Homeschooling is quickly becoming a popular choice for parents all across the country. One considering homeschooling or just starting out may not know where or how to begin. Resources and information for homeschooling can be found no further than a home computer or your local library. From homeschool laws and regulations to which curriculum to purchase, as well as where to find support from other homeschool parents, there is a wealth of information available at your fingertips.
What comes first?
Before beginning homeschooling, it’s important to know and understand the legal requirements in your state. HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association) is a great place to start. This site lists legal requirements that apply to homeschoolers in every state in the U.S. as well as information pertaining to special needs, high school students, and other issues that homeschoolers encounter. There is also a membership available for extra benefits. Our family has been members of HSLDA since we began homeschooling.
What about curriculum?
Once you’ve made the decision to homeschool, then it’s time to start thinking about curriculum. Many new homeschoolers believe that they have to be just like the traditional schools and teach from textbooks, have desks for the children, or put in 7 hour school days. Although their intentions are sincere, many homeschoolers soon realize that this type of homeschooling can lead to exhaustion on both parts, as well as burnout. A good point to keep in mind when teaching your own children is to find curriculum to fit your children, and not the other way around. One of the wonderful benefits of homeschooling is the ability to adapt the education to fit the child’s needs and learning styles. Homeschooling means “schooling at home” your way, the way that fits you and your children.
How about support?
Next on the list is to find support for your homeschool. There are homeschool support groups in most areas of the country where homeschoolers can get together, socialize, share ideas, coordinate field trips, and much more. If there aren’t any local homeschool groups, another option is to find a local homeschooler to talk to, ask questions of, and be a mentor. I value the homeschool veterans that were there for me when I was first starting out, and now that I have several homeschooling years under my belt, I’m always happy to give back and help others get started in their homeschool journey. I recently ran into one of those veteran homeschoolers that helped me my first year. I hadn’t seen her since late in my first year, because we had moved. She was thrilled to see that I was still successfully homeschooling after 5 years, and I was thankful to her for being there to offer support in that first year of our journey. I highly recommend a local support group. It will be good for you and good for your kids for support as well as socialization. We were blessed to be part of a wonderful homeschool group when we lived in Arkansas for a few years. I looked forward to our bi-weekly get-togethers and social events together, and so did my children. There is nothing wrong with homeschooling without a homeschool group, it’s just nice for a family to be able to spend time with and socialize with other homeschool families.
There is also online support in the form of homeschool forums and online communities like The Homeschool Lounge, The Well Trained Mind Forums, and Homeschool.com Forums. These are great places to chat with other homeschool parents, as well as get advice and information.
If you’re thinking about homeschooling, and have questions or need support, please feel free to ask in the comment section! I'm always glad to help!
*Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons*
*All ORIGINAL text and photos belong to The Homeschool Desk*
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