Summary: Getting started homeschooling is not hard to do. These tips and resources can help you to get started whether for your kids or your teens. #homeschooling #twiceexceptional #howtohomeschool #gettingstartedhomeschooling #homeschoolhighschool This post may included affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our homeschool, and click here for my disclosure policy.
Many families come to homeschooling after having used the public schools for awhile.
And now with the times we are in, with Covid-19 and all, many public school families find themselves suddenly homeschooling. Others are finding that their child's educational needs just are not being met in the schools.
We welcome you to our homeschooling community.
Many families are asking now, how do I really get started with it all? There are many questions that can pop up, such as:
- How do we get started?
- What about homeschool reguulations
- What about homeschool curriculum?
- Where can I find support?
1. HOW WE GOT STARTED
First, here is a little bit about our story. We decided to start homeschooling early on. Our daughter was already reading as a 4 year old, gifted/2e kiddo.
She was SO ready for kindergarten but was too young. In fact, we would have had to wait 2 more years for her to be at the right age to start K, due to her late birthday.
Why We Chose Homeschooling
The biggest reason that we went the homeschool route, was that we wanted to be able to keep our daughter challenged, and at the same time, meet her special needs as a 2e kid.
Our child would have been miserable waiting to start Kindergarten until she was 6.
And at the same time, we worried that if she was in a big classroom, she would probably have attentional issues.
Many kids with ADHD and sensory issues do better learning at home than in a public school setting.
Homeschooling allowed us to meet her where she was at, challenge her intellectually.
Ours had sensory issues and was a sensory seeker as a young child. Learning at home let her take summersault breaks, bounce across the room on an exercise ball, etc. Things that of course would not be possible in public school.
We also could choose her curriculum and even the style that we wanted to use in our homeschooling. The freedom was priceless as we went about trying to meet
our daughter's needs.
So we took the plunge early. I
read about homeschooling, talked with my friends who were doing it and got some inital ideas from them.
All of these things thought, really didn't help me to build up my confidence for homeschooling.
Until I started reading. One of the most helpful books that I found as a newbie homeschooler was the
Unofficial Guide to Homeschooling.
It included discussions on making the decision, how to go about learning about your state's homeschool regulations, and much more. But suddenly homeschooling, we don't have time to read through a lot.
So here is my guide to getting started with all those things.
2. STATE HOMESCHOOL REGULATIONS
Each state has their own homeschool law and regulations.
As
Washington state homeschoolers, we found that in our state, there were few regulations for learning at home. In WA, those don't start until the child turns 8. But this varies from state to state.
After that, our state law laid out the subjects that needed to be covered each year, and the annual testing that also needed to be done.
Each state has it's own homeschool law, and they are quite varied. Some states ask for annual testing, some do not. Our state allowed us to
test our own child at home.
Finding Your State's Homeschool Regs
To find out your state's homeschool requirements, a good source is the site called
HSLDA, which lists that information
here.
When I first looked at that site, I was overwhelmed. But I found out that it was not hard to deal with our law.
In almost every state, homeschooling gives families the freedom to choose what curriculum they want to use. Most states also ask for annual testing to be done.
Homeschool Testing
When you are first getting started, I would not worry at all about homeschool testing. No state requires that until the end of the year, anyway.
And some states only ask for it every three years.
Did you know that homeschoolers actually test higher than their public school friends? In Washington state, we needed to test our child each year, starting at age 8. But that was not hard to do, at all.
Will you need to do annual testing? That depends on your state and their homeschool law. Check above to find your state's regulations, and plan on learning how to do testing in your area, if that is required.
We tested at home each year. That allowed us to provide an optimal environment for our daughter. Yes, your child can be tested at home, in most states. At home we set things up so that our daughter had the best environment for testing. We could even
adjust her annual testing.
3. WHAT ABOUT HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM?
This freedom was especially helpful when it came to learning resources and curriculum. The homeschool community now has tons of homeschool curriculum. In fact, that can even feel overwhelming, with so many choices out there.
One of the first things I did to find curriculum for my child, was just to visit our local teacher's bookshop. There they had a number of resources for all ages, up to 8th grade.
I just picked out a few preschool/early learning things, with my daughter's help. If she was interested in bugs, we got something on that topic. The library was of course a great resource, too.
And many homeschool families encourage the child to take the lead and follow their interests iin their learning. One year, it was all about penguins in our house!
Some Sources for Homeschool Curriculum and Resources
There are many places to look to get started. There are even sites that have reviews of curriculum, from families who have already used them.
If you are looking for homeschool curricula ideas, there is a site called
Cathy Duffy Reviews, that has been going strong for years, and has reviews on most everything homeschool related right there.
