If you are like most people the first thing you will do is google "homeschool" or something of that nature and more then likely you will be bombarded with a million (literally) links to how to's, the best methods, and why you are screwing up your children just by thinking about Homeschooling. I know I did it. Then maybe like me you will scroll over to some place like amazon to look at some how to books on homeschooling. Again bombarded by a million options and ways. Don't be overwhelmed. This is a good thing believe it or not. Homeschooling today is miles away from what it use to be. One reason is because so many people are turning to homeschooling. In 2013 it was estimated that about 3% of U.S. children were currently being homeschooled, thats about 1.5Million kids. Another reason for the major changes in homeschooling is thanks to good old modern technology. In fact take a moment right now open up your Facebook account and under groups search "homeschooling" either by your area, political views, religious views, you name it and you will find plenty of people willing to help, share, encourage, and comfort you. Hopefully that will help you breath a breath of fresh air. Your not alone and there are plenty out there willing to help you. There are a few steps you will want to take before you just go and rip your kids out of public schools and order one of everything in your Rainbow Resourse (if you don't know what that is just wait you will)
First Step
Get this book! So Your Thinking About Homeschooling
Remember I said you will find a million different how to books? This is the one you want to read first I Promise! She goes through just about every method of homeschooling possible and every family situation that goes along with it. It will greatly open your eyes to the fact that anyone can do it no matter if your a single parent, working parent, or stay at home parent, if you have one, two or twenty kids. (and if you have twenty kids let me just tell you, you are my hero)
After you read through this you will find some awesome resources in the back of what steps to take next in your research process.
Second Step:
Find out your state laws on the matter. Believe it or not you can't just walk into your kids schools grab them and take them home never to return again. Each state has different rules and regulations on homeschooling, so its important that you find out what your state rules are because it will have a great impact on your method of homeschooling. Three ways you can find out: Either go to your state.gov website and try to navigated it from there. Go to HSLDA.org. This is a Nation wide Advocate group for Homeschooling. I strongly recommend you get a membership once you do decided to homeschool. You may never need their help but someone will and your contributions will be what makes that happen. Option number three is to go to one of those previously mentioned Facebook groups you found and just ask "Im new to homeschooling I live in such and such area what are the laws?" and you will get feedback faster then you can blink…ok maybe not that fast but you know what I mean.
Some common rules that vary state to state are as follows:
Submitting a letter declaring your desire to homeschool to your local school district or gov education office
Keeping record of school work done
counting hours spent teaching
various requirements or classes needed to qualify to teach your kids (for example in my state you must either have a high school diploma and some college education or you can take a qualification class)
Periodic testing, sometimes needing to be submitted to the state.
Not all of these rules will be required in your state and they will all be in varying degrees so its good to know what you need for your area.
Third Step:
So now you're pumped!
You know your state laws and requirements, you have read through the above book and think you know how you want to homeschool. You may have even already gotten your significant other on board. Now you need to pick a curriculum you want to use. Please in the name of all things good and holy do not I repeat DO NOT google "homeschool curriculum". It will just make you cry. There are a MILLION options. The goal is to first narrow down what style you want to use and go from there. Take out a piece of paper and jot down the answers to a couple of questions:
1. Why do I want to homeschool
2. How much time can I spend on planning lessons and teaching
3. What learning style best suits my children
4. What Laws/regulations will I need to take into account when homeschooling
5. How much money am I able to budget for Homeschooling
Once you have all that hammered out its time to take a look at some of the main methods of Homeschooling. More then likely you are going to pick and choose parts from all of them. And don't fret if you pick on and start at it and think "this is all wrong" then change. Even if you have been using the same method for years and its just not working out all of a sudden then its time to switch it up. Here are the basic methods
Unschooling
Unit Study
Classical
Charlotte Mason
Traditional
To learn more about these methods check out this video. Sonja Schaffer does a really great job of explaining them and giving some relatable examples to help you understand their differences. She also gives a little quiz at the end that you can correlate with the 5 questions you asked yourself earlier to find out what style you think will best suit you.
Step Four:
Alright you got your goals, you found your flavor, and your pumped. You are now ready to purchase some curriculum. Once again turn back to that newly found Facebook group and ask around. Find out what others use and like. Try to be as specific as you can for example "I am looking for a math program for a 2nd grader. I want the lessons to be preplanned for me. I like the Classical approach. My child is a hands on learner" or "I'm looking for a Christian based all inclusive curriculum pack. I like a traditional approach". Then you can take their suggestions, and if your obsessive like me do a little more review research, pick the best one for you and buy it! If you are lucky enough to have a homeschool convention in your area (usually held early spring through summer) go to it! there are going to be lots of speakers who can point you on your way. Please before you buy everything from a convention check out some used curriculum blogs/groups first. Just a helpful hint to save some cash cuz, trust me, when you get to that convention it's going to be worse then a kid in a candy store.
Step Five:
Get your area set up. You probably already have an idea of where your schooling is going to happen but its a good time to get it all set up, organized, and ready before you actually start. For lots thats just the kitchen table and a shelf of supplies. I prefer to have a whole room dedicated to schooling.
Step Six:
And for most this will probably be the hardest step of them all. Tell your family of your plans. There is a good chance you have already done this but if you are smart, and no I wasn't one of the smart ones, you will wait till step six to do this. Prepare yourself, most likely you will be bombarded with doubt and skepticism at best. Of course the most obvious question is "Do you want your kids to be unsocialized weirdos?" To this I often respond: "Weird kids are both inside and outside of public school and often are raised by weird parents….are you saying I'm weird or something?" That usually goes over well. This is usually followed by "how can you possible think you can do it?" This is a good reason why I say wait to tell until you have it all worked out so instead of saying "uhhhh I dunno" You can show them all your hard work. Your reasons why you want to homeschool, what method you plan to use, how you picked your curriculum, any co-op groups you plan to join in your area. You can even throw in some statistics on how many kids are homeschooled in the US and how they are often the top scores on all standardized testing" Sorry to say even after all this you are still going to get a parent/sibling/friend who is still going to tell you its a bad idea. That's OK. Some just need to see the fruits of your labor, and when they do they will appreciate your choice.
Wheeew!
Take a break. That was a lot to digest in one sitting. If you need to sleep on it and see how you feel in the morning, then do it. I promise no matter what you choose you are not "ruining your kids for life" as so often the thought may run through your mind…I know it does through mine. The fact that you are looking into homeschooling alone shows what an awesome caregiver you are. So do as my preschooler does so often in her class and give yourself a pat on the back. Go and discuss what your thinking with your partner or a close friend you can trust, pray about it…if that's your thing…and I promise if you are thinking "I really want to but I'm scared I can't" Trust me when I say if I can do it You can do it too :)
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