Are you wondering how to start homeschooling your kids without getting overwhelmed? Don’t stress use our easy beginner’s guide to get started homeschooling this school year and feel great about it.
Whether your starting homeschooling due to remote learning or trying to find a better way for your kids to learn it can be a really fun & positive experience.
Parents can follow these simple steps to create a homeschooling plan that will work best for their family. Everything parents need from homeschooling laws, curriculum, schedules, homeschool rooms, co-ops, educational resources, supplies, and more tips for an easy transition to homeschooling.
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How to Start Homeschooling Guide for Beginners
Table of Contents
Make starting homeschooling a stress-free process by using our how to start homeschooling guide as a general checklist for starting your homeschool planning.
Your States Homeschooling Requirements
Start out by researching what your individual state requires from homeschooling families. Homeschool requirements can range from filling out forms declaring you are homeschooling to a set of educational standards to be met, and attendance levels. While other states require very minimal interaction with the state or local schools.
Find out your homeschool law requirements by visiting the HSLDA homeschooling website. They are a great resource to learn how to withdraw your children from school and your local state or territory requirements for homeschooling.
Homeschool Options & Curriculum
Homeschool Options
Investigate different homeschool options for your children. Decide if you want a more structured homeschool environment, an unschooling structure which is more child lead learning or something in-between.
Another thing to consider is if you plan to send your child back to a traditional school setting at some point. If yes you may want to look at the school’s educational guidelines to make sure your child would be ready to return to school.
If you do not plan to go back to a traditional school then you are more free in your homeschooling curriculum to focus on what works best for your child.
Homeschool Curriculum
Decide if you want a religious or secular focused curriculum. Both are great and are just up to your family’s preference.
Once you’ve decided if you want a religious focus or not it will help you deiced on which curriculum is best for your child. You can choose a complete curriculum that has everything you need for all subjects. Or piece together different curriculums you like for each subject.
Look at reviews from other homeschooling parents online and talk to other families who homeschool to see what programs they like. We will talk more later about connecting with other parents.
The bottom line is the best programs are ones that meet your family’s needs and meet any of your state’s requirements.
Cost of Homeschooling
The cost of homeschool really depends on what you want to spend. Start out by determining a budget of how much you can spend on homeschooling curriculum and materials. There are tons of free materials out there for all ages of kids but there are also great complete curriculums you may want to purchase.
Don’t feel you need to choose either free or paid programs you can combine them to create the best homeschool program for your kids.
If you are starting out and want to save money at the beginning check out our Free Homeschooling Resources, Printable, and curriculum.
Educational Resources from School Districts
Talk to your local school and see what they can offer to homeschool children. Some schools offer dual enrollment programs that allow you to mostly homeschool your kids but also take advantage of science labs for older kids or take classes in subjects your not as familiar with like a foreign language.
Ask for access to school apps and websites they may have subscriptions to such as math apps or reading website subscriptions.
You’ll find good educational resources with our favorite Educational Apps and Websites listed by subject for kids. Some of these have an upgraded version that your school may subscribe too.
You can also ask the schools about your kids participating in extracurricular activities like school bands and sports teams.
Connect with Homeschool Parents & Co-op
It can be a lot less overwhelming to start homeschooling when you have other homeschooling parents to talk to and learn from. Look for Facebook groups and local homeschooling groups in your area to meet other homeschooling families.
If you want to work together with other homeschooling families consider joining a Homeschooling Co-op. Here families join together to work collaboratively on a common goal for the kids. Co-ops can focus on academics, the arts, group projects, social services, field trips, or physical education.
You’ll find two different types of Co-ops. The groups can be run by parents each teaching a subject they are knowledgeable in or the group hiring a teacher to work with the kids. Co-ops can range from small groups of a couple of families to a hundred families depending on the area you live and the interest level in homeschooling.
Connecting to other families can make the process of starting homeschooling less stress-full and much more enjoyable for both you and your kids.
Make a Homeschooling Room or Space
Creating a space in your home to do homeschooling every day can make schoolwork at home much more productive. It lets the kids know when they sit down in that space it’s time to work.
Homeschool space can be a side of a dining room table or an extra room you have in the house. If you have only a dining room table add a bookshelf close by to hold all your homeschool supplies. For those with a homeschooling room use desks for each child to allow them their own space to work.
Organize your homeschool space with Dollar Tree bins to make the most efficient homeschool rooms. Get inspired with our Cheap Homeschool Room Organization Ideas.
Homeschool Schedule
If you have decided you want a more structured homeschool day try using a homeschool schedule. Your schedule can be a detailed hourly guide or a general flow to your day.
I find a daily schedule makes it less stressful for everyone when you know what to expect next in your day. It’s also really helpful when your homeschooling more than one child.
However, keep in mind you do not need to run your day like a traditional school schedule. Do what works for your family and your homeschooling philosophy.
If you’d like to try a daily schedule use our Free Printable Daily Homeschooling Schedule.
Homeschoool Supplies
To begin homeschooling it’s important to have the right supplies at home. Everything from pencils and paper to calculators and workbooks for kids. Parents teaching at home will need file folders, staplers, and even printers and laminators for all those homeschool projects.
Be ready for a new school year with our list of 20 Essential Homeschool Supplies.
Brain Breaks
Give your kids a break in between subjects to get the wiggles out. We love fun Brain Break Activities to add some fun to your day. They’ll burn some energy and help get your kids to refocus on school.
Educational Goals
Lastly, set your educational goals for the year. A basic idea of what you hope to get out of your first year of homeschooling. Keep in mind it may change as you go but at least the list gives you something to work towards.
Once you decide on your educational goals it will be easier to pick the best curriculum for your kids. Use the goals as a guide to picking a math, literature and science curriculum.
Just realize that homeschooling is a learning process and you can adjust and change to what works best for your kids as you go. It doesn’t need to be perfect when you start homeschooling.
Please don’t get so focused on the process that you forget homeschooling can be FUN! You’ll be spending lots of time with your kids and watching first hand how they grow throughout the year.
Did I answer your questions about how to start homeschooling? Consider our list as a checklist of things to do before you begin homeschooling your kids. If you need more helpful homeschool information visit our Homeschool Educational Resource Page.
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