I never planned to homeschool, so when I started to think about doing it, I was starting from scratch. It was unfamiliar to me, and I didn’t know anyone personally that homeschooled their children. I did a lot of research and a lot of planning. I’ll admit, we definitely hit some bumps along the way, but overall a simple start up was key.
In this post, I plan to outline how I started homeschooling in hopes of helping someone start their own planning process. I am no expert, and what works for me may not work as well for you. Keep that in mind as you read through. Most importantly, I hope to encourage you as you begin these first exciting steps of planning.
We are going to start from the VERY beginning stages, because I think they are important. I started thinking about homeschool months in advance to when I actually wanted to start. When I began my own homeschool journey my children were 2 and 4. One would be heading into kindergarten the following year.
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1. Research and Read
As you begin thinking about and praying about starting to homeschool, one of the easiest things you can do is research and read about it. You can do this through novels or even different blog posts online.
I used to just scan Pinterest and read post after post from homeschool families. This allowed me to become familiar with names of curricula, the lifestyle, different terminology, homeschool styles, and the daily routines. I slowly began to gain confidence in what I was doing.
The following are a few book suggestions. Don’t feel like you need to read them all.
These are only suggestions. The first one is very short and an easy, quick read. It would be a great start.
Sometimes you can even scan through them. For example, I’ve read most of “Wild and Free”, but a lot of it I flipped through and read what I was interested in or had questions about.
“Teaching From Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakeable Peace” by Sarah Mackenzie
“The Call of the Wild and Free: Reclaiming Wonder in Your Child’s Education” by Ainsley Arment
There are hundreds of books about homeschooling. These are just a few to get started. As I mentioned before, you can also read through blog posts. Try searching daily routines or different homeschool styles. Look for a day in the life post to get a feel of the rhythm of homeschool.
Yours will be your own and not like anyone else’s, but I always find it helpful to hear about another experience.
You don’t need to choose a homeschool style before you begin.
You will read so much about different styles: classical, Charlotte Mason, eclectic, wild and free….don’t label yourself. How do you know your style if you’ve never even tried it?
You can definitely experiment with one that you find interesting, but don’t let it stress you out. I’m not even sure I know my own style. It’s probably a mix of everything! Why does everything have to be labeled?
2. Learn about the laws in your state.
In the United States, every state has different laws of things that you need to do in order to homeschool your child. I am in Texas, and it is a more relaxed state, giving me a lot of freedom in my homeschool, for which I am very grateful.
Other states require much more. Some have to take attendance everyday, keep records and grades, record hours, and give yearly assessments. You need to look at your state laws and decide if you can commit to the requirements.
One place to look is the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSDLA). This website is very informative and allows you to choose your specific state and read about the requirements.
Be thorough – read as much as you can and watch the videos. Make sure you know what you are getting into, so that it doesn’t become overwhelming in the middle of your year.
Click here to go directly to the home school laws by state.
3. Plan a budget
Not all parts of homeschooling are absolutely free. Decide what kind of budget you have. Don’t get me wrong, you can keep it very inexpensive. However, if you don’t have a plan, the costs will definitely add up.
Now, a confession: I am not the best budget maker. I did not make any sort of list or chart. If that’s your personality type, go for it. My point in telling you to plan a budget is to just make sure you are aware of the costs that will come up.
There are many different costs to consider.
First is obviously curriculum. I’ll talk more about this later in the post, but you need to decide how much you want to spend. Curriculum can be…addicting – seriously! Don’t get carried away. Set a plan and stick to it. I suggest to start small. We will talk more about this in bit.
You’re going to need school supplies at your house.
This is as simple as pencils, pens, crayons, construction paper, printer paper, etc… It may seem obvious, but these are all costs! Ordering these can be a bit overwhelming for me each year. Stick to a minimum list at first. Get your basic needs to get through the first few weeks. You can always add more as you plan.
Do not feel like you need to set up an entire room to homeschool – fully decorated and beautiful. Although it’s nice, it’s not necessary. My suggestion would be to start with a basic cart or tub that carries your supplies. As you begin learning together, you will slowly become comfortable in one area of your home. Then, you can decide to make it into a homeschool space, if you wish.
Are you planning to sign your child up for any extra curricular activities?
These activities get expensive. Right now, we only let our children pick one activity each, because that’s what works for our budget. Obviously, you don’t HAVE to do any of these extra activities, but if you are planning to, be prepared to pay.
The next thing to think about for budgeting is co-ops or groups.
This can get tricky to explain, because there are so many kinds of homeschool groups/co-ops you can be a part of. I will talk about this more below, but I’m mentioning it here because it does become a part of the cost.
Don’t forget about field trips or outings.
I remember dreaming about so many outings with my children, but when it came time to it, I couldn’t always afford it! You have to be careful. Plan free outings! Public parks sometimes have amazing free activities. A trip to a zoo or museum gets very expensive, especially if you have multiple children. Make a plan for field trip costs!
It’s important to know your budget before you start making purchases and signing up for things. It can easily get exciting and out of control. Set your financial goals FIRST.
4. Curriculum Choices
I love learning about curriculum. If I had it my way, I’d order it all, and have my own little curriculum read-through party. That would be super fun and amazing but very unrealistic. There’s a way to break it down a bit to make the decision process a little easier.
First, decide if you want an all-inclusive curriculum or if you want to pick and choose different texts.
