Starting the First Year of Homeschool

I started homeschooling twelve years ago when my older daughter was going into first grade. I remember how overwhelming it was, how I didn't feel like I really knew what I was doing and the mistakes I made. After twelve years of homeschooling, I've learned a lot along the way. How I wish I had known then, what I know now about homeschooling. That is the reason I want to share some tips and advice that will make your first year of homeschooling less stress and more fun.

The first thing you need to do is find out what the homeschool laws are for your state. Each state varies, so this is a very important step. Just google "homeschool laws for (your state)" and you should easily come across this information. I've homeschooled in two different states. One required that I register my children as homeschooled with the state, the other didn't. You may be required to keep records of grades or other information for each child. DonnaYoung.org offers a lot of free forms for record keeping. I personally print out forms from this site for both of my daughters.

Once you know the homeschool laws for your state, this can also help you determine how you want to approach homeschooling. Do you want to enroll them in a homeschool academy or teach privately? Do you want to use online courses, DVD classes, hard drive courses, teach the classes yourself or a combination? There are several different homeschool providers you should check out to learn more about the different options. I recommend looking at A Beka Book , Accelerated Christian Education (ACE), BJU Press (Bob Jones University), Rod and Staff, Saxon Publishers, A Reason For, Apologia Educational Ministries, Beautiful Feet Books, Easy Grammar, The Book Peddler, and Christian Book Distributors. Some of these sites also offer online testing or tests you can print out to find out what level your child is at and what books they should start in.

When you look at the different companies and options, don't get overwhelmed. Narrow it down to the companies and options you really like and go from there. Don't be afraid to use different companies for different classes. You may really like what one company offers for math, but want to use a different company for science and history. That's OK. Don't get stuck thinking you have to go with one company for all the classes nor think you need to have your child do every single class a company suggests. I personally love Saxon Math for my younger daughter, but we use A Beka for reading, science and history, A Reason For for spelling and handwriting, and Easy Grammar for grammar.

Take into consideration what you are able to teach and what you think needs to be taught by a different source. You may be surprised how much you can teach in the elementary years. For my 5th grader, I purchase a Dive CD for Saxon math that teaches her the lessons on our computer, but I teach the rest of the classes myself. When you know what needs to be taught by a different source, figure out what option you think would work best for your family and what you can reasonably afford. Don't think that you have to choose the most expensive option for the best education. Your child can get an excellent education without overstretching your budget.

I recommend purchasing your books in the summer to give you time to get familiar with them. You will feel a lot more confident if you have a good grasp on what you will actually be doing throughout the school year. This is also a good time to figure out the length of each book and how much you would have to accomplish each week in order to finish by the end of the school year. You should then make a daily plan for the first month of school. Include what classes you will do each day and what you will do in each class. This can be your test run. After finishing the first week, you may find you need to make adjustments. That's OK, this is a learning process. You'll find what works for you. You may even have to adjust several times throughout the year for one reason or another. If you don't go into the school year expecting your schedule to be perfect, you'll feel a lot more freedom to change things when needed.

Know that each child learns differently. A class that works for one child, may not for another. I use completely different companies for some of the classes my younger daughter is taking than I used for my older daughter when she was her age. They learn very differently and have different strengths. When I tried to use the same spelling, phonics, grammar and math that I used for my older daughter in her elementary years for my younger daughter, it didn't work. I had to switch to a totally different learning and teaching style. Being able to adjust to the different needs of each child is one of the great benefits of homeschooling.

If a class isn't working for a child, go ahead and change it. You are better off trying something else than trying to make it work and frustrating yourself and your child. I had to do this with math and spelling for my younger daughter. I actually had to try a few different ones until I found what worked for her. She likes her math and spelling classes now and is doing well in them. I've even changed classes during the school year if it was obvious it wasn't working with what we had. I've never regretted changing a class that wasn't working.

Remember to take time for fun. Take field trips. Go to a museum, the zoo, an airport, the fire station, to see a play, to a farm or a myriad of other things you can think of. Do art projects and crafts. Make cookies together. Do science experiments. Plant flowers or a garden. Order an ant farm or butterfly garden. Collect bugs, rocks or leaves. Find a caterpillar, put it in a jar with leaves and sticks, watch it make a cocoon and become a butterfly. The possibilities are endless, so put some fun into your schedule.

Probably the most important thing to remember during your first year of homeschooling is that it won't be perfect, so don't expect it to be. You may need to change your schedule, you may choose a class that doesn't work, you may end up not liking a teaching source you chose, you may have to buy different books, use a different company, or whatever else you may need to do to find what works for you and your family. Don't put unnecessary pressure on yourself or your child to get it right the first time. With homeschooling you get to be with your child every day, teach them what you want them to learn, instill your beliefs and values into them and learn just as much as they do. Enjoy it.

Donna Young - DonnaYoung.org

Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) - http://www.schooloftomorrow.com/homeschool/Default.aspx

A Beka Book - http://www.abeka.com/

BJU Press (Bob Jones University) - http://www.bjupress.com/page/Home

Rod and Staff - http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/?gclid=CNfJ3-uYspcCFRKIxwodSDy0ig

Saxon Publishers - http://saxonpublishers.harcourtachieve.com/en-US/saxonpublishers.htm

A Reason For - http://www.areasonfor.com/HomeSchool/Default.aspx

Apologia Educational Ministries - http://www.highschoolscience.com/

Beautiful Feet Books - http://www.bfbooks.com/

Easy Grammar - http://www.easygrammar.com/index2.html

The Book Peddler - http://www.bookpeddler.us/

Christian Book Distributors - http://www.christianbook.com/homeschool