1.  Pray. It may sound trite, but bear with me.  Just as getting married can show you how self- centered you are, and having kids shows you have little patience you have, homeschooling teaches you so much about yourself…and often that includes areas that God is working on you!  And like those other two steps in life, becoming a Homeschool Mom will bear fruit in you, and you’ll see that every bit of your hard work is worth the struggle. (You’re a Mom, so you already know a lot about that.)    But don’t try to do it on your own power…you’ll wear out, your kids will wear out, and God has so much more for your family than a weary, dread-filled homeschooling day.  Pray for his blessing on your efforts daily, and lead the kids in praying for it before the start of school every day.  Show them that God’s in this with your family, and it’s not just that Mom and Dad got a crazy idea one day and nobody is really certain it was a good idea.
2.  Paperwork.  Figure out the basic paperwork (all of which you should ask your local state chapter for help with, or click here to find your state regulations in plain English).  It can—but doesn’t always—include these things:
   1.  Letter of Intent.  Nearly every state requires you to write a letter telling the school district that you will be homeschooling.
   2. Required subjects or days.  Some states have one or both of these.
   3.  Required testing  (not required in every state, or in every grade in most states where testing is required).
   4. Some states require extras, like a Charter school to look over your work as in the case of CA or AL or TN, and yet other states require you to show them an outline of what you’re going to teach, as in New York, etc.

   But honestly, the paperwork takes a day, maybe two.  That’s not really what you need to know to start homeschooling, any more than getting your car licensed is what you need to know to drive a car.   It’s a formality.

1.  Pick a methodology.   There are six methods or types of homeschooling, generally speaking. I’ve written a more in-depth treatment of them here:
   1.  Traditional.  Their textbooks are written by teachers, for teachers, and assume you’re going to do a 9 month school year and want to cover material in a traditional manner, with each year building on the year before.
   2. Classical.  The Latin people.  They follow Dorothy Sayers call back to the Trivium model, which takes advantage of a kid’s natural ability to memorize between the ages of 5-8, their natural desire to understand and question things from 8-12, and their desire to be grown up with the Rhetoric phase from 12-18.   These three phases of the Trivium produce students who are exceptional readers, widely read in the classics, and who make you pretty much embarrassed of your own education.
   3. Unit Study.   You would teach the same subject to several grade levels at once.  For example, when you’re teaching your 6^th grader about reptiles, you’ll also teach your 3^rd grader about reptiles.  Saves time and money, and keeps the family learning together.
   4. Unschooling.   This is a child-centered learning method.  You basically let the child and their interests direct what topics are covered and to what depth.   There is not a curriculum company for this methodology, as most of the content comes from libraries, hands on, and the internet.
   5. Charlotte Mason:  Charlotte Mason-another child centered methodology–rejected the “one size fits all” institutional method and instead emphasized the unique abilities and talents and interests of each child.  A more relaxed schedule with very short lessons for littles, and attention paid to using “living books” instead of textbooks,  her method appeals to the heart of homeschooling. More structure than Unschooling, less structure than Traditional or Unit Studies.
   6. Eclectic method:  you pick and choose each subject for each child alacart.  No one company or learning style is at play…it’s just whichever content looks like it fits your needs!For more on how to choose a methodology for you, see my article here:

4.  Pick a Curriculum.  First of all, see my article here on how NOT pick a curriculum.  But for how to choose your curriculum, I’d follow these steps:1. Pick your methodology above. Discuss this with your husband, and a few close friends who understand what your educational goals are.  Ask which methodology they think fits YOUR family best…(not which methodology fits their family best)!
   1. Make a list of the companies that follow that methodology (or, if you’re going eclectic, make a list of the companies that you’re considering for each subject.
   2. Discuss a budget. Going into the world of curriculum without a budget can backfire in two ways:   You can walk in and instantly think that you can’t homeschool for less than $1,000 because there are SO many great options….or you can inadvertently spend more on things that aren’t your priority.  If your child struggles with a certain subject, that’s the one that gets extra attention and budget priority, not the cool typing program, and monthly science kits (which are SO COOL by the way).
   3. Research subjects one at a time, in order of importance to you and your student(s). Don’t put off the subject you’re struggling with until last, because by then, you’re likely to have your head spinning with all the different terminologies, methods, etc.   Decision fatigue is a real thing, so try to prioritize the harder subjects/students.
   4. Make a goal of deciding on a certain subject by a certain date. For many homeschoolers, that’s tax return time…but either way, try to put some boundaries on your decision making process, so you don’t feel paralyzed with choices and indecision.
   5. Reach out. Call the curriculum company, explain in detail about your family so they get a good picture of what you’re looking for.  The vast majority will be honest with you if they think that you might not be a good fit for their curriculum, and they can likely answer some questions you might not even have thought to ask.   You could also reach out to other homeschooling moms you know (if you know any!) who share your goals, or who understand your family’s dynamics.  If you know an older lady who has homeschooled for 10+ years, she can likely give you some pointers without losing sight of your unique situation.
   6. Place your order several weeks before your start date. Obviously, for many moms, this isn’t feasible due to leaving Government school unexpectedly, or due to budget reasons, etc…but if it’s possible, go ahead and order your materials with plenty of time before you need to use them.  Get familiar with what is expected of you as the Mom/Teacher, have your child look over them so they can set their expectations accordingly, etc.
      Tip:  If you’re starting homeschooling at the start of a standard school year, it’s not a bad idea to do ‘trial homeschooling’ two days a week for the last few weeks of the summer.  Work out the kinks before it really ‘matters’ and make adjustments to your scheduling, etc as needed, before if feels like you’re under pressure to get a certain amount done every day.

5.  Plan a detox period.   If you’re new to homeschooling, give your family a few weeks to adjust.  Your students have been going to school since their earliest memories, and they need time to see what this new schedule will look like.  Also, if they’re in 6th or 7th grade or more, they’ve had years of exactly one teaching style: the teacher explains something, and puts the important stuff on the board, and then sends home a worksheet to help the kids who weren’t paying attention or who didn’t comprehend it the first time she explained it.  Now they’re being told that THEY need to read something for content, THEY need to read the instructions to themselves and use critical thinking to figure out what it even means! Not only that, but now Mom is here all the time checking in, grading things, etc.   It’s a big change for everybody, so don’t overload the first few weeks with academics.  Instead, plan this time for lots of ‘free reading’ or field trips, and spend only a few hours a day in the books.  Reestablish a new routine and daily schedule, and reconnect with them on an emotional level so that you’re both going into homeschooling with a spirit of acceptance.    (Often, folks are pulling their kids out in total frustration, after spending hours a night fighting over homework, etc….don’t let that frustration that led you to home school carry over into your first weeks of homeschooling.  Detox first, even if it’s only for a week.)  Another thing to remember is that your student is going to be adjusting, as well.  Don’t expect straight A’s from your straight A student the first week, or even the first month.  Often, homeschool curriculum is more advanced and so an A in government school might have been a lot easier to attain.  Don’t stress about it, and try not to let the student stress about it.

I hope this helps give you some concrete direction, and as always, feel free to reach out to me with questions and I’ll do my best to help!