Interested in homeschooling your child but don’t know where to start? This step-by-step guide for how to begin homeschooling, will help you see if homeschooling is right for you and how to get started today.
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Is Homeschooling Right for Your Family?
Whether you homeschool formally or not, God has called parents to be the primary educators and disciplers of their children. Homeschooling is a wonderful blessing that I am of the opinion anyone can do if they have a desire to do it. If it is legal to homeschool where you live and you have a nudge to step into the role of a formal educator as the state sees it, there is so much freedom and flexibility to homeschool in a way that fits into your life.
Benefits of Homeschooling
Time together: The bible says that parents are to instruct their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord- when they lie down, when they rise up, as they walk by the way.
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.“
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (ESV)
It is difficult to obey this command without quantity time with our children. Homeschooling allows us to spend our days together and be in tune with our children’s hearts in a way that being apart from each other the majority of the day, simply cannot accomplish.
Cultivating virtue. When you choose to homeschool, you get to choose the materials, ideas, and messages that are going to shape children’s affections. By nature, we are always moving towards God or away from Him. Towards His truth, goodness, and beauty, or away from these graces. As parents, we have the opportunity to lean into this privilege of giving them the best of ideas through the books, materials, and atmosphere of our homeschools.
Approach. One of the most appealing reasons to begin homeschooling is that you know your child best and can learn to teach them in a way that meets them where they are at. You get to witness the accomplishments and walk through the struggles. You get to be what Charlotte Mason calls a “guide, philosopher, and friend” on the journey of their education. There is no need to hinder the child so the rest of the class can catch up, and no need to label them as “behind” because they don’t match the level of their peers. Homeschooling can meet the child where they are at in a way that is respectful, understanding, and gently calls them to the next level of excellence.
Step-by-step Guide for How to Begin Homeschooling
Step 1: Understand Your State Laws
In order to homeschool, it is important to know your state/country’s laws. If you are unsure of the laws specific to your area, visit www.hslda.org to find out the specific laws in your state or country to stay compliant.
Step 2: Know your Why
After you have determined the legal side of things, I think it is important to write out your why, vision, and aim for homeschooling your child/ren. The questions that have been helpful to begin writing our family mission statement for education have been: 1) What is a person? 2) What are they for? 3) To what end ought we aim?
What is the purpose of formal education?
The classical tradition defines education as the cultivation of virtue.
A Charlotte Mason quote I love speaks to the affections of the child. What do they care about, and how does that affect how they interact with the world around them?
“The question is not, – how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education – but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?”
Charlotte Mason (School Education pg. 170-171)
These are important questions to answer to cast a vision and set your aim as you begin homeschooling.
Step 3: Research Homeschool Philosophy
Now that you know the vision you have for your homeschool, it’s important to know how you are going to get there before spending a bunch of money on curriculum. With a clear vision of what you believe education is for and what you believe about the personhood of a child, this will impact which philosophy you lean towards and which curriculum you will choose.
Here’s a quick little quiz to get you started: but beyond this quiz, I encourage you to read the book Educating the Whole Hearted Child and look into a few options that resonate with your why.
I am partial to the cohesive philosophy of a Classical Charlotte Mason education. If you want to know where to begin looking into this side of educational philosophy, check out my blog post here: How to Get Started with Classical Charlotte Mason Education.
Step 4: Pick Curriculum
Picking curriculum can be a laborious task of sifting through the weeds and being offered too many choices. It really is a blessing how many options there are to home educate our children today, yet it can be difficult to know the best place to start.
Here are some considerations for picking a curriculum that is right for you:
- Choose a curriculum that aligns with your educational philosophy and “why”.
- What are the most important areas of study you will need to cover? Legally, for your area, and also the ones you think are important to cover with your child.
- Know your season of life. Are you a single parent? Do you need something open and go? Do you enjoy pre-reading and lesson planning, or do you need lesson plans done for you? Is your child pretty independent, or will they need you next to them for each lesson? What can you realistically afford? Do you want to supplement with a few online classes or have a tutor come in for a subject? Honor the season of life you are in and pick a curriculum that will be a blessing, not a burden.
Step 5: Create a Simple Schedule
Once you have chosen a curriculum, set up a timetable so you can see how you are going to accomplish educating your child.
For more on how I homeschool lesson plan, you can check out the blog post here: Homeschool Lesson Planning Step-by-Step
Step 6: Gather Supplies
You have your vision, you know a little bit of the educational philosophy you lean towards, you’ve chosen a curriculum to try out, and you’ve created a rough timetable and schedule, now it is time to gather supplies. I suggest keeping things very basic at first- pencils, paper, notebooks, maps, and some art supplies until you know what you will use or need as you begin lessons with your children.
Here are my favorite homeschooling supplies to get you started:
Step 7: Start Small and Adjust
Finally, it’s time to start small and make adjustments along the way. Do not expect everything to go perfectly the first day, week, or even year of homeschooling. This mindset will set you up for failure. It’s important to keep a growth mindset for yourself and your children on this journey of home education. Take notes on what is working and what needs adjusting, as you go.
A couple of ways I do this in our homeschool are to keep a daily logbook and a Mother’s Diary.
In my logbook, I write down what we accomplished each day for each child, and I make notes in the margins. In the notes section, I mention specific notes on children’s attention, strengths, weaknesses, materials that would be helpful to order, adjustments I can look at making in the schedule, etc. When it comes time to plan for a new week or a new term, I reference my notes to remember and adjust accordingly.
My Mother’s Diary is a practice I do before beginning a term and at the end of a school year. In my Mother’s Diary, I take time to reflect on and pray for each child. This practice helps me to be in tune with my children and tailor their education to meet their needs. For a closer look at what this practice entails, you can watch this video below.
Let me know in the comments what you are most looking forward to about homeschooling your child/ren!
More you may be interested in:
- Homeschool Organization
- First Grade Curriculum
- Homeschooling Preschoolers: Tips for a Life-giving Day
FAQ
Is homeschooling expensive?
Homeschooling doesn’t have to be expensive. There are many free curriculum options online, through libraries, Youtube, and your local network of people. Who has a skill they may be able to offer? Does your church or local community have members who would be willing to come alongside you on this homeschool journey?
It may take some piecing together, but homeschooling does not have to be expensive. You can offer your child a rich education on any budget. I recommend using what you have available to you right now and build on it from there.
Do homeschoolers take tests?
Testing will depend on your curriculum and state requirements. Some curricula have tests built into the program. Certain states may require testing to be done every year. Look into your local laws to make sure you are including tests where needed to stay compliant.
If no tests are required, think about what you want for your child’s education. Are they coming up on an age where they can take college placement tests or need to develop the skill of test-taking to move into the next level of education? If so, you may need to look for opportunities to help your child succeed in the world of test-taking in their education.
Have another question? Feel free to leave it in the comments below or send me an email and I will do my best to answer!