An all-inclusive curriculum is one that usually comes with plans and all of the subjects wrapped in one big set. This would be great for someone that prefers a lot of guidance.
If you feel completely lost on what to teach, think about a set like this to help you start. Just because you pick an all-inclusive your first year of homeschool, doesn’t mean you have to do it the next year.
There are many different options to pick from, but an all-inclusive curriculum is going to be a big ticket item. It costs a lot of money up front – I’m talking hundreds of dollars, sometimes even a thousand. So, that’s something you need to think about if you decide on using it.
I have never used an all-inclusive program, but I know people that have and enjoy it. I couldn’t tell you the best one based on experience, but I can guide you to a few that I’ve researched or heard of people using in their own home.
The other option is to pick and choose curriculum for each subject.
This really isn’t a super hard task, but there are just a lot of options to choose from. You can easily fall into a trap of constantly questioning – is this the best one? Do your research.
Talk to people that have used that specific curriculum before. Read blog posts and visit the websites. Download samples – the samples are always the most helpful to me.
Look into social media. There are people on Facebook and Instagram (like me!) that will show you the inside of a textbook and tell you how it works for their family. Use a hashtag and search different curriculum titles. Look through highlights.
Come visit me on Instagram! Send me a DM and say hello! I love connecting with other homeschool families, and I can try to help you find more info.
Most importantly, once you pick something. Pray for peace and confidence and and go with it. It’s easy to question yourself, but if you’ve done your research, rest in knowing you’re doing what you think is best for your family.
So, what subjects do you choose?
First, look at your state laws and see what subjects are required. For your first year, I suggest sticking with just that! Don’t spend a lot of money on a bunch of different things just yet. Give it a couple of months. Start your year with the basic requirements and add to it as you adjust.
Now, if something is really important to you, like Bible, go ahead and make that a priority. Maybe you are a musician, and it’s important your child studies music – go for it. Just don’t think you need to add on everything right this minute.
Fine arts, a second language, typing, art study, hymns…these are things that can be added in to your routine in a few months as you are ready, and IF you even want to do them. Don’t overwhelm yourself. I’ve definitely fallen into the trap of buying text I thought would be so great and then never even using it – waste of money!
If you are interested, check out my blog plosts to see some of our curriculum choices. You can read about my most recent picks for first grade and preschool HERE and HERE.
5. Homeschool Groups, Co-Ops, and Communities
You can definitely start without finding a group. So, technically it could be 4 steps to start homeschooling 😉
However, I do think it’s important to connect with other homeschool families, so I want to add it in here. Having the support and community is encouraging and helpful. I’ll be honest, I struggled with this my first year. Unless you know a giant group of homeschoolers, it can be hard to connect.
Make an effort to find a group/community/or just a friend if you can. You can really benefit from the relationships and learn so much from others.
If you are struggling with this, pray about it. It’s OK if you don’t find a group or a friend right when you start your year, but don’t give up.
A few months into homeschooling, I met a friend at the library of all places. We were sitting together in a preschool music class. She is a huge blessing to me and my family and I cherish our friendship. I feel like as soon as I started questioning what I was doing, God placed her in my life to encourage me and keep me going. I’m forever grateful for that.
My suggestion would be to find a group in your area through your church or social media and ask around.
This will give you a better idea of what’s near you. My first year, I joined a few local, free homeschool groups on Facebook. People post all the time about events/activities in the area. There are also park meetups where I can meet other families and learn more from others.
We also tried a couple groups that required a small fee ($25-$50…I can’t really remember). They didn’t stick. My point in telling you this is don’t be discouraged. Don’t feel like if you can’t find a group, you can’t start. Pray, have patience, and don’t give up.
Our second year we joined Classical Conversations, and we love it so much. You can read more about that in this post.
You’re ready to start homeschooling!
It’s as simple as that! Now, all you have to do is dive in and start. Sometimes, this can be the hardest part. You may be worried about the planning process or your daily schedule, but you will never figure out a good routine until you just jump in.
I will share more in a planning blog post about getting ready for your year. However, one thing that worked for me was to start little mini lessons in the summer. This could be as simple as a craft, board game, puzzle, or reading a few books from the library. Maybe it’s a science experiment.
I would try little things during our summer day to see when it was easiest to work with my kids. Morning? Afternoon? Where was it easiest to work in my house? How long could they sit there? These are all questions I was trying to answer to better plan my year.
By doing this, I also realized that the more time my kids spent outside, the better our days went. So, that became a priority – get outdoors!
You will learn things like this too by just jumping in and trying it! If you have a summer or a break, use that to start experimenting. The last thing I want to say is this…
Your homeschool will not look like anyone else’s.
Stay away from comparison. It can be extremely hurtful to your heart and mind. Just because someone is teaching 4 fine arts classes to their children, that doesn’t mean you have to. Just because someone has beautiful wooden toys for every themed lesson doesn’t mean you have to.
And just because it doesn’t turn out EXACTLY like you pictured it, doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It’s all a trial and error process. You will adjust all the time in a way that best suits your family. Put God first. Put your faith in Him, and pray for wisdom in all that you do. Don’t depend on others to lead you.
Final words for this … start small. Homeschooling is a building game. Start simple, jump in, and gradually add to it as you wish. It doesn’t have to be complicated. You got this.
