We all have wonderful reasons to homeschool our kids, but it can be a challenging road lined with discouragement. When you decide to begin your homeschool journey, you may find the excitement of it all becomes shadowed by a complicated and overwhelming world of options, strong opinions, and a surprising lack of genuine support.
If you’re just starting your journey and don’t quite know what to do, here’s a guide to help you and your kids have the best beginnings.
All of us here at Family Learning Lab deeply understand the many challenges of homeschooling. And from our heart to yours – we genuinely wish you the very best in starting the most important season of your child’s education. You CAN do this!
Family Learning Lab & Co-School
p.s. Family Learning Lab Co-School assumes no professional liability for the advice you read on this page. We’re happy to try to guide you, but the responsibility to comply with all local legal requirements is solely yours. 🙂
First off, the foremost trusted authority for the legalities of homeschooling is the Home School Legal Defense Association, or HSLDA.
When researching your homeschool options (or helping a friend in another state) you should always check the HSLDA website for the most accurate and current information. Visit https://hslda.org/legal for the most up to date legal information for homeschooling in each state.
HSLDA offers a reasonably priced membership. HSLDA members receive homeschool related legal support and representation. Membership is often recommended especially for private homeschoolers.
More Freedom, No OversightCan Use Religious Curriculum
No Financial SupportNo Educational SupportHow to get started homeschooling with a PSA:
Access To Special Education, 504/IEP, Speech Therapy, etc.How to get started homeschooling with a charter:
Does Not Provide Funding For Curriculum Or Activities Charges Fees For MembershipHow to get started homeschooling with a PSP:
Now that you’ve decided which way you’ll homeschool legally, the fun can begin! Many parents sign their affidavit or enroll in a charter and then feel lost about what to do next.
Relax, this is the fun part!
Now you get to dream up what homeschooling will look like for you and your family. Will you gather around the dining table and do group lessons followed by independent work? Will your kids do online lessons followed by a fun art or science experiment?
Now’s the time to start envisioning what will be best for your day to day as you start homeschooling.
How you design your school days will be a reflection of your personal combination of child learning styles, your teaching style, and your life style. It’s a great idea to do some brainstorming on these aspects before jumping into finding curriculum. (There’s a LOT out there, so you’ll be glad you did this step first!)
If your child always has their nose in a book, they may enjoy learning primarily through literature. Literature based curriculum like Bookshark and Beautiful Feet curate collections of books and stories that provide the foundation for learning. If your kid is a self proclaimed book worm, a literature based approach may work very well for them. You can choose to follow a literature based curriculum, or even go out of the box and simply find book lists for each grade and subject, pairing them with projects or book studies you find online. Be sure to utilize your public library and online used book stores like Thriftbooks and AbeBooks.
Independent learners may have trouble sitting through assignments and lessons with others. They may be more advanced, or simply don’t want to rely on an adult’s direction to get their schoolwork done. Using an online planner like Homeschool Planet, Google Classroom, and/or online curriculum is often a great choice for independent learners. A simple workbook approach works well for these kids too. Independent learners can work with a variety of types of curriculum, as long as it is set up so that the student can complete assignments on their own. Some independent learners can even use their curriculum in tandem with the teacher’s manual to tackle their assignments solo. One note about these go-getters is that even though they may seem to be handling it all on their own, be sure to check in regularly and sit with them through one lesson in each subject so you can catch any snags and encourage them.
Hands on learners may have trouble sitting through a long lesson or reading long passages. Worksheets and workbooks might kill the joy of learning for them. If your kiddo can’t get enough project time, considering using projects and hands-on assignments as a foundation of your homeschool plan. Subscription boxes like KiwiCo and Mel’s Science are great for these types of learners. Homeschool In The Woods has fantastic project based lessons, too. Bookshark/Sonlight’s Hands On History kits are also a great example of hands-on curriculum choices. With a little planning, research, and organization, you could hit most subjects and grades through mostly projects. If you want something that relies heavily on projects but is organized and planned out for you, consider a curriculum like Oak Meadow.
