Posted on by mamaleotashomeschool

I’ve decided to homeschool, what now?

Mama Leotas Homeschool, Florida Homeschool Mom, Homeschoolers, How to Homeschool, Homeschool Family, How to Start Homeschooling, Homeschooling, Homeschool Encouragement

Congratulations! As overwhelming as you may feel in this moment, I promise you it is the best decision you could make. I remember back when I first started homeschooling and how lost I felt. I didn’t know where to start and felt scared and in over my head. In this post I will share with you three things I did when I first started homeschooling.

One of the most important things I did was research my state’s homeschool laws. Each state varies in their requirements to legally homeschool your children and if not followed, can result in your children being reported as truant. You could end up in court and the judge would decide if you could continue homeschooling, or if he/she felt you were negligent, could actually force your kids to attend public school. I don’t say this to scare or deter you, it’s just important that you are fully aware of the homeschool laws in order to protect yourself and your children. The best resource I’ve found where you can find all this information is at the Homeschool Legal Defense Association‘s website. You can also look up each individual state’s laws at this link here. HSLDA is pretty a much a one stop shop for all things homeschool. Their website is filled with valuable tools and information to get you started on your journey. You can read more about their mission here.

“From the day you became a parent, you also became a teacher, and you are equipped to teach your child.”

Anne Campbell

Once I knew what was required for me to homeschool in my state, the next thing I set out to do was figure out what to actually teach them and what curriculum and books I needed for each of my children. I have to be honest here…I had no idea where to start but after quite a bit of research, I came across a gem of a book called Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School by Rebecca Rupp. I love this book because it is a great guide to everything you need to teach your children at every grade level. It includes subjects to be covered within each grade, standards for knowledge that should be acquired by your child at each level, recommended books to use as texts for every subject, and much more. I loved how each grade level was broken down by chapter and easy to find. Each year I would simply tab each grade of my kids and refer back to the book as needed throughout the school year. Keep in mind that this is guide and not meant to be followed to the letter.

Homeschool Mom, Homeschoolers, How to Homeschool, Homeschool Family, How to Start Homeschooling, Homeschooling, Homeschool Encouragement

Finally, we come to the third thing I did in the beginning which was read all the homeschool blogs I could find! I’m guessing that is how you stumbled upon this post yourself. I absolutely loved (and still do) looking at other mom’s homeschool rooms and reading through the different books and curriculum they recommended. I would spend hours soaking it all up like a sponge. I must advise though, be careful of falling into the comparison trap. No two homeschool families are alike so don’t expect yours to look like the next ones or mine for that matter. Each and every one of us are created with special gifts and talents and that is what makes homeschooling so much fun and unique. You know your children better than anyone and there is no one better than you to decide what they need.

“The most important work you and I will ever do will be within the walls of our own homes.”

Harold B. Lee

Well there you have it! These are the first things I did when I decided to homeschool my kids 12 years ago. These activities paved the path for me and gave me confidence to start on my own homeschool journey. I was encouraged by all the resources and was even more sure that homeschooling is what I’ve been called to do. This all led to choosing curriculum and books, setting a schedule, organizing and setting up a “classroom”, planning out an entire school year, etc. All of which I plan to cover in future blog posts. I hope you choose to stick with me as I share all the things that have helped me as well as the things that didn’t. I am thankful you are here! ❤️

Disclaimer: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. That means, I get a small commission if you purchase through this link. I  will only ever share tools and resources I truly love and use. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.

Posted on by mamaleotashomeschool

I’m thinking about homeschooling my kids…where do I start?

So You're Thinking About Homeschooling, Homeschool, Homeschool Mom, Mama Leota's Homeschool, Florida Homeschool, Homeschooling Family, Homeschool Encouragement

When moms reach out to me and tell me they are considering homeschooling their kids, their biggest hangup is fear and not knowing where to start. Take me for example, I had no idea where to begin when I first started homeschooling. I was a public school kid and didn’t even know there was such a thing as home education until I was an adult. Thankfully I had a good friend who was familiar with it as her daughter had homeschooled her children.

One of the first things my friend did was assure me that I was making a wonderful decision and that there were many resources available to homeschooling families. The next thing she did was give me the book “So You’re Thinking About Homeschooling” by Lisa Whelchel. Now I’ve received many books over the years since I began this journey and no other book helped me or encouraged me quite like this one. I actually keep several copies on my bookshelf in order to hand them out when friends tell me they are thinking of homeschooling.

Lisa does an amazing job introducing someone not familiar with home education (that someone was totally me) to the wonderful world we call homeschooling. She explains that there is no such thing as a “typical homeschool family”. That every family that decides to take this “road less traveled” does it for a myriad of reasons and no two homeschooling families looks the same. One of the most important points she makes is one I’ve had to recite many times to people and that is, “I’m not anti-public school. I’m pro-homeschool.”

“Homeschooling allows you the freedom to step off the highway of learning and take a more scenic route along a dirt road.”

Tamara L. Chilver

She goes on to describe her own homeschooling journey and what that looked like. She shares her doubts and concerns when she started and how she overcame them. For a mom who is constantly second guessing herself and feeling like a failure most days, her words offered incredible comfort and encouragement. Reading through what her homeschool looked like filled me with so much excitement that I couldn’t wait to get going!

The rest of the book consists of her introducing you to several other homeschooling families (fifteen to be exact) “to help paint a clearer picture of what the homeschooling adventure is all about”. Do you notice the tabs on my copy of the book above? Yup, those are all the placeholders of every story that spoke to me and encouraged me. Lisa’s book does such a great job of introducing many of the different homeschooling styles out there…Classical, Charlotte Mason, Unschooling, Unit studies, and Eclectic education methods. There is even a chapter that is filled with resources to get you started should you choose to homeschool your kids.

You may be wondering which style I chose. To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t just choose one! Ha ha! Our homeschool consists of multiple styles and our curriculum is pretty much a hodgepodge of all our favorites! From Abeka to BJU Press, to Notgrass, and Well Trained Mind…we have it all!

So, if you’re wondering where to start, read this book for sure. You will either come away feeling encouraged and excited or realizing that homeschooling may not be the journey for you. Whatever you choose is up to you and it is ok!

Disclaimer: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. That means, I get a small commission if you purchase through this link. I  will only ever share tools and resources I truly love and use. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.