I was asking this question 4 years ago, so I'm writing the post I wish I'd had. 🥰A little background: Our family began officially homeschooling when our oldest son was entering kindergarten. I wasn't homeschooled and only knew a few homeschooling families, so I had a lot of questions (and trepidation) about choosing a curriculum.Here's what I've learned along the way:+ An open-and-go, boxed curriculum can be very helpful for your first year. We used Sonlight (with no regrets!) and I have many friends who love My Father's World. You go to their website, select your child's grade level, and order the materials. All you need for the year - the instructor's guide, books, and supplies - arrives at your doorstep. You're ready to homeschool! This helped me feel confident that yes, I was doing enough, and had advisors ready to help me if I needed it.+ A trusted homeschool mama in your community is an invaluable resource. If there's a homeschooling mom in your church whom you admire, ask her all your questions. How did she get started? What curriculum would she choose (or stay away from) if she could do it all again?+ Start simple, as it will take a while to find your rhythm. For example, all that a kindergartener *really needs* is a reading/phonics program, a math program, and (for Christian families) a morning Bible/devotional time. If that's all you do for your child's kindergarten year, great! You can add history, handwriting, science, and other electives as you grow more confident.+ Remember that you may not land on your favorite curriculum or educational philosophy your first year. And that's ok! If you're interested in finding your homeschool style, I've linked a helpful quiz in my profile.+ After you've narrowed it down to a handful of curriculums you're interested in, I love Cathy Duffy's review site (cathyduffyreviews.com). Her reviews are straightforward and very helpful.
Deschooling definition: planned period of adjustment a child needs when transitioning from public school to homeschool. Understanding how long it takes and why the deschool process has major, necessary benefits in helping a child decompress and successfully prepare for switching to home school and formal school work. Get tips for de-schooling, learn how to start homeschooling with deschooling, the difference between deschooling vs. unschooling and more!
How to prepare for school closure during COVID-19. Ideas and activities for your kids while they stay home from school. Keep them stress-free.
Homeschooling families tell you what is unschooling and why it's the best way for children to learn.
You can teach any subject without a curriculum. Really. It doesn't take tons of time, tons of planning, or tons of headaches. I'll show you how.
Just a bunch of useful links! There are so many more sites than I listed but these are my favorites. Everything listed has something for free and most of the sites are completely free resources!
The best free online homeschooling websites, resources and printable worksheets recommended by 2,000 homeschoolers.
Download a Daily Homeschool Schedule developed by a Teacher & current Homeschooling Parent below OR use it as a template to create your own!
Homeschooling isn't exactly easy, but public school also has its own things that irritate and exhaust me. Check out the 20 things that drove me nuts when my daughter was in public school and how homeschooling has changed and benefited our family now!
Freedom Homeschooling lists free homeschool life skills electives for all grades. Home economics, personal finance, auto repair, and more!
Are you looking for a typing program for homeschoolers? This one gives kids excellent touch typing instruction. And they play fun games to cement skills!
The Internet is filled with so many good things we can do for our homeschools, that we often neglect the BEST things. Here they are in one post.
Hey fellow unschooling families! As we eagerly prepare for another enriching year of child-led learning, I can’t help but feel a rush of excitement and curiosity for the journey ahead. Unschooling …
To help with any teachers dealing with school closures or the possibility of home and distance learning, I've put together these Home Learning Choice
Why you don't have to have all the answers to be able to educate your kids! Plus, 10 questions to encourage self-directed learning.
Are you a beginner looking for some homeschool tips, hacks and help? These 8 moms - with over 50 years of experience between them! - offer their best homeschool tips and solutions to help you with teaching your children at home. These are real, actionable, practical tips that will get your first year of homeschooling started right!
how to set up a home classroom, preschool room, or how to create a cute relaxing bulletin board corner.
Teaching parents how to Homeschool high school
We have many homeschool families who have gone before us to guide us and give us confidence that we can create a useful, purposeful, and impressive homeschool transcript. So, let's dive into what colleges like to see on a homeschool transcript.
Teaching parents how to Homeschool high school
Considering homeschool this fall? Here are 5 Things To Do Before You Start Homeschooling from a homeschool graduate and homeschool mom.