When To Start Homeschooling

More than one million children are being home schooled in the Unites States today and more and more parents are choosing this road every day. But do you know how to start home schooling? ¹⁴

Your permission to teach your children comes from God, and your ability outweighs what a public education could give your child. Once you are committed to start homeschooling, you will be able to provide the best education for your children. ¹¹

If you believe home schooling is the right choice for your family, but you are intimidated by the amount of work, the change in lifestyle, and the question about your own qualifications, you are not alone. Even veteran home schooling families question how they are doing and how their children will turn out. The main qualification is a desire to teach your children at home; the rest are just details. Following are a few tips to help you as you begin your home schooling adventure. ⁹

When you start homeschooling you will be concerned about money. Homeschooling can be free or low costing. If you can afford to purchase some curriculum items, do so prayerfully and with caution. ¹¹

Find a support group. Home schooling has become so popular that home school groups have popped up in nearly every area of the country. Even if you live in a very rural or unpopulated area, chances are there are home schooling families not far from you. Ask around at local libraries, churches, and even at the local public school district. A support group is important for beginners: the other moms and dads will encourage you, and your children will meet new playmates. Support groups will also answer your questions, help you understand the changes in lifestyle that you may face, and they will assure you that you are not alone. ⁹

Isabel Shaw is a freelance writer and homeschooling mom of 15 years. She and her husband Ray homeschool their two daughters, Jessica and Amanda. ⁵

Before purchasing a traditional, expensive curriculum, study up on what's out there. Attend a home school conference, go to the seminars and talk to the curriculum vendors. There is a whole plethora of materials out there with something for every type of child and every type of parent. Beginners should just start with the basic requirements for their state, such as math, language arts, history, science, and physical education. The time will come later for branching out into foreign languages and upper level artwork. And it is important to remember that if you buy a curriculum with which you are not happy, be open to changing in mid-stream. ⁹

If you start homeschooling your children at the age when they would normally go to public school, you can ease them into a routine. You can teach one subject at a time until you have seen some success. Then you can move on to reading, handwriting, and creative writing. Basic math will eventually come into the picture. ¹¹

Never doubt your qualifications. Whether you are the proud owner of a doctorate degree in education or if you never finished high school yourself, you are qualified to teach your child. Some states require certain certifications or educational levels, but know that the only real qualification for home schooling is a love for your child, the desire to educate him, and the ability to obtain good curriculum materials. Most parents will find that even if they have earned a higher degree, they learn right along with their children. ⁹

If homeschooling is started when children normally start school (5-7), there can be an easing into routines. One subject can be taught at a time, staying with that subject until some measure of achievement is reached. Start with phonics, then, none at a time, go on to reading, handwriting, creative writing and finally basic math. This simple technique keeps the pressure off, which in turn keeps a love for learning alive. Moreover, there is only a minimum time requirement. If your child is older and you are taking him or her out of institutional schooling, there might be more time required at first. In order to find the time for homeschooling, you may have to make a decision to eliminate unnecessary activities, wasted time. ¹⁰

All school subjects will be built upon the mastery of reading. Today many parents with children in public or private schools find themselves having to re-teach reading. This shouldn't be, as the school has the child many hours per day to teach this basic of basics. In the schools and in the home, the exclusive use of phonics will result in children who can read well. ¹⁰

The absolute best thing you can do is to model how important education is! Set a good example by admitting if you don't know something & then finding the answer! You will ultimately find yourself learning right along with your kids! ¹

No matter what curriculum or path you follow, be prepared to ditch something if it doesn't seem to be working. That is one of the beauties of homeschooling! You will be doing a lot of tweaking of this nature the first year or two, especially if you have taken them out of a public or private school. You will also find yourself tweaking as your children get older & their learning styles & needs change. Your best bet that first year or two is to buy things used whenever possible so that you won't be quite so hesitant to drop it if it isn't working. You may also want to keep in mind that anything you are no longer using, some other homeschooler may be looking for! ¹

Set up a schedule. Sit down and carefully draw up a schedule (timetable) for your first home school year. This needs to be a detailed schedule starting with a broad overview and then breaking this down into a day-by-day plan. ¹⁴