How to Start Homeschooling: A Beginner’s Guide for Parents
Homeschool has been part of my family since I went to school way back in the late 1900’s. My parents were missionaries during my 4th grade year, so we traveled all over the continental US and I did school from the back of my dad’s 240 Volvo. Homeschooling was VERY different back then. Homeschool of today looks very different.
Today’s homeschool students have a tremendous amount of curriculum and options to choose from. There are still a lot of religious based curriculums, but more and more publishers are making less religious focused curriculums available as more parents choose to homeschool their children. There are also hybrid programs, unschooling options, unit studies and so many more kinds of homeschooling to choose from.
How To Start Homeschooling
When we decided to homeschool our daughter, we were just as lost as most parents dipping their toes into this new world. It may seem overwhelming at first, but we have discovered a few things that have really helped us along the way.
Check Your State's Homeschool Laws & Resources
Look to see if your state has a statewide co-op or homeschool supported organization. We live in Texas and found the Texas Homeschool Coalition(opens in new tab). There are numerous organizations like this throughout the country and they will be a great resource to help you navigate your homeschool journey.
You’ll also want to check with the homeschooling laws in your state. Each state is different. Some, like Texas, have very loose regulation around homeschooling. Other states may require you to officially register as a homeschool family, submit grades or other requirements.
We were also fortunate enough to find a free outdoors homeschool program through one of our local parks. Homeschool students spend 4 hours a month with park rangers, learning about the parks, native species and doing service projects in the park. They even held a science fair for all the students!
How to Choose a Homeschool Curriculum
See if your area has a homeschool curriculum store. We found The Homeschool Store(opens in new tab) near us and it has been a treasure trove of information. They tend to have just about any curriculum you will want, and they often have veteran homeschool parents staffed to help you find what you are looking for. Even if you find one a bit of a drive away, it’s worth the trip.
If you don’t have the option of a dedicated homeschool store in your area, take to Facebook. We’ve found countless homeschool Facebook groups, and even some local ones that have offered a wealth of information when it comes to finding resources and choosing curriculum.
Finding Sports and PE for Homeschool Students
If your children are into sports (as mine is) try to locate a homeschool sports organization. Some of these organizations create homeschool kid teams that actually compete with the local and public school system teams.
Your public school district may allow homeschool students to participate in sports within their school. This does vary state to state and district to district, but it’s worth investigating.
Obviously club sports are also an option, though they can be cost prohibitive. Some club sports organizations offer homeschool options. For example one of our local swim schools offers homeschool PE swim. It’s much lower cost than club teams or their regular lessons, and it gives our kiddos the PE experience they need.
How to Find the Right Homeschool Co-Op
See if there is a co-op near you that will be able to teach your kids the subjects you are not necessarily savvy in. We discovered Tomball Classes(opens in new tab) near us and they have been a HUGE blessing. They are an accredited “school” whose teachers are either retired public school teachers, parents who have taught homeschool for a long time, or professionals in whatever subject they teach.
Not every co-op is right for every person. We’ve seen co-ops that have very strict attendance requirements or require the parents of the attendees to also teach a class. These strict attendance co-ops didn’t work for us because we travel so much. It’s important to ask around, and do your research to find one that works for your family and your homeschool style.
Decide What Kind of Homeschooling Works for Your Family
Homeschooling doesn't have to mean recreating public school at the kitchen table. Traditional curriculum, online programs, unit studies, hybrid programs, co-ops, unschooling, and more all live under the title of homeschool.
The thing that shocked us most is how little time we spend actually in school. When you remove distractions of 30 students and all that entails, daily instruction is really only about 3 hours for us. This leaves so much time for student based learning, other classes, sports and more.
Sometimes the solution is a mix of different kinds of homeschooling. We do traditional curriculum, an online class, a few co-op classes, and a bit of unschooling when we travel. Everything starts to be an opportunity to learn. When we renovated our camper(opens in new tab), Issa helped and learned math skills, building techniques, carpentry, how to use tools, and she even built a box all on her own...all in second grade. The best thing about homeschooling is you have the opportunity to fit what works for your family and your kids learning styles.
Homeschool Isn’t All that Scary
The concept of schooling at home has been around since the beginning of time. Early man educated their children at home (mainly teaching survival skills) and this format was followed into the Colonial era. Schoolhouses didn’t actually arrive on the scene until the 17th century.
When I started my journey with homeschooling from the back of that 240 Volvo, there were basically only two curriculum options to choose from. That was it! While religion dominated the early curriculums available for homeschooling, in the last 20 years there has been a significant uptick in more secular and modern curriculums.
We get it, homeschooling can seem daunting. Many households have multiple children in multiple grades and one person teaching every one of these levels can seem impossible. The great thing is today, there are so many options, resources and styles of homeschool and you get the opportunity to build it around your kids, their interests, and your family. Don’t let fear deter you from the education your child deserves, do some research, ask around, and build a homeschool curriculum and style that works best for your family.
About the Author | Bill
Bill is the guy behind Stronger Than Fire. When he's not the unicorn of the homeschool world as homeschool dad, he's working in sports TV production or helping Chris out with their business Market Creativity. He's a lover of books, the outdoors, Star Wars, his amazing wife and daughter, and a quality odd printed fishing shirt.