How To Start Homeschooling: Your Homeschool Family

Homeschooling your family. It may seem like a daunting and monumental task, but I’m here to help you get started and keep going!

Once you have made the decision to begin homeschooling your family, it’s time to start thinking about the people you live with and how this decision is going to affect them – and you!

Starting your homeschool journey can feel like climbing your own personal Everest, with more twists, turns, and snowcaps than you ever thought possible.

But with some careful planning, research, and support from those who have been homeschooling for years, you can homeschool your family and embrace a lifestyle of learning.

So let’s not waste any time helping you get started on your homeschool journey!

But, I’d recommend you grab a cup of coffee first because this one, it’s kind of long. 😉

This is the second post in the How To Start Homeschooling series. To start at the beginning, click here.

Starting Your Homeschool Journey

Your kids. They are the reason you are here, reading through this series and learning all you can about homeschooling your family.

Whether you have only one or enough to start a sports team, they are each individual with their own thoughts, ideas, interests, and set of likes and dislikes.

Maybe they are on board with this change. And maybe they are skeptical.

Perhaps you have a mix of out-going extroverts and homebody introverts… I know we do!

Regardless of the personalities in your home or the size of your family, there is a way to homeschool that will work.

However, there are some considerations to be made before you begin homeschooling your family.

You see, as wonderful as homeschooling is, it is not a one-size-fits-all approach to education, just like your kids are not one-size-fits-all.

So with that in mind, let’s consider the members of your family as you start your homeschool journey.

Homeschooling Your Family

Before you can begin to homeschool, you need to evaluate your family both as a whole and each person individually. You need to look at the needs of your family and consider a few things.

How strong is your marriage? How supportive is your spouse? How do your children feel about homeschool? Is there sibling rivalry? Do you have a social butterfly? Who struggles academically? These are just some of the things to consider before you begin homeschooling your family.

I don’t say this to say that if you have a social butterfly this will never work. Or that if your children are all for homeschooling that it will be an immediate success. I say this because you need to be aware of both your family’s strengths and weaknesses. As well as the strengths, weaknesses, and needs of each child.

Why is this important?

In our experience, this was one of the biggest things we failed to look at when we started. I truly believe if we had considered fully the ramification of this we would have been a little less surprised at the reactions.

We had a social butterfly who craves interaction with peers. We had one who is advanced for their grade. We had one just starting their educational journey, and a baby at home. And even though we were all on board with starting, I failed to consider this and other major aspects of our home and our homeschool.

Now if your children have never been to public school and you have always been at home with them, you already understand the dynamics involved in being home with all of your children each and every day. But, if you have been sending your children to public school or daycare for any amount of time, some of this may come as a shock. Having your kids home all day long is quite different than evenings, weekends, and vacations only.

If you completed your homeschool mission statement, you have already started identifying some of this information. In order to completely evaluate your family though, you need to look deeper. Consider these additional aspects.

• Is your child(ren) involved in sports or clubs at the public school, or do they want to be?
• Is your child(ren) part of a gifted program or a program where they receive extra help?
• Is there a particular area where your child is struggling academically?
• How will you provide opportunities for subjects such as art, music, or band?
• Is there a parent who is not on board with homeschooling?
• What is your main priority or main reason for homeschooling?

Now, please don’t think that if you have a social butterfly or a shy child, or that if your child knows more about a particular subject than you do that you are doomed! I promise you, you can do this!

My oldest son is far more advanced in science than I am – and we continue to find the resources he needs to be challenged.

My daughter is passionate about the arts – something I have little interest in – yet we make including these options a priority for her.

If your child is interested in music or sports, search out homeschool groups or co-ops or talk with your local public school about possible options available to homeschoolers. Both of my older kids are involved in the band and the chorus at the local public school and yours may be willing to work with you as well. My social butterfly enjoys band, chorus, and cheering. She has also helped with the kindergarten class once a week in the past, volunteering to read to the students.

The point is to look at what your kids need, and then find a way to accommodate. To look for opportunities to help your children grow, and those that are beneficial to their personalities and interests. Will you be able to fill every need? No. But you may be able to find some options that fit the bill.

