL.

wHAT IS DE-SCHOOLING?

De-schooling is simply training your brain to think differently about education. To realize that the method of the public school system is not the only way and in fact not the best way. As a homeschooler, you are no longer tied to their schedule. You now have the freedom to decide when and how you will educate your kids and what works best for your family’s schedule.

Schooling from 8am to 3pm is not necessary. You can do school in the evenings, weekends or whatever works for you! Your student(s) will no longer have to sit at desk all day in order to learn. They now have the freedom to move their bodies, take breaks, and even go outside!

They will now have the time to explore their own interests and figure out who they are in this world!

Girl sitting outside at a table on a deck with a camera in hand and a laptop.
My highschoolers like to go outside to do their writing or work on passion projects of their own! Not everything is done at a desk!

So how exactly do you DE-SCHOOL?

I highly suggest that at first, you just allow your student(s) time to rest, sleep in, and relax. Let them do whatever they want for at least a couple of weeks. Or more if you need to, while you dig in deep into researching everything you need to know about homeschooling. During this research time, you also want to be doing research on your own kid(s)!

Become a student of your kid(s) Talk with them and observe them!

learn about your kids:

  • What is your child’s learning style?
  • What do they enjoy doing in their free time?
  • What are their interests?
  • What excites them?
  • What frustrates them?
  • Are they a morning person?
  • Or night owl?
  • Do they need to get more sleep to function their best?
  • Can they focus for long periods of time?
  • Do they need to move their bodies more?

Sleep is so underrated! Much more is needed for a child’s (especially teens) brain to grow and function properly than what most of them are getting. One of the many great benefits of homeschooling! 

All of this research on your child(ren) is really going to help you know how to facilitate a better educational experience for them. Don’t just research them, though. Also spend some quality time with them. Get to know them better than you ever have. Make sure during this de-schooling process that you are doing everything in your power to strengthen the relationship that you have with your kid(s). This will go a long way in making the transition to homeschooling a better experience for everyone!

Build trust with your child

The goal is not to become the “teacher”, as in standing over them in front of a chalkboard during school hours. Your kids do not desire this and may in fact be afraid of this taking place inside their home that is supposed to be their haven.

You are still their parent, and you are going to stay the parent. As parents, we often forget that we taught them to talk, to tie their shoes, to clean their rooms, and many, many other things. You will just continue on teaching them, as their parent.

The best way to accomplish this transition, in my opinion is to learn alongside your child(ren). Get excited about a topic together and explore learning together! It won’t take long to see how you will become more of a facilitator of their education, more than an instructor of all knowledge.

You do not need a teaching degree to be a homeschooling parent.

You just need to care enough about your kids to make sure they have access to the information they need to succeed in life.

How to learn together while de-schooling?

You want to model to your student(s) that learning can be fun! This means that you need to jump all in with your own curiosity and enthusiasm for learning.

A few suggestions on how you can do this:

  • Have your student(s) pick a topic they’d like to know more about and go rent some books from the library to explore that topic together. Find YouTube videos to watch and go down a rabbit hole with them!
  • Purchase or print a world map, have your student(s) pick anywhere on the map to explore and YouTube videos on that place to learn more about it! Then choose a cultural meal from that country to prepare together!
  • Pick a fun book and read it aloud everyday!
  • Go on nature walks just to explore! You never know what they may find fascinating!
  • Have them help you with meal planning and help shop for the groceries and/or help to prepare meals for your family.
  • Take an online ART masterclass together.
  • Look up science experiments for kids online or YouTube and try some out that look like fun!

The goal is to have fun and create connection. Don’t turn a fun learning experience into a hard lesson or you’ll be missing the point.

These are just some ideas to get you started. De-schooling can take a couple of weeks or a couple of months or more depending on your circumstances.

If you removed your student(s) from public school because of a traumatic life event (a death in the family, etc.) or your child has been bullied at all, they may need a lot more time to heal.

In the case of bullying, I would focus a bit more of your de-schooling time on helping to repair and build their self-esteem. De-schooling and spending quality time together can be a great first step towards this.

Meanwhile, research, research, research!

So, What do you need to research for homeschooling?

Here is a quick list of things you’ll need to research and then I will expand on them a bit more:

  • Homeschool laws in your state
  • Styles of homeschooling
  • Schedules & Routines
  • Curriculum
  • Testimonies from homeschool graduates

research the laws on homeschooling where you live

This is one of the most important steps to take immediately. This is not something you want to wait around on. Every state in the US has in place Compulsory Attendance Laws. Meaning that school-age children are required to attend school in some way.

Most states require that you send in a letter or “Notice of Intent” to homeschool to the school or local school district. You must do this in a certain amount of time (depending on your state), or your child may be considered truant if you have already pulled them from school. You want to make sure and send the letter as certified mail and make sure to receive a certified mail receipt. This may not be needed if your child has not previously been enrolled. Check with your state laws.

It is 100% legal to homeschool in every state in the US, but every state has slightly different laws around homeschooling.  Some states require more record keeping than others. There are some states that require you to track your hours or keep a portfolio. More oversight and testing may be required in some states more than others. Some have long lists of required subjects to teach, while others give more freedom to the parents. It will be important for you to know your specific state’s legal requirements before you decide on curriculum and scheduling.

To find out what the laws are in your state, I recommend going to HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION or (HSLDA.org)

This is a wonderful website where you can easily find your state and read the laws for your specific state. They also offer legal defense for homeschoolers who become members, and you get access to legal advice regarding your homeschool anytime! HSLDA also offers a “letter of intent” template that you can print (for members), so you don’t have to worry if you are doing it right. I highly suggest perusing their website.

styles and methods of homeschooling

You may be wondering, “What does this even mean?”, but again, this is one of those things that is helpful to research before you start purchasing curriculum and stressing about trying to “DO SCHOOL” at home.

