How to start homeschooling

If your thinking about homeschooling but your not sure where to start, you’re in the right place!

We started our home school journey 8 years ago and never looked back! It hasn’t always been easy, but for us the pros always out way the cons.

If you would like to see what our pros and cons of homeschooling are click here.

The first big advice I can give you, is don’t stress about it! If you think its something you want to do and your feeling strongly about it. Just do it! Your capable and if for some reason you find out its not for your family, you can always switch back to public school.

Also remember that you don’ t NEED a fancy desk or homeschool room to homeschool your children. These things are nice to have but you don’t need them. So if you don’t have a homeschool room or a desk right now, that’s ok! Don’t let that keep you from starting!

Start homeschooling with 5 simple steps.

1. Withdraw your kids from school

When we first started homeschooling my oldest son was in the 5th grade. In the state of Maryland you are required to fill out a withdraw form and let the board of education know that you will be homeschooling your child. We only had to do this one time.

When my other son started Kindergarten we sent a form in to the board of education letting them know we would be homeschooling him and that was it!

Your state my require more or less information. You can find the laws for your state here.

2. Decide what your home school style will be

If your new to homeschooling you may be surprised to find out that there are different home school styles. Here is a list that explains the different home school styles.

Don’t be surprised if your home school style changes! The more comfortable you get and the more life starts to happen your style may change! But, its good to have an idea of what style you think you may fit into!

3. Talk with your kids about what you expect from them

Sit your kids down and talk to them about what you expect from them. Explain what subjects your going to do and what your rules are. For example, if you want school to be done before TV time, make sure you tell them upfront. If your only going to do history on Tuesdays or Fridays go ahead and let them know. This way you know they know what to expect and what you expect from them.

4. Put together a list of curriculum

There are so many different curriculums out there! The truth is, you will probably switch curriculums several times. You will learn along the way what works for your family and what doesn’t. This is ok! Also remember that the popular and or expensive curriculums may not always mean they are right for your family!

Apologia for example, this is one of the most popular Science curriculums. You will see this curriculum come up a lot when your searching for a science curriculum. A lot of families love this curriculum but, for me and my kids it was torture! If you would like to read my thoughts on it, here is a review I put together.

Also keep in mind, there are lots of free resources for homeschooling. If your just starting out it may not be a bad idea to take advantage of the free resources while your figure out what works for your family!

Here is a list of free homeschool curriculum that you may want to try out. You can also join my free Print and Go Learn Library. I update this often with free material that I use with my kids!

5. Come up with a plan

You need a plan. It doesn’t have to be detailed just something simple that lays out what your plan for the year is. You can include what subjects you plan on doing on what days. If you plan on taking certain days off or going on vacation you can add that to your plan. Would you like to take a field trip with your kids? Add that to your plan to. You can write this out in a notebook or print out our homeschool planner here for free.

Of course with the homeschool life, plans will change! But, its a good to have an idea of what you would like your year to look like and what you hope to accomplish.

I almost forgot! Here’s a number 6 and its important!

6. Start a portfolio

Most states require you to keep a portfolio for each child. You will use this portfolio when you have to complete your review for the year. Its something simple and doesn’t have to include every signal assignment your child does throughout the year. I have a full review on how to set up a homeschool portfolio along with free portfolio pintables here.

If your state doesn’t require you to keep one, its always a good idea to keep records anyway. Just incase you need them later!

It really is that easy to get started! Don’t stress to much about it. Make sure you check the laws in your state, decide on what curriculum you want to use, set down some ground rules and come up with a simple plan! You can do this! I believe you can!

If you have any questions please leave a comment below or feel free to send me an email! I am always here to help!