This is a question that I get asked a lot and it is a questions that I asked when I started looking into homeschooling too. The below information will break the answer down into parts. It is not so overwhelming when you break it down.
How to homeschool is first done by knowing your homeschool state laws and regulations for your state. Next, if your child is enrolled in a public or private schools you must withdraw your child or children and follow the state’s regulations to let the school know you are homeschooling your child. Choosing a curriculum for your homeschool is another step in how to homeschool. Finally you need to find a homeschool group in your area.
I know homeschooling can seem overwhelming when you are first starting out. I remember those days, but following these 4 steps helped me out and I hope they help you out too.
Step 1: Know Your State’s Homeschool Laws and Regulations
First you want to find out your homeschool laws and regulations for your state. The best place to do that is Home School Legal Defense Association, HSLDA. Here is a little bit about, HSLDA, “Home School Legal Defense Association is a nonprofit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children and to protect family freedoms. They provide homeschooling-related legal advice and representation to our over 80,000 member families, promote homeschool-friendly legislation at the state and federal levels, and offer information and resources to encourage and support all homeschoolers.” Click Here to checkout the laws in your state.
Step 2: Formally Withdraw Your Child or Children From Their Current School
This step only applies if you child or children are currently enrolled in a public or private school system. If your children or children have never attended a public or private school and you are starting to homeschool them in Kindergarten, please refer to your State’s laws and regulations.
Step 3: Choosing a Homeschool Curriculum
Choosing a homeschooling curriculum can be very overwhelming for a new and even a veteran homeschooling parent. I always suggest to a new homeschooling family to look into an All-In-One curriculum their first year. This was suggested to me my first year as well and it really helped me. I used My Father’s World Homeschool Curriculum that first year and I’m still using it today. An All-In-One curriculum provides you all learning materials you will need for the year and a daily breakdown of what needs to be done that day by subject.
Below you will find more information about My Father’s World and 17 Popular Homeschool Curriculums. These two articles should point you in the right directions on finding a homeschool curriculum that works best for your child or children.
Step 4: Finding a Homeschool Group in Your Area
The final thing you need to do is join or find a homeschool group in your area. Yes they are great for the kids to interact with others kids, but it is also a great resource for all homeschooling moms and dads.
When I was homeschooling my first year, I felt alone, confused, scared and worried I would mess everything up. Then I discovered a homeschool group with a great support system. As a homeschool mom, we need to be there for each other to encourage, lift up and help new homeschooling moms to not feel alone and disconnected.
My first year of homeschooling was the hardest year so far. I’m not saying I’m an expert and know it all. I’ve been homeschooling for six years and I’m always learning something new with the help of my homeschool support system. My homeschool support system is made up of my social media accounts and my local homeschool group. I’m thankful to these wonderful Moms that are always there to lend a helpful hand when I need it. It takes a village and I have been blessed with a great one!
With the help of the internet, a support system is just a few clicks away. If there is not a homeschool group near you, look into Facebook groups, homeschool blogs, and other social media groups. Moms do not have to be face to face to answer questions, encourage or offer help and homeschool tips. Facebook groups give us the ability to ask/answer questions from moms that have been there and done that. Reading homeschool blogs give us ideas we may want to try, because what we are currently doing may not be working. Social media allows us to help moms all over to not feel alone and let them know they are doing great!
If there is a homeschool group in your area, I encourage you to join and attend some of the events. The kids get to make new friends, learn new things and the moms get to start building a support system. There are no wrong, dumb, stupid or crazy questions. We have all been there and done that and “Got The T-Shirt” and will probably do it again. If we have not done it, then as a group, we can talk and figure out something that works or might help. We all want what is best for our children and will do whatever it takes to make it happen. Keep calm and homeschool on!
If you are reading this and feel like you are alone, discouraged, disconnected, and have no idea what you are doing, you are not alone. We all have felt like that at some point in our homeschool journey. Please reach out to a homeschool group, Facebook group or Google some homeschool blogs. Checkout our Facebook Group, Homeschool Mom Helping Homeschool Moms.
How do I transition from public or private school to homeschool?
Deschooling is the transitions period for a child leaving a structured institution of learning like a public or private school and changing to a more relaxed form of schooling at home. This transition not only affects the child, but parents can also go through this as well.
This transition period can be a difficult and confusing time for both you and your child. For a child that has been in a public or private school setting, they have learned what happens and is expected of them there. But coming home for school, your child may not be sure what will happen and what is expected of them. During this period of time you and your child are both discovering the new normal.
It all boils down to patients and understanding for you and your child. This transition period will not happen over night. You will hit a few ruff patches along the way, but it will not be like this forever. Once you and your child find the new normal together things will move much smother.
How long should I deschool?
There is no set time that it will take for your child to go through this transition. The longer your child was in a public or private school the longer it will take them to adjust to the more relaxed form of schooling at home.
If you see that your child is struggling from the lack of their public or private school structure, try adding some fun learning activities. For example, go on an educational field trip or play an educations game. You can also add some engaging lessons during this time.
How do I start deschooling?