Some kids absolutely thrive with structure, plans, and schedules. Wonderful! Choosing an all-in-one curriculum or all online curriculum would be a fantastic choice for these kids. Set them up with their own planners and schedules, too! Curriculum like Moving Beyond The Page, Abeka, and Apologia offer all in one curriculum that your structure loving kids will appreciate.
Eclectic learners don’t like learning in only one way. They may enjoy learning through books, online lessons, projects, and more! For these kiddos, finding a way to incorporate variety into their school routine is extremely helpful. It doesn’t have to be complicated, either. Try using stations throughout the house and in your school day like a basket of themed books for reading, an art station, independent work station, and add in a science friday or project day for max fun! Want to learn how to pair eclectic learning with academic standards? Take a look at our Eclectic Learning Guides in development.
Some kids just plain don’t like school. Maybe they’re struggling with a transition from public school to homeschool. There are plenty of reasons why some kids become reluctant learners and resist anything that seems like schoolwork. These kids need a creative approach to homeschool effectively and peacefully. Unschooling, gameschooling, life schooling, and road schooling are all fantastic approaches to educating kids that resist formal education. Unique curriculum like Life of Fred and Fun Schooling workbooks may work for these kiddos for a pencil to paper option. For reluctant learners, spend some time enjoying their company and studying what makes them light up. Then see if that inspires you in finding the right approach to homeschooling them.
Kids who are motivated by a very strong curiosity about everything are crazy fun to teach! These kids highly benefit from taking the reigns a bit to drive their own education forward. Unit studies are a fantastic approach for curiosity driven learners. Curriculum like Five In A Row and The Good And The Beautiful offer plenty of opportunities for rabbit trails that lead to unending exploration of topics that interest your kid. Pair some unit studies with a general lesson plan for the year, and you’ve got the perfect scenario for these discovery led students.
Discovering your child’s learning style and teaching to it is one of the most powerful and rewarding parts of homeschooling. And while our kids are of course our primary focus, you’re a part of this as well! Finding your own teaching and planning style is just as important to a successful homeschooling experience.
What kind of planner are you?
It’s helpful to first think about HOW you like to plan things. Are you the type of person that likes to just have some general ideas and then wing it? Do you prefer to have a paper planner so you can plan out everything and see it in front of you? Or are you a little bit techy and prefer to go the digital route?
There are plenty of approaches to lesson planning, so take some time to explore your options and choose one to start with. And if you change your plan every few months, don’t feel like you failed – you’re officially part of the club! Life has varying seasons, kids change constantly, and you’ll discover new approaches and curriculum constantly. Homeschooling requires a lot of adjusting to the many changes we face.
It’s important to note that most “boxed” curriculum will come with teacher materials. You’ll have some sort of teacher’s guide or manual that will teach you how to use the curriculum. You’ll also typically have a pacing guide which will be a suggestions for which lessons you’ll teach each week so that you’re done in one school year.
How many kids are you teaching?
The number of kids you’re teaching and their ages greatly impacts how you’ll approach teaching them. If your kids are close in age, it will be easy to do lessons and projects together. Some curriculum like The Good and the Beautiful work well for teaching many kids and ages together. However, if you’re homeschooling with a charter in the area, be prepared for specific requirements for each grade that can make group instruction challenging.
Here’s the moment to think about what will work best for your specific family. Read alouds at lunch time work well, math rotations for individual kids, subject stations around your home, and special days for certain subjects like Science Fridays are fun too. We’ll talk about community in the last section of this guide, but reaching out to other homeschool families with similar numbers and ages of kids can really help get some great ideas for structuring your day.
How do you like to teach?
Take a moment to reflect on how you feel about carrying the responsibility for teaching your kids. Are you confident and excited? Are you scared and feeling inadequate? It’s ok to feel all of those feelings! Your confidence level will play in to your curriculum choice perhaps more than you realize. If you feel lost and overwhelmed, give yourself and easy first year by considering an all in one curriculum. Pair it with the peace of knowing you don’t have to stick with it, do every little part of it, or even finish it! Then keep notes about what you liked and didn’t like and use that information to help you for the following year. A curriculum like Heart of Dakota is one very sweet and simple homeschool curriculum for little ones to start out with.
