There are numerous reasons why people start homeschooling. Possibly your child is already in school and it isn’t going as well as you had hoped, or your child isn’t school age yet and you are looking into different options. You may have already made the big decision to homeschool and now just need to figure out how to get started. If your child is currently in school, and it isn’t a great situation, please do not leave them there until you have all your ducks in a row. Get your child out of the bad situation and then figure out all the details. Now how to start homeschooling!
The first and most important thing to do is read the laws in your state for homeschooling. We live in Florida and this is our current legislation http://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/other-school-choice-options/home-edu/requirements.stml. This can look very overwhelming but all this means is that you either need to sign up for an umbrella school, of which there are many, or register with your local county. If you sign up with the county you need to keep a portfolio.
A portfolio is simply an artifact of what your child is learning. This can be textbooks, workbooks, pictures, field trips, art, documentaries, reading, anything that can be looked at to show learning is occurring. You also need a daily log. You can use a calendar, digital, dating work, again anything that gives information on what they are learning each day. Another requirement is a reading log. This can be an app such as Goodreads, library receipts, a list of books or pictures or any type of record that shows reading for the year.
Once a year, an evaluator looks at your records and if they determine your child has made progress (99% of the time they have), then they fill out the required information for the county. That is it, here in Florida! Across the nation there are different requirements. From my research, Florida is moderate in their requirements. When I meet homeschoolers from other states many times they have had similar requirements or if they are from California many more!
We discussed how to homeschool, now you need to decide the what to homeschool. There are numerous different kinds of homeschooling and this will help guide your decision. There is classical, eclectic, traditional, unschooled, Charlotte Mason, and many others. Once you know what type of homeschooling you want to do this will help guide your homeschooling curriculum choices. Honestly you may not figure this out your first year. Many times parents come to the first evaluation very nervous and apprehensive because they are unsure of themselves. By the second year they walk in proud because they’ve got this! My recommendation would be not to spend too much that first year. Try to get things used or look at things first because you really don’t know you and your child’s learning style yet.
Once you know the law and what types of documentation you need to keep, then start trying to build a community with like minded people. This has been huge for me. If my kids and I didn’t have the community of other homeschool friends, I would thrown in the towel long ago. This can be through co-op settings, support groups, field trips, neighborhood friends. Homeschooling is growing at such a rapid rate that there are so many resources to choose from, it can be overwhelming to choose!
Then you start! This is the scary part, but just jumping in is the best way to start. Blessings on your homeschool journey!
