How to start homeschooling

So you have decided to homeschool, but are not sure how to start homeschooling? These tips from a homeschooling dad of four will help you:

1) Do your research

As with any other new venture, you need to start by doing proper research.

The first thing you need to research is the legal nature of homeschooling in your country or state. Every part of the world is different in this regard and so I can’t mention any blanket ruling in this section.

Some countries leave the parents in complete control over their children’s education. There are others in which homeschooling is completely illegal, and a criminal offence.

There are some countries which do not allow homeschooling for natives, but allow it for expats. Some have strict registration rules but allow it anyway. Some countries may not have any policy on this topic at all, because it hasn’t been brought to their attention before.

The place to begin is the official website of the department of education in your country. Read the schooling policies and rules, and especially read their sections on homeschooling if they have one.

Once you have read that and familiarized yourself with what they say, the next step is to search online for homeschooling families, clubs, and organizations in your community and read what they say about the legal issues.

This step is important because often the laws are ambiguous and open to interpretation, so you will need the advice of experienced parents in order to figure out exactly how the law is implemented and how to prepare for it.

During this research, you will want to find out the forms of homeschooling allowed in your country, how homeschooled children are assessed for graduation and promotion, and what is required of you in terms of record keeping and paper work.

You should also check out the websites and blogs of homeschoolers in your country and read about how they dealt with legal issues to get an idea of the initial challenges with setting up. These days, it isn’t hard to find such information as almost any country has at least one homeschooling family who have their own blog.

2) Speak to your family

You need to make sure that your spouse is also on board with this decision. It shouldn’t be that one parent wants to homeschool while the other is against it. This will cause animosity in the home and will create roadblocks in way of getting started.

Hopefully, you and your spouse are reading and discussing this book together, or you will at least give it to your spouse to read after you. Whatever method you use, you need to get your spouse on your side, because you will need to support each other through the challenges ahead.

Speak to your spouse, research together, pray for guidance, and begin this journey as a team. This will ensure a smooth transition into this new and exciting family lifestyle.

(Above two points extracted from my eBook: Homeschooling 101)

3) Visit a homeschooling family and spend time with them

If you are still unsure how to get started or even if you should pursue this option, visit a homeschooling family. (with their permission of course) Tell them that you want advice on how to start homeschooling. Ask them for permission to observe how it is done.

Spend some time with them and observe how they homeschool. Notice the impact that homeschooling has in their lives.

Spending time with a homeschooling family provides you with a framework for how it works. It also shows clearly the impact of homeschooling in the lives of children and parents. This is an excellent step if you want to learn through experience and observation.

4) Work with your family on it

Homeschooling is a family effort. Everybody needs to play their part. Discuss it with your children and make your expectations clear. Let them know that homeschooling is a privilege and if they don’t play their part, you will have to choose an alternative method of education. (Most kids hate school, so would jump at the opportunity to try homeschooling)

Get your spouse to assist in any way they can. Work together in choosing a room, setting it up, budgeting and splitting the workload. Together, you can accomplish so much more.

For more details on how to start homeschooling, join our online course. Click here to access the course at HALF PRICE.