In your vision of homeschooling, do you picture yourself sitting in the living room teaching to kids quietly sitting in chairs and listening? Are you snuggled up around a book, or off on a field trip with notebooking journals? Are your kids getting their schoolwork done on their own while you’re setting up a project? Take some time to dream and envision your ideal homeschool days.
What is your lifestyle?
Homeschool families come in all types of shapes and sizes and schedules these days. Consider your own lifestyle to factor in to your homeschooling plan. If you have a predictable schedule you can start your homeschool day at the same time each day, gathering your children together and instructing them on what to do.
However, not all families can have a consistent schedule and routine. Maybe you have a baby in the mix or work from home on certain days. Maybe you share homeschooling duties with other adults. In these cases you just need a little creativity and confidence to do things your way. Remember, you’re HOME schooling! Your homeschool can adjust to you and what you need it to be! You can create blocks in your days, even homeschool at the dinner table or on the weekends. You can stay home, road school, and even use enrichment centers to offload some of your kids classes. There are as many ways to homeschool as there are people who homeschool.
Now that you’ve taken some time to brainstorm your kids learning styles, your teaching style, and your life style, it’s time to look at choosing curriculum.
One of the first culture shocks that many new homeschoolers face is the seemingly unending choices, styles, and options for the actual curriculum they’ll use to teach their kids.
And while there are a couple of charters that will require specific curriculum, most charters leave that 100% up to you with little guidance. (Just remember that charter funds can never be used to buy religious materials, and some charters may have more to say about your daily curriculum than others.)
Choosing a curriculum takes time, research, and patience. Here are a few tips to help you start the process:
Browse Curriculum At Your Charter’s Library.
If you’re homeschooling with a charter, take a day to go to their lending library or center. Most charters have libraries of returned curriculum that you can check out for free. Grab a latte and plan to spend a few hours looking at it all.
Visit A Brighter Child
We are very lucky to have a homeschool bookstore in the area! Take a trip or two to A Brighter Child and spend some time looking at all the curriculum there. They won’t have everything, but they’ll have enough for you to get an idea of what types of curriculum you gravitate towards.
Attend A Homeschool Conference
Go to a homeschool conference, especially for the curriculum fairs. This is a wonderful way to get to see many of the larger curriculum company materials up close and ask questions. Check The Northern California Homeschool Convention and the Homeschool Association of California Conference.
Visit Family Learning Lab’s Co-School
Once we’re open, we’ll be creating libraries of curriculum and materials that you can use at the center, buy from others on consignment, and borrow. You’ll also have the opportunity to connect with other homeschooling parents during our co-schooling hours and ask about what’s working for them – maybe even make some friends and double up on some lessons! 🙂
Sometimes families find themselves suddenly homeschooling, and/or may not have funds for buying curriculum.
Free Curriculum
Family Learning Lab Eclectic Learning Guides (in development)
Inexpensive, “Emergency” Curriculum
If you need something very inexpensive and in a hurry, pair Studies Weekly with simple English and Math workbooks until you can decide on your next steps:
Studies Weekly for History & Science
Flash Kids Harcourt For Writing, Language Arts, & Math
If you need to research curriculum further, take a look at Cathy Duffy’s website. This is a go-to resource for finding out which curriculum is religious vs secular. It’s also a great way to get a brief overview of nearly any curriculum you’ve heard of.
Having a support network and regularly being involved in homeschool community groups can really save your sanity when things get tough. Homeschooling can get lonely and frustrating, so finding a group of people to lean on is vital to starting your journey.
For private Christian homeschoolers, SCOPE is a fantastic group to join at the start. They offer help and support getting started, and local groups for regular meetups and field trips.
Charters often provide local meetups and family connections as well. If you’re homeschooling through a charter, be sure to reach out and take advantage of groups and field trips.
There are also wonderful homeschooling groups on Facebook, here’s a list to get you started in finding a Facebook community group.
And of course we’d be thrilled to have you join our #FamLab homeschool community here in Citrus Heights! We meet up for kid formed clubs, park days, and our Fun Fridays. Click here to see a calendar of our upcoming events. We’d love to meet you and connect you with other homeschooling families!