There are many different methods of homeschooling and educational philosophies, and many curriculum companies will advertise their curriculum as such. For example, if a curriculum is advertised as “Classical” it would be helpful to know what that means for you in your homeschool.

Understanding the differences in styles and methods may also help guide you in deciding how to structure your day with schedules or routines.

Some styles of homeschooling are more relaxed, whereas some styles may be a bit more rigorous. You’ll want to research this to know what kind of homeschooler you think you’ll be and what homeschool style resonates with you the most. This will also help to point you in the right direction when purchasing curriculum.

This is all just a guess in the beginning. You may find that there is a method of homeschooling that really resonates with you in theory, but reality turns out to be very different.

This is totally ok and very common. Don’t worry or stress over this too much. Eventually you will find your groove with homeschooling one way or another and most curriculums can be adjusted to your liking as well.

Just think of the methods as a loose guide to get you started.

styles/methods of homeschooling:

  • Literature Based
  • Classical
  • Traditional
  • Charlotte Mason
  • Montessori
  • Waldorf
  • Unit Studies
  • Unschooling
  • Online Video
  • Eclectic

This post at Wander Homeschooling is a great place to read about a few of these methods in more detail.

Here at Homeschool On, you can even take a quiz to find out what homeschooling style might be a good fit for you!

I personally have always had a more eclectic approach, which is pulling a little bit from different methods. We use what I like from each. Which is part of the beauty of homeschooling! You get to decide!

I’m drawn to memory work from the classical approach. My highschoolers now do a bit of online video instruction for writing and math. I love Charlotte Mason’s take on getting out in nature. A literature-based approach for geography & history is perfect for us! We also do a bit of traditional workbook style curriculum for different subjects as well.

There are some people who like to stick with one style or approach, but every home will look different and that’s ok!

Homeschool Schedule and Routine:

It might surprise you to learn that it doesn’t actually take homeschoolers 8 hours a day to complete a homeschool day. It’s true. It’s so easy to assume that if it takes the public schools that long, that much time must be required.

Schools have a lot of wasted time that we tend to forget about or maybe haven’t stopped to even consider. There are plenty of breaks in school, waiting in line, waiting on other students to complete tasks and of course unnecessary “busy” work.

The actual time it takes for a child to get through a days’ worth of homeschool work can be quite short.

For instance, my 2nd and 3rd graders get through all of their materials in less than 2 hours every day! It takes my highschoolers about 4-5 hours total, and my kindergartener takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour at the very most!

We also do “Year-Round Homeschooling” which just means, we continue on throughout the entire year (even through summer) and take breaks when we need to. We take our biggest break in December instead of July. Our typical school year looks more like January through Mid-November instead of August through May.

Oh, and we only school 4 days a week!

Considering all of this, you can now start thinking about how you’d like to structure your days and how to plan your own daily rhythm. Homeschooling doesn’t have to take all day. It can even be done in the evenings if that better suited your family. Some subjects could be saved for the weekend to clear up your schedule a bit during the week.

Your homeschool doesn’t need to match the public school’s schedule.

Do some research on how other family’s schedule their days to help give you an idea on how your days could look. Think outside the box and enjoy the freedom that homeschool can truly give you.

Homeschool Curriculum!

Finally! What you’ve been waiting for.

Now that you’ve hopefully figured out your why, researched the laws in your state, and maybe have an idea of what style of homeschooling you like, you can finally start shopping for curriculum!

Fortunately, we now live in a time where there is an abundance of choices when it comes to homeschool curriculum.

Here is a post where I go over Tips for Choosing Homeschool Curriculum in more detail, along with links to my favorite curriculum.

I also recommend perusing Cathy Duffy’s Reviews. She is a great resource where you can find reviews for almost every homeschool curriculum that’s available.

Here are a couple of online resources where you can shop many different curriculum brands by grade or subject:

Listen to Testimonies from Homeschool Graduates

This is not a must for you to begin homeschooling of course, but I think it will be of great encouragement for those inevitably hard days ahead. There will be days when you question whether homeschooling is worth it. You’ll want those stories in your mind to help keep you encouraged.

With what the internet has become, we have access to other people’s stories like never before. I say take advantage of that as much as possible! You Tube stories and listen to podcasts.

Homeschooling didn’t used to be so popular, but now we are living in a time with so many homeschoolers who have graduated and have gone on to be successful and have shared their journeys.

Find time to hear how they were homeschooled, what they liked and what they didn’t. How it has helped them become the people they are today. It’s amazing insight available to us that can help us in our own journeys of homeschooling.

Books and Podcasts:

Here are my top favorite books and podcasts I recommend for further homeschooling research:

Books:

Podcasts:

Lastly, Find a Homeschooling Community

Finding a support network of like-minded people that are also on this journey, will be not only be helpful, but imperative!

You don’t want to do this alone if you don’t have to. Try looking for local co-op groups in your area or ask around where you live and just meet up with a mom or two. You can ask to view curriculum they are using, get ideas and just lean on each other for support.

If you can’t find anyone local to you, I recommend finding an online homeschool community and making friends there! Consider joining a Facebook group. There are many groups available for homeschoolers that would be glad to have you join! Instagram is also full of homeschooling moms connecting and sharing!

If you have any questions, you can always shoot me a message on Facebook or Instagram or email me. I would love to help any way I can!

Welcome to this wonderful homeschool journey!

A child coloring a map with text overlay.

If you found this post helpful, please share it and leave me a comment below! I love to hear from you!

Xo,

Amy

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