Steps for Homeschooling your children

Homeschooling your children can seem intimidating. With a little preparation, however, you can do a good job educating your children outside of the mass schooling system. Homeschooling allows flexibility of the family schedule and a relaxed atmosphere in which children can learn. Homeschooling takes much less time than traditional schooling because much more material can be covered in a shorter time period on a one-on-one basis and there are fewer interruptions for disciplining other children and various time-eaters such as commuting and recess.

1. Find out your state’s homeschooling laws. Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, with varying degrees of reporting and testing requirements ranging from none at all, to curriculum approval and home visits (though this is rare–only six states are classified as high regulation: North Dakota, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Massachusetts). Notify the district that you are pulling your child out of school, if required by law.

2. Let your child “de-school” after leaving the public school system, by simply allowing her to indulge in hobbies and interests, read what captures his attention and in general just relax. This allows the child’s mind to reset from the programming he received in public school, similar to the de-briefing period that military personnel go through following a deployment. A good rule of thumb is to de-school for about one month for every year she was in traditional school.

3. Choose a curriculum or design your own. There is a wide variety of pre-packaged curricula available in both secular and Christian themes. Putting your own study materials together can also be fun–you can allow the child’s interests to influence your book choices, which increases his or her motivation to learn. Workbooks in core subjects such a math and reading are available at bookstores everywhere.

4. Incorporate as many subjects as possible among students at different grade levels. Subjects like history and science can be taught to more than one age of child at a time. Reading out loud to multiple children at once is particularly effective and enjoyable. Following exposure to a concept, older children can be assigned more complex work on the topic while younger ones do a simple experiment or craft related to the material.

5. Join a local homeschooling group. With between one and two million children being homeschooled nationwide, nearly every area has a group which gathers for playdays, field trips, co-op classes and more. The support of a group is invaluable–the experience of other families eases the homeschooling journey and creates many opportunities for interaction and enrichment.