I also write homeschool curriculum reviews on a site called
The Curriculum Choice, which features reviews by homeschool moms who have used the resources in their homeschools. Although they are mostly Christian focused,
my reviews are mostly secular.
Some of the faith based options that we liked, and were good for our daughter, could be modified so that we could use them in a secular way as well.
The
Rainbow Resource site also has a plethora of creative homeschool resources. I have often turned to them for less traditional ideas. I loved their literature guides, so many to choose from.
To teach handwriting and/or to help your child who struggles with handwriting,
Handwriting Resources
I offer a FREE download of playful handwriting activities below, based on my years as an O.T.
They can help your children to not only learn how to write their letters, but also to develop good find motor skills, a good grasp pattern and all the other things important to handwriting.
I invite you to click on -
Handwriting Helps - to get your free download.
With so many homeschool curriculum programs out there, it can feel overwhelming. I have collected our favorites that we used while homeschooling our daughter.
Feel free to browse around and see what we liked, to give you
ideas:
Over the years, I gathered together our favorite homeschool curriculum resources for all ages, in case you are interested.
,
Our Favorites for Homeschool Curriculum
If you click the links below, you will access information on our favorite resources for age group, ie, early year, middle school, and high school.
The Early Years and LINK:
Teaching Homeschool Reading
-
Middles
-
High School is below.
I invite you to click on High School PDF below to get your FREE download of High School helps, for choosing your curriculum, record keeping and more.
Then once we had our curricula, we started to look around for a homeschool support group to join. I wanted to connect with other moms who had been there, and of course, also wanted my daughter to meet other kids she might want as friends.
4 - FINDING HOMESCHOOL SUPPORT
This really should have been at the top of the list! Support is so important for starting out, for the kids and especially for us moms.
Homeschool Support Groups
We found a local Homeschool Support group in our area, and went to their monthly meetings. There we met lots of experienced homeschooling moms, who helped us a lot.
If you want to connect with one in your area, this
site might help. Every state has a support network for homeschooling families.
The
Homeschool Mom also has support groups listed by state and city
here. It lists all the homeschool support groups in each state.
There are also gatherings of families for group classes called Co-ops, and more information on those will be found on your state's homeschool associations's page. Each state has a Homeschool Association and to find one on your state, that should come up when you click
here.
Will Homeschool Co-ops be meeting now? We will see if those meetups and co-ops can meet, as the fall comes around and we see what is happening with covid-19 guidelines.
Homeschool Facebook Groups
Homeschool Facebook Groups are also a great way to get support and to learn more about homeschooling. There are so many of them now, that I just recommend going to your Facebook page and searching for
"Homeschool". That will give you a list of many groups to choose from.
Using Community Resources
I also searched around for another social activity or two for my daughter. We found some at our local Parks Department.
My daughter loved their gymnastics classes, as they involved a lot of movement, and she was a VERY active kid. It became such a good way for her to make her first "school" friends.
Homeschool Help Consulting
Are you looking for a little homeschool help to get your started?
I also offer
Homeschool Help, where I meet up with families through Facebook messages and/or through phone calls, and offer help in getting started, finding your homeschool curriculum, and more. Lots of other experienced homeschoolers also offer this sort of help.
Does Homeschooling Really Work?
I have been homeschooling for over 14 years and after that, have been mentoring families for many more years.
From my experience, I have seen so many success stories that show that homeschooling is a solid educational choice. And if you google "Homeschooling - does it work?" you will get links to lots of research about that.
Homeschooling High School
I have been homeschooling for over 14 years and after that, have been mentoring families.
From my experience, I have seen so many success stories that show that homeschooling is a solid educational choice.
And if you google "Homeschooling - does it work?" you will get links to lots of research about that.
Many families worry that homeschool high school would be too hard to do. Is that you?
If so, I offer a
FREE download - called HIGH SCHOOL HELP - full of homeschool high school resources, to make homeschooling your teen not only doable, but also rewarding, for them and for your family.
One of the common questions that people have about homeschooling, is whether homeschoolers can go to college, and if so, will they do well there?
The College Question
If you are wondering if homeschooling can prepare your kids for later college admission, we give you a hearty YES! Our daughter has thrived there.
Colleges are regularly accepting homeschool applicants now and some are actively recruiting them.
Our teen got accepted into each college on her list, with scholarship offers. More on that is on my blog, and in my book, below, called
Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.
Summary
So by reading up on homeschooling, learning about our state homeschool laws, exploring curricula, and then finding a support group to join, we built up our confidence for homeschooling.
And I am so glad that we did.
This post is linked to our blog hop on
Suddenly Homeschooling. I hope that you get a chance to connect with the other veteran homeschool moms who are a part of September's GHF Learners Blog Hop.
Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,
Copyright Revised - 2021
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