The Homeschool Resource

• While starting your homeschooling journey may at first seem overwhelming and confusing, putting needed actions into easy-to-follow-steps will alleviate unnecessary stress.

• Some of the steps to take when beginning to homeschool include checking your state homeschooling regulations and legal requirements, researching homeschooling methods and curriculums, creating a space for learning, making a schedule, and collecting resources.

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Homeschooling Guide for Beginners

One of the biggest conundrums when starting the homeschooling journey is where to start. I have been there, as have many, many others. Before you can even start you realize that there is a whole mélange of considerations to think about . Here we have made a quick guide to get you started.

1. Check your state’s homeschool regulations and legal requirements.

While homeschooling is legal in every state, each state is different regarding how they regulate homeschooling. Some states require documentation, testing, teaching courses, or a combination of, while other states require nothing. To find out about your state’s requirements you can visit the state’s department of education website or our State’s Standards page to learn more.  

2. Research and Choose Which Homeschooling Methods and Curriculums You Would Like to Use

When you first start researching homeschooling methods and curriculums the shear number of each may seem overwhelming, but don’t worry. Just like many other aspects of the homeschooling journey, there is no “right” one to choose. You should start with a method, or combination of methods, and a curriculum based on your lifestyle, student learning goals, and your child’s learning style.

Keep in mind that whichever you choose is not the one or ones that you must keep. Part of the homeschooling experience is experimentation. If the original method that you chose doesn’t work well with your family, then change it. If the curriculum set that you started off with doesn’t fit well with your teaching style or if it is too challenging or not challenging enough for your child, try another one. And don’t become discouraged if you have to change things more than once. It may take a while to find the perfect combination for your family, but you will know it when you find it.

For more information on the most popular homeschooling methods, check out our blog 7 Most Popular Homeschooling Methods. If you are not sure what kind of curriculums are available our The 4 Main Homeschool Curriculums blog gives an overview of the main types of curricula.

3. Reach Out to Other Homeschooling Families and Groups

Connecting with other homeschooling families and groups will provide you with lots of important information and helpful tips and advice. One way to help you choose a curriculum is to get some personal opinions on them. Talk to other homeschooling parents and see what they recommend and why. This will help you narrow down from a few prespectives or give you guidance if you are totally lost.

If you plan on joining a local homeschool group or would just like to look more into what they do, this would be the time to start getting in touch. Many groups can be found online through social media or just through word-of-mouth from other local homeschooling families. Some groups do group teaching sessions, field trips, science experiments, and other learning activities while others mainly focus on social outings for the children including time at the local park or participating in youth sports.

4. Designate a Learning Area and Get Organized

There are some families that swear by a designated “school” room. Other families prefer to set up on the kitchen table, do class from the comfort of their living room, or the children choose to work from their own bedrooms. No matter which of these categories you fall into there are a couple of important details to keep in mind. 

First, make sure that the area you are using is clutter free, easily accessible, and creates an environment in which your children can focus on learning. Second, and I can not stress this enough, organization is key. If you are converting a room into a ‘school’ room then bookshelves, cubies, desks, and/or DIY storage options will help keep books, art supplies, and other materials easily organized and maintained. Turn a living room cupboard or shelfing unit into a school focused one. Or, have each child’s materials in their room or in a bookbag for easy transportation. When everyone knows where they will be set up learning for the day and where their needed supplies are, all will run much more efficiently and smoothly. If you are looking for organization ideas for not only school but also housework and meal planning, take a peek at Homeschool Organization Ideas.

5. Make a Schedule/Routine

I love a good schedule. I particularly like my day planned in time slots so that I know exactly what I should be doing when. But schedules are not for everyone. Some people work better with an open schedule or even just a vague outline of a routine. Whatever works best for you and your family is what you should focus on. While setting up a schedule may seem overwhelming at first, you can get some ideas and tips in our How to Set Up a Homeschool Schedule blog. The schedule that you set up at this time can always be reevaluated later and changed if necessary. If you are looking for a free printable scheduler page, or other free documentation pages such as grading sheets and attendance sheets, check out our worksheets tab.

6. Collect Materials and Resources

Once a curriculum outline or schedule is set up you will need to start looking for resources to use to teach your lessons. If you have bought a curriculum with corresponding workbooks, then you may only need to look for videos or games to help reinforce the lessons. If you are doing the lessons yourself without any guides, then you may need to look for printable worksheets as well. For children who need more practice or guidance on certain subjects or specific lessons; worksheets, videos, and games are all useful tools to help reinforce the knowledge. Using a search engine to look for those resources is a useful tool, or, if you prefer a quick search try out our free Resources pages. Here we have broken down each grade into subjects, standards, and sub-standards and include worksheets, videos, and games, all of which are free to use.

7. Think Outside the Box

Homeschooling means that you don’t have to sit in a room all day doing worksheets or paperwork. Plan to have some classes outside, play games to practice lesson ideas, teach life skills such as cooking, baking, or crocheting, take field trips that correspond to lessons being taught, visit the library, spend the day at the park or the beach learning life science. These types of hands-on, going-outside-the-ordinary lessons are the ones that stick with children longer. They are the ones that your children will talk about with their friends and whose ideas and knowledge learned will stay with them. Just because you are schooling your children at home does not mean that you have to have “school” at home.

8. Re-evaluate as Needed

Not every curriculum or teaching method works for every child. One of the great attributes of homeschooling is that you get to personalize every aspect of your child’s learning. If the curriculum you chose does not work well with your child or does not meet your expectations, try a different one. Likewise, if the homeschool teaching method that you started the school year with does not work well with your family, then try a different method. Or if a month into school you realize that your child is more of a hands-on learner or more of an auditory learner, you can adapt your lessons to better work with that style of learning. It is never too early or too late to re-evaluate how everything is working and adjust your teaching style and curriculum to what suits your family best.

Final Thoughts

The key to a stress free and successful homeschooling experience is to keep in mind that there is no ‘right way’. Whether you are sticking to a brick-and-mortar style schedule or are going down the unschooling route you just need to focus on works best for your family. No two homeschooling families will teach or learn exactly the same way, and that should be expected, as no two families are the same. 

Homeschooling is a journey. Sometimes it may seem overwhelming, sometimes it can be frustrating, and sometimes you just can’t wait for it to be the end of the day, but once you are well on your way, you will find that both you and your children will enjoy it more than you thought.

If there is an important step that you feel that I missed out on, please leave it in a comment below to help out other homeschooling families.