I'm Considering Homeschooling... Where Do I Even Begin?
8 Small Steps For Any Parent Considering the Homeschooling Lifestyle
Entering into homeschooling isn’t just a new way of educating your children, it’s a totally different lifestyle…and one that I’ve personally found great satisfaction and joy in.
So if you’re a new homeschooling parent or considering this option for your family, I’m glad you’re here…in this post I’ll walk you through the common question of “where do I even begin?” to give you more clarity and confidence in your homeschooling journey.
The key, like in many areas of life, is to start small— one step at a time.
8 Small Steps Towards Beginning Your Homeschool Year
The scope of homeschooling can be pretty daunting– choosing the right curriculum, adjusting your schedule, having quality time to teach every child, following your state’s guidelines and requirements, making sure your children have socialization with friends…all while managing the home life too.
I definitely felt the weight of it all before I started.
The first year you begin something new, it can feel hard, strange, and disorienting. Instead of laying out all the details (which I’m probably not even qualified to do!), I’ll highlight what I believe the most helpful first steps in getting started with homeschooling are, based on my experience so far.
If you still have questions, feel free to add them to the comments– this gives me ideas about other posts that would be helpful for readers!
As you read, keep in mind that this certainly isn’t an exhaustive list, more of my own experience of navigating the newness of homeschooling and what I’ve found to be most important…
Determine what this new lifestyle would look like for your family. I’m constantly reminded through our own journey that homeschooling is truly a different lifestyle, not just a different way of educating your child. Before starting, it’s helpful to ask yourself important questions like…
Am I allowing enough time in my schedule to devote to homeschooling well?
How will having more flexibility allow us to pursue more of our family goals?
Which parent will be doing the teaching responsibilities?
How will we handle teaching subjects we feel less equipped to teach?
Will we join a co-op?
How much structure do we want in our day?
What are the different learning styles and personalities of each child?
How will we add socialization experiences for our children?
What financial investments do we have to make and budget for?
How will we measure success?
Research your state’s legal requirements. Depending on what state or country you are homeschooling in, the laws and requirements will be different. The best starting point is to visit the HSLDA website and search for your state’s specific requirements. In PA (where we live) it’s one of the four most highly regulated states for requirements, but when you break it all down I personally don’t think it’s very rigorous or overwhelming compared to all the documentation I had to do as a public school teacher.
Decide on which homeschooling method you’ll follow. When you start digging into details on curriculum, you’ll likely find different methods of homeschooling– some more popular and common than others. In short, there are 6 major homeschooling methods (I’ll share ours in another post!). They are Classical, Charlotte Mason, Montessori, Unit Studies, Unschooling, Traditional, and Eclectic. I used this quiz it was a great first step.
Begin researching your Core Curriculum options. Before researching curriculum, you’ll want to have a better idea of which homeschooling style you fit into. After you’ve narrowed down what style best fits your family, you can go from there. A few of the most helpful starting places for me have been Cathy Duffy Reviews and Homeschool On’s Curriculum Reviews. I also love watching YouTube videos of homeschool parents unboxing and reviewing a specific curriculum. I’ll share our favorite curriculum choices in another post soon!
Map out a basic learning schedule. What will your homeschool day look like from start to finish? The beauty of homeschool is that there’s no right or wrong way to structure it, as long as you’re allowing adequate time to complete your family’s learning objectives.
A typical yearly 180-day schedule for us includes these details…
Begin our “gentle opening” of the school year in July (2-3 days per week until September)
Start school by 8:30 a.m. each morning (typically 4 days a week + our co-op 1 day)
Set school time from 8:30 a.m. - noon (for core subjects), break for lunch, finish up Science/Social Studies by 2:00 p.m.
Shortened holiday breaks throughout the year
An unofficial ending date by Mother's Day
Begin setting up a space where you’ll do school each day. You definitely don’t need a beautifully decorated, separate school room in your home in order to be successful in homeschooling. A place to store your items in (like a bookshelf, kitchen cabinet, or sturdy bins) as well as a place for everyone to sit to write are the two main parts you’ll need. A kitchen table works great if you don’t have a separate space designated for school.
Research and join a local homeschool co-op. I can’t emphasize enough how important joining a local homeschool co-op has been to our homeschool lifestyle. It’s a perfect mid-week break from our regular at-home schooling, has provided my kids with the opportunity to learn with peers and from another adult, and allowed us to incorporate subjects that I don’t feel as gifted in (like art and music).
There’s likely many co-ops found in your local community that would serve your family’s needs. Some require parents to stay and help teach, others, like Classical Conversations, do not require parents to teach classes unless they become a tutor.
Start gently. This is a tip that I think every homeschooling family can follow to some degree! When starting a new school year, it’s challenging (for both the parent and children) to jump head-first into the full curriculum. Instead, I recommend a more gentle start– begin with just 1-2 subjects the first week, then add in another once the routine is formed, then finally the full schedule by the end of the first month. You can’t do everything and expect to do everything well when it’s your first time at it.
Give yourself grace to start small and master one part of homeschooling before adding in another. It’ll be so much more enjoyable and less stressful when you start gently.