Are you considering homeschooling your kids this year and don’t know where to begin?
Are you ready to make your child’s learning centered around him or her as an individual? Homeschooling is the answer- a fulfilling adventure where you take charge of their learning. Teaching your children can give you just that and who knows you make just learn and thing or two yourself.
Like when you go to the park and learn about a katydid, “That’s right I had no idea”. It makes it fun and exciting for everyone, and you and your kids are learning together.
You are also building skills and memories that will last a lifetime, both for you and your children.
We are going to go over the steps to getting you started with homeschooling your children today.
Do you realize that you have the power to be a homeschool teacher for your kids?
When your little ones bring home their schoolwork from traditional school, you are the one that helps guide them through the lessons. So you see you are already educating your kids.
It began at birth! From the moment your little baby was born, you have been teaching the child to hold a spoon, a bottle, or a cup, to walk, and to color. The list goes on and on. Why do we think that our job stops at a certain age?
Take advantage of this opportunity to begin homeschooling, connect with your children and make learning enjoyable. Who knows, you might even uncover a new passion or interest while you’re at it. Enjoy your homeschooling adventure!
Many things can be homeschooling. When you are out grocery shopping, and you are teaching your children to watch for the best price. Undeniably you are teaching them comparison shopping. The one thing to remember is you are homeschooling.
Everyone has a beginning. Our homeschool journey started when my oldest son, now all grown up with a toddler of his own was beginning kindergarten.
In any event, we didn’t know much about homeschooling at the time. Though we didn’t know it at the time, God was guiding our journey before we even started homeschooling. Through him, we were able to connect with individuals who were able to impart invaluable knowledge and experience about homeschooling our son.
It was clear that God had a hand in bringing these people into our lives, and we are grateful for their assistance in navigating this new chapter of our family’s journey.
I’m here to help you with some of the things that you will need to know to begin schooling your children at home.
CHECK LOCAL HOMESCHOOLING LAWS FOR YOUR AREA
When beginning to homeschool you will need to check local laws in your area. Each state has different requirements for homeschooling. Some states have more stricter rules to follow and some states don’t have much for you to do to comply. Following these laws are the only prerequisite to homeschooling legally in your area. Some states just require you to keep attendance for each child. The number of days varies in each state. In this situation, that is all that is needed for homeschooling in the state of Alabama.
However, in Florida. You had to keep attendance, a portfolio for each student as well as each child had to have some type of evaluation.
This showed that the child was advancing in the grade that he or she is in. Since laws are subject to change, it’s always best to keep up with your state’s homeschooling laws.
One of the best places to check out homeschooling laws would be to visit the HSLDA.org
This stands for the Homeschool Legal Defense Association. Also, they have many resources to help new homeschooling families on their way. You can become a member of HSLDA.org.
According to HSLDA’S website.
One-year HSLDA membership for as little as $12/month. Become a member today to get:
- Answers specific to your homeschool journey.
- Protection for your right to homeschool in the courts and legislature.
- Detailed instructions for homeschooling legally in your state.
- Help with choosing curriculum and getting organized.
- Caring support. No matter how many questions you have.
- The power of 100,000+ families in your corner.
- More time, more confidence, and more peace of mind.
To learn about your state’s homeschooling laws Click Here
WHAT CHOICES DO YOU HAVE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY?
First of all, you need to decide who you will have as a homeschool cover. This is someone who keeps your child’s records to show he or she is indeed homeschooling. A covering is sometimes called an umbrella school or a private school.
Some states allow the county you live in to be your covering for school.
In states such as Florida, they give you the choice to homeschool through the county or through an umbrella school. Although, states such as Alabama do not have the option of schooling through the county.
So, you must homeschool through an umbrella or private school.
JOIN A LOCAL HOMESCHOOLING SUPPORT GROUP
There are many benefits to joining a local support group. When my husband and I started exploring the idea of homeschooling. It was a support group that help guide us along our way. We were searching for a curriculum to purchase for our son. Moreover, we would have bought an expensive program that we would not need until much later.
The benefits of joining a group are:
- Doing activities with other families and children
- Doing co-ops or park days
- Some groups have guest speakers to come in regularly and speak to the families.
- Do science or history fairs
- Some groups like the one I was in at the time additionally, had their families grouped off like a Sunday school. You went in and decided which smaller group you wanted to sign up for.
- Support groups can help you with resources
- There is encouragement and help with support groups and moreover, there is something for everyone.
- Field trips
- Activities with children of all ages.
- Crafts
- Christmas parties
My family is no longer in a homeschooling support group although, we are in a Christian (umbrella) or private school. Nevertheless, in a family of 8 children. My kids had plenty of other children to bond with or be their friends. Undeniably, though our children do have friends outside of our family. My husband is a minister, and we are always involved in church activities. The children get plenty of social activities with others.
A word about being sociable. When we were in the support group. There were so many activities and things to keep the children involved. If we would have done them all we wouldn’t have had time to do our studies adequately.
GET A LIBRARY CARD
Getting a library card is a must-have if you don’t already have one. Resources from the library can be added as a supplement to the curriculum of choice not to mention you can use the library as a stand-alone resource. If your budget is tight and you can’t purchase a pricy program at this time. You can make the library work for you.
If you go online and research the scope and sequence for your child’s grade, this can be a valuable resource to have. The scope refers to topics, content, or skills to study for that grade. Then the sequence refers to the order in which you present each topic. Each curriculum has its own scope and sequence.
This will give you an idea of what topics or content is introduced in each grade. Though remember, it’s just a tool. Each child learns differently, so each program needs to be tailored to your individual needs. Some children may excel, or you may have a student that needs more repetition before moving on to the next concept. That is the beauty of homeschooling in that, you can adjust your curriculum to meet your specific needs. Each child is different and so are their learning styles. I have 8 children and what worked for one of them might not have worked for another.
You can search out spelling lists on the internet as well as books your child could read for his age. The library is a good resource to check out these books for the most part, instead of having to purchase all your reading books.
Lastly, the library has educational videos you can borrow. Also, some libraries have educational items you can borrow, and some have hooked on phonics. As well as books that are read to them. The library is a fun place to go with many resources that don’t cost you anything.
DECIDE ON YOUR CURRICULUM
After you have completed all your paperwork and sent in all your documents to the local school board where you live or did paperwork for the umbrella school you are attending. Now it is time to search out a curriculum and resources for your homeschooling journey. There are multiple options for you and your family.
Is your child an auditory learner or a visual learner? An auditory learner is a learning style in which someone learns through listening. By the same token, a visual, learner needs to be able to see what they are learning.
Do they like books or would a computer program be more suited for your student?
Answering these questions will help in deciding what program you need to use.
With the flexibility of homeschooling. You the parent are at the helm of your homeschooling ship so to speak.
ON A FINAL THOUGHT
Homeschooling your children can be a fun and rewarding experience if done correctly. Yet, what I mean by doing it correctly is. Is just making sure to have the paperwork done with the state you live in, and to keep good records for each one of your children if that is required by your state. After that, you have taken the first step to educate your kids in a way that you see fit. Make it a great time that you can spend with your children equally educating them in a way that they enjoy and have fun learning. Childhood only lasts for so long and suddenly, they grow up faster than we want.
I know I just finished up my 5th child a couple of months ago of writing this. I now only have 3 kids left in school. I want to enjoy it as much as I can.
You can do this. You have got this. Believe in yourself and trust God to lead you on your homeschooling journey. Just remember, that you are the best for your children.
“I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHICH STRENGTHENETH ME” KJV
If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will get back to you.