How to Get Started Homeschooling
Whether you’ve committed to homeschooling this year or you’re still on the fence about homeschooling getting started homeschooling can feel like an extremely daunting task. This blog post is here to help ease some of your fears and give you clear actionable steps to starting your first year of homeschooling with ease.
Here’s what you can expect to learn today.
How to legally get started homeschooling for your specific state
What are the different homeschooling styles, and how to determine which learning style is the best fit for your family
Where to source curriculum and educational material
Socialization - how to find your homeschool community
Bonus: How to make money as a homeschooling Mom
Okay so lets get into it! I know you’re a busy Mama ( or Dad)!
How to legally get started homeschooling:
Every state is going to have slightly different legal requirements for homeschooling. Some require no notice like Texas while others require others like Florida require yearly educational evaluations. Don’t let homeschooling laws scare you though, in my seven years of homeschooling and connecting with homeschooling moms from all 50 states, I have never met a Mom that found her local homeschooling laws to be too hard to follow or too restrictive.
The best place to find what your local homeschooling laws are is to visit Http://HSLDA.org here you can search by state and easily see the requirements for legally starting homeschooling as well as the different requirements that need to be met. The main thing you need to look at is how to file a notice of intent to homeschool for your given state.
Next join a few online homeschooling groups for your state / city. These groups are going to be one of your best resources for figuring out exactly what you need to do to get started homeschooling as well as homeschooling resources you may not be familiar with.Don’t hesitate to ask questions in these groups, you will soon find out that homeschooling parents are extremely supportive and love welcoming new families to
“the club”
How to determine your homeschooling style
There are so many homeschooling methods to choose one, but determining your personal homeschooling style is actually pretty easy. First think about how your children learn best. Do they prefer hand on projects, reading, watching videos, or workbooks. Knowing this will help you to determine which homeschooling styles will work better for your children. Please note though that no homeschooling style is better than another, its all about what works for you and your family. Most families will adopt an eclectic style drawing inspiration from multiple homeschooling styles.
Here is a brief overview of the main homeschooling styles you will encounter. If you see a style that resonates with you, I suggest diving deeper into that style. Youtube is a wonderful resource for this.
Classical: This is your very traditional homeschooling method. Education is broken up into 3 main stages, each stage building upon the other. This method emphasizes life long learning, free thinking, and logical thought and depth of learning.
Montessori: Montessori is all about sensory and kinestethic learning and preparing children for real world situations. If your children love hands on learning Montessori is worth looking into.
Charlotte Mason: Charlotte Mason focuses on quality literature, beauty and learning through real world exploration such as nature walks, trips to museums and reading classic literature.
Unit Studies: The unit study method emphasizes taking a subject the student finds interesting and integrating the core subjects ( reading, writing, math, history, and science) practice into the study of that particular subject.
Traditional homeschooling aka school at home: School at home approach emphasizes using open and go curriculum and independent study methods such as online classes. You may even has a set school space and stricter schedule as well.
Unschooling: Unschooling focuses heavily on the child’s autonomy and the belief that all children are natural learners who will learn what that need to without a formal education, as long as they are fully supported and given opportunities to dive into their interests and the resources to do so. A structured Unschooling method we have chosen for our family.
Where to source educational material and resources
When your brand new to homeschooling trying to figure out what curriculum to use can feel like and endless black home, there are so so many options to choose from. The best place I have found over the years to find curriculum is youtube. Start by typing in your child’s grade level, the subject you’re looking for and whether you are looking for religious or secular material. Next you can narrow your search by looking for specific curriculum reviews. Youtube and pinterest are going to be the best resources for this.
If you’re looking for creative projects, unit studies, printable activities etc instagram, pinterest and etsy are the places to go for this.
Lastly I highly recommend creating a TPT / teachers pay teachers account. This site is geared towards teachers in a classroom setting however you can find a wealth of resources for all grades that are suitable for homeschooling as well.
How to find your homeschooling community
Homeschooling is 100% better when you have a community behind you. Depending on where you live you finding your homeschooling community may be easier or harder. The number one place to find a homeschool community is facebook. Just search your city and homeschooling. Join as many of these groups as possible and start attending events. If these groups are mostly crickets try hosting your own events or starting a homeschooling co-op yourself.
The next place I would look is local activities that have specific homeschooling groups/ schedules. For example a local rock climbing gym offers classes specifically for homeschooling students. Its a great way to connect with other homeschooling students.
Bonus: How to make Money as a homeschooling Mom:
While it is certainly not impossible to be a full time working mom while homeschooling, I have several close friends who are. It is more common to stay home home or find alternative forms of work while homeschooling your children. If you’re interested in alternative ways to make bring in an income while homeschooling keep reading.
I’ve personally focused on making money online since my oldest was a baby, as I quickly realized staying home with my children was going to be a top priority. Over the years these have been my most successful ways of making money online.
Start and Etsy account. If you are creative, selling on etsy is a fantastic way to make money. I personally create digital products for homeschoolers. You can check out my etsy shop here
Affiliate Marketing. Do you love sharing about products and brands you love? Affiliate marketing is another great way to make money online, the best part is you can do this mostly passively. If you’re brand new to affiliate marketing I highly recommend creating an account on Benable. This is the perfect site for beginner affiliate marketers. You can check out my account here and use this link to create your own account.
Create a digital product or course. Are you an expert in something? If so you can create a digital product like an ebook or a course where you teach other people how to do / achieve the thing you’re an expert in. For example I have a digital ebook that teaches homeschoolers how to implement interest led learning into their homeschooling routine. Check it out in my shop!
Network Marketing. I have been in the network marketing industry on and off for the last decade. While it gets a bad rap at times, with the right training and willingness to actually put in the work, its a very simple business model that allows homeschooling moms to make hundreds to thousands of dollars a month from home.
Start a blog! Blogs are such a fun way to make money online. With a blog you can utilize all of the methods listed above in one place. One thing I love about blogging is you do not need to be on social media to monetize your blog.
