Jump into homeschooling with the simple action steps in our Quickstart Guide to Homeschooling!
There are two types of people when it comes to starting something new—the kind that jump in feet first, and the kind that research and read and research some more. For the researcher, we have our “Get Started Homeschooling Guide,” and for those wanting to just jump in, we have this, the “Quickstart Guide to Homeschooling.”
Quickstart for New Homeschoolers
- Read about deschooling
- Deschool
- Then start homeschooling
- Don’t consider “summer” to be your deschooling time (it’s also not necessarily an ideal time for a trial period of homeschooling—it’s just summer)
- Read the rest of this article
Quickstart for All Homeschoolers, New and Returning
- Be legal
- Consider starting slowly this year
- A few days a week
- A short time each day
- Evaluate homeschooling based on your children’s response
- Are they engaged?
- What can you change to increase engagement?
- Are you meeting them where they are? or where you wish they were? Adjust.
- Find your people. Attend or create a social event:
- A Not Back to School event
- A park day
- A homeschool group activity
- A parents’ night out or moms’ night out
- A social media group for your area
- A homeschool field trip
- Think on these homeschooling truths:
- The desire to learn and knowing how to learn will be more important than accumulated facts or skills.
- There are no educational emergencies.
- There is no homeschool guarantee.
Quickstart for Unschoolers
- Remember unschooling is not un-everything.
- How will you partner with your child?
- How will guide your child?
- How will you facilitate for your child?
- How will you respect your child’s personhood?
- Keep deschooling.
- Live! Learn! Love!
Curriculum
Notice I didn’t mention curriculum to anybody.
That’s because most of you all think the curriculum is the most important thing anyway, so you’re all obsessing over choosing curriculum, and you don’t need a reminder.
So instead of a reminder to choose a curriculum, let me offer you the article “How to Choose the Best Homeschool Curriculum,” which explains the many things to consider when choosing a curriculum. Maybe you don’t even need one!
You might also like the free homeschool planners by TheHomeSchoolMom. They work for a variety of homeschooling styles as well as helping you plan other household activities that are important to a homeschooling family.
Homeschooling is Not School
Finally, to everyone, remember that homeschooling is not school. Make homeschooling your own, and make it about connecting with your children, which is what provides the context for all the learning!
Many of us have a school model of education in our minds because that’s how we grew up. Experienced homeschoolers know, there are many “school things” that homeschoolers do not have to do.
Enjoy your children, and aim for them to enjoy learning. Anything less won’t provide the full benefit of homeschooling.
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Hi, I am really considering homeschooling my child. How do I get started to becoming a homeschool mom?
Hi Crystal,
Homeschool moms get started by reading up on homeschooling. Read each of the steps above, and click on each link to read the articles that the links connect to. Use the information to know what to consider and what actions to take as you decide whether to homeschool. Good luck!
Hi there am looking for my autsim boy home school please let me know if you guys does home school services call me or email me [REDACTED].
Hi Almaz, TheHomeSchoolMom’s service is providing information about how to homeschool. If you need homebound services for a child who is enrolled in school, you should ask your school division. If you are looking for someone to homeschool your child, you need to find out if that is legal where you live, and then you need to look close to home for someone who is willing to provide what you are looking for. If you are seeking special services because your child has autism, you should contact your local community services board to see what is available. It may go by a different name in your state or community. A social worker who works in your county may be able to help you.
I sat down today to actually plan the upcoming first month of homeschooling for my two kids aged 7 and 5 but luckily I found your website. It’s amazing and tells me not to plan anything rightnow. It’s time to deschool and enjoy with my kids:)
My only concern is the 3 different levels I have. My youngest is 2.5. I hope I can cater to their individual needs as my youngest won’t let us do anything…I donot want to be a judge around the house solving their issues amongst each other.
Hi Madiha,
Yes, you can delay planning “school” when you first get started, but remember that “deschooling” does not mean “don’t do anything.” You do still want to involve your children in enriching activities. Make sure you read about deschooling here at TheHomeSchoolMom. You will find suggestions like reading aloud, taking nature walks, playing games, encouraging dress-up play, going interesting places, making art, and more.
During this time, you will begin to see how homeschooling might work best for them, which will help you pick resources and activities.
And yes – ENJOYING time with your kids is the way to start things off right! How wonderful! You will even learn more about how to keep the youngest one entertained while you are doing things with the others. This is what the deschooling period is all about!
Enjoy your family!
Hello! This is my first year of homeschooling my child. Any tips or advice you can give for Momma’s who are new to this? I literally opened up 18 more tabs to find more information. It’s amazing you have this website to help other homeschooling parents out.
Thank you!
I can relate about the 18 tabs! 🙂 I’ve bookmarked and favorited so many links and information that it’s a bit overwhelming. But this website is extremely helpful and insightful.
Hi Desiree and Jessica,
I’m glad you’re finding the website helpful.
We wrote this really abbreviated Quickstart Guide to kind of boil down essential first steps.
Desiree, I truly would look at all the articles we have on deschooling first – and carry out some of the ideas that we have in our article called “How to Start Homeschooling: Tips for Deschooling.”
There are many cool things to do there with your kids. I know that this does not sound like “homeschooling,” but I promise investing time in these things will get you off to a good start.
Just follow the other steps here – find out how to be legal, start slowly, assess how your kids are responding, and look for other homeschoolers in the places mentioned in the article.
But mainly – do the deschooling things so you can connect with your kids in non-schooly ways. Remember, it’s LEARNING that’s important – not necessarily “school.”
Good luck!
Jeanne
This is my real first attempt to homeschool. We can no longer afford tuition and I am disabled. Your website was a great first step! Thank you!
So glad the information you found here is helpful, Laura. We wish you the best in your first year of homeschooling!