10 Tips to Help you start Deschooling
1. Be upfront and honest with your child. Help your child to understand that there will me an transition period for you and them. Explain that y’all will be learning how to homeschool together.
2. Find other Homeschoolers in your area. Most area have a homeschool group that has parties, field trips, park days, and just days to get together and learn. You can find these groups on Facebook, asking other homeschool moms, or even asking someone at your local library. Homeschool groups are not just for the children. You may also want to look into local Homeschool Co-ops.
3. Go on Field Trips. Field trips are one of my favorite parts of homeschooling. The children get to learn and have fun at the same time. Field trips do not have to cost an arm and a leg. Here is a list of fun and inexpensive Homeschool Field Trip ideas.
- Museums – they sometimes offer discounts to homeschoolers during weekday school hours, so check with your local museums to ask about homeschool field trip rates
- Public Library
- Post Office
- Police Station
- Fire Department
- City Hall
- Virtual Tours
- Zoo
- Nature Parks
- Aquariums
- Government Buildings
- Historic Places
- Military Landmarks
4. Be Creative. When I say be creative I mean, write a story and draw a picture about it, build something, make something or paint a picture. This should be a fun time.
5. Read Together. Find a comfortable place, a great book, and read it aloud to your child. You do not have to read the entire book in one day. Spread it out over a week or so.
6. Checkout your Local Library and the programs they offer. Our local library offers a preschool story time on Wednesday mornings, activities for school age children on Monday afternoons, and a great summer reading program. Libraries are not just a great resource for books.
7. Explore the outdoors. Exploring the outdoors can be fun. Here is a list of some fun things to do outdoors:
- Enjoy some time at your local park
- Have a picnic
- Take a field trip to a nature park
- Draw pictures in the backyard
- Notice all the different trees and flowers in your local park
- Go for a walk or a hike
8. Spend time learning your child’s learning process. This step may take some time. During this time, you will want to make notes of your child’s strengths and weaknesses. What subjects come natural to them and which ones they really struggle with. Think about what homeschooling style would work best. Then you will want to order a curriculum that fits your child’s and your family’s needs.
9. Watch Educations Videos on YouTube. YouTube can be a great resource! There are so many videos on so many subjects. Here is a great list of fun Science Experiments.
You Can Homeschool For Free or Little to Nothing?
Yes, you can homeschool for free. These days there are so many free resources out there for you to use. Some of them are your local library, YouTube, free online curriculums, free printable worksheets, Google fun and interesting topics to study, borrow old homeschool books from other homeschool families and field trips.
Homeschooling does not have to cost an arm and a leg. There are so many free resources out there that you can homeschool for free. Here are some that I found while doing a little research.
3 Free Homeschool Websites
Here are 3 Free Homeschool Website that you many want to look into to see which best fits your needs.
1. Khan Academy
2. Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool
3. K12
Free Homeschool Printable Resources
There are so many website that offer Free Homeschool Printable resources to fit your every homeschool need. Here are just a few website to get you started.
Free or Cheap Field Trips
Field trips are one of my favorite parts of homeschooling. The children get to learn and have fun at the same time. Field trips do not have to cost an arm and a leg. Here is a list of fun and inexpensive Homeschool Field Trip ideas.
- Museums – they sometimes offer discounts to homeschoolers during weekday school hours, so check with your local museums to ask about homeschool field trip rates
- Public Library
- Post Office
- Police Station
- Fire Department
- City Hall
- Virtual Tours
- Zoo
- Nature Parks
- Aquariums
- Government Buildings
- Historic Places
- Military Landmarks
- Other Free Resources
I know we have talked about free homeschool curriculums, free homeschool printable resources, free or cheap field trips, but there are still lots of homeschool resources.
- Your local library offers free books, educations movies, and free activities
- YouTube offers videos on any topic
- Netflix (cheap) offers education movies and documentaries
- Pureflix (cheap) offers educations movies and documentaries
How many hours a day do you have to home school?
This really depends on the grade level, the curriculum, and the homeschool family. For us it only takes about an hour for Bekah’s kindergarten level work and about 4 hours for Bailey doing 5th grade level. This does not include their reading time. For example, I require Bailey to read a book on his reading level for 30 mins a day or longer if he wants to. Bekah and I read a book together before she goes to bed at night.
How many days a week do you homeschool?
We homeschool 4 days a week. The reason we only homeschool 4 ways a week is for the flexibility. So if we want to schedule a field trip, attend an event with our homeschool group, or if with have a doctor or dentist appointment, we can without worrying about getting all of our school work done for the week. But just know that every homeschool is different and this changes from homeschool to homeschool. When you homeschool, you do what works best for your family.
What are the requirements to homeschool a child?
Every state has different Homeschool law and requirements to homeschool a child. Click Here to checkout the laws, regulations, and requirements for your state.
What certifications or qualifications do you need to homeschool?
According to the Coalition For Responsible Home Education or CRHE, most states do not require parent certifications qualifications to homeschool. But there are 11 States that require a High School Diploma, GED, College Credits, or the completions of a Homeschool Study Course.
Here are the 11 states that require qualifications for you to teach your child at home. Please make sure to check what your state’s qualifications are in the link above.
- Georgia
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
