One of the most frequent questions asked by parents considering homeschooling is: how do I get started? I’d like to offer a few tips to make the task seem a little less overwhelming:
Become familiar with your state’s laws. A good place to start is Home School Legal Defense Association. They offer a synopsis of each state’s laws, tips on getting started, support group listings, and more.
Find a local support group. You might check your library or teacher supply store’s community bulletin board, your state support group’s website or Yahoo groups. You can usually find state support groups by Googling [your state name]+”homeschool support group.” Similarly, you can find Yahoo groups by searching for your city or county, plus the words “homeschool support.” Oftentimes, the state support group websites will list contact information for local support groups within the state.
Educate yourself about homeschooling. Homeschooling doesn’t have to look like a public school classroom. There are many different approaches and resources. Read about the different styles of homeschooling — even those that, on the surface, don’t appeal to you. You may be surprised what you can glean from a style that you never thought would suit your family. Some of my favorite resources are:
- The Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer
- The Unschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith
- The Relaxed Home School by Mary Hood
- A Charlotte Mason Education by Catherine Levinson
- Homeschooling: The Early Years by Linda Dobson (this book is an excellent overview of homeschooling)
Talk to other homeschoolers. If you can find a homeschool group, family or curriculum fair in your area, go and talk to other homeschoolers. We’ve all been there and done that and most of us are happy to share what we’ve learned.
Get a library card. In my opinion, it’s not necessary to have everything all figured out before you start. It’s probably going to take you a while to figure our your child’s learning style, your teaching style and what materials suit your family’s personality. Start with the basics — such as reading and math — and go from there. If your child is reading (or being read to) a variety of books, he’s still going to be learning while you take some time to gather your bearings and adjust to a homeschooling lifestyle, particularly if you’re taking a child out of a traditional school setting.
If you’re a veteran homeschooler, what tips would you add? If you’re considering homeschooling, do you have questions that I didn’t answer?
Kris is the sweet-tea-drinking, classically eclectic, slightly Charlotte Mason, homeschooling mom to her three Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.
photo by smellyknee
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Well…I would add PRAYER first…much time in PRAYER.
But also, one of the greatest things that helped me as I entered into this journey, was another mom who generously hosted a “ASK YOUR QUESTIONS” night for myself and several other “newbies” in her home.
She invited a group of homeschool parents (dads and moms), and allowed us to come and ask them anything at all…the discussions, ideas, advice, and lessons learned there have ALWAYS stayed in my heart and were SUCH A HUGE HELP to me…then AND now. I highly recommend it!
I think the most important thing is to know your child’s learning style. A favorite resource of mine is Cathy Duffy’s 100 Top Picks For Homeschool Curriculum.
She gives a great overview of learning styles and helps you find which curriculum or products would work best for that learning style.