I have been homeschooling my children for 23 years. I have seen people begin their homeschool journey and stop their homeschool journey. But until 2020, I have never seen so many people decide to homeschool all at one time.
For many people the Covid-19 pandemic has been the deciding factor in the decision to homeschool. After a year of online classes and in person classes that kept switching to online, families realized that they were in essence already homeschooling. They realized that they were implementing the lessons that the teachers gave them. They realized that it wasn't as scary as they thought it would be. And for some they decided that if they were already spending the time teaching their kids, they might as well choose what they were going to teach.
If you are one of these people, welcome to the homeschool community. If you are a little frightened at taking this big step, don't be. It really isn't as bad as you think. Once you have made the decision to homeschool, your first step should be to the Homeschool Legal Defense website, or your own state homeschooling website to figure out what you need to do in your own state to be legally homeschooling. Each state is a little different and you want to make sure you are on top of the law.
After you have handled the legal stuff, now you are ready to tackle the education stuff. Take time to breathe and let your children "unschool" for a bit. Homeschool will not look like "school" but at home. You won't find many homeschoolers sitting at desks in a classroom in their home. You will need to figure out what works for your family. This is a great time to search for other homeschoolers in your area and ask for help.
You will obviously need to actually teach your kids something in order to stay legal. Most states require the basics: reading, writing, math, science and social studies. Some states will add other subjects like arts, physical education and even fire safety. Know what you need to cover and go from there. There are so many great websites to help you choose curriculums if you want a boxed curriculum. Cathy Duffy is a go to if you are looking for some honest reviews. Rainbow Resource is a wonderful online store that caters to homeschoolers. (But be warned, you can get overwhelmed looking at the huge volume of resources they offer.) In the meantime, use your local library. Make sure your kids are reading a variety of books. You may even find used curriculum stores or used curriculum sales in your area where you can spend some time looking at the books to see if they would be a fit for your family. Not to mention, you can save quite a bit of money buying used.
The best advice I can offer you, is find a community. Other homeschooling families will help you navigate the laws in your area. They can help you organize field trips. They can provide the friendships that your children will miss when they stop attending school every day. And they can encourage you when you are feeling down.
Welcome to our world,
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