What If You Can’t Do It All?

Don’t worry if you cannot accommodate every wish or interest your child has. Trust me, they will be OK. Homeschooling is not about fully immersing your kids in every single interest they have. Nor is it about spending all day long driving around from group, to co-op, to private lessons.

This list, these considerations, are simply things for you to consider. Things to keep in mind so you aren’t sideswiped later down the road.

The reality is, you probably can’t do it all anyway. What you can do is decide now how many extras you’re willing to take on as a family. Think about time and cost, interest level, and overall benefit to your homeschool mission and goals.

How Committed Are You To Homeschooling Your Family?

Commitment? It can be a scary word, but don’t let it intimidate you! If you’ve gotten this far you are already half-way there. But I’d be missing a huge topic if I didn’t at least spend a few minutes talking about commitment.

Homeschooling means you are taking on the responsibility to educate your children.

To me, that’s a big thing.

Now I believe that anyone that puts their mind to it can be successful. But I also believe that you have to be one who is willing to push through when things get challenging.

Because they will.

And you will be one responsible for your kids, for what they learn, how well they learn it. It’s not just ABCs and 123s. It’s all day with your kids and teaching core subjects such as math, history, language arts, and science. Then you have to decide about other subjects such as health, handwriting, technology, and anything else they find interesting.

I’m not saying that every child needs the same education. In fact, I can tell you that children do not need a cookie-cutter education at all. But, every child needs an education.

If you are going to homeschool them you need to be committed to providing that. What you decide is a proper education is not necessarily going to be the same as me or any other homeschool family. What a complete education looks like for one of your children may be different than another depending on their goals, abilities, and interest.

This happens to be one of the greatest things about homeschooling – the ability to customize a child’s education to fit them!

But if you are not fully committed… If you are not willing to push through and try something new, approach a lesson from a different angle… Well, it’s going to be rougher than it needs to be for you and your children.

Other Things to Consider Before You Start Homeschooling Your Family

So now that you know you are committed to providing that education, are you committed to providing the time needed by you?

While I don’t think you need to plan for 6-8 hours per day like public school, you do need to plan some time for homeschooling.

There’s the time needed for researching materials and lessons. Time to prepare lessons. The time to teach the lessons. And of course, time for reviewing and grading.

While a younger student may only be schooling an hour per day, you may be committing to more than that. Older kids may be more independent and need less instruction, but you will still be planning for the lessons, explaining concepts that don’t make sense, and grading.

It also means your time is not necessarily your own.

Consider how your current schedule looks – how will you fit homeschooling your family into that?

One of the things we did for a long time was to grocery shop together. On Monday mornings we could get better deals, and I incorporated meal planning, budgeting, and math into a trip to the store.

Think about the things you do during the day now and consider what can be incorporated into a lesson versus what you may need to do at a different time.

This is not to say you have to complete school during the hours of 8 am and 3 pm. If afternoon or evening schooling or even weekends work better for your family then go for it – many families do. We have had days where we learn in the afternoon because of appointments in the mornings. Or times when we take a weekday off but catch-up over the weekend.

It’s not always perfect, but sometimes you have to think outside the box.

Finding Your Homeschool Support System

You can do this. You can teach your children.

But, since we are all stronger together, I don’t think you should go it alone either.

The days are long. The lessons can be confusing. And sometimes the material doesn’t stick as well as you had hoped. Surrounding yourself with support will go a long way with the success of your homeschool.

Whether you choose to find a local co-op, a group of other homeschoolers in the area, or even just a few good friends you can bounce ideas off, having someone you can turn to for help is crucial.

We don’t have co-ops in our area, but there are other homeschoolers. I also have a local umbrella school for homeschoolers I can get assistance from.

And then, there is the internet. The internet allows homeschoolers from all over the world to connect. I am in many groups on Facebook and they are great for asking even the silliest of questions. It’s a mix of homeschoolers in various stages from just starting out to veteran homeschoolers who have graduated their children. Their information and support are invaluable to me, and it will be for you as well.

Blogs can also be a wonderful part of your support system. I have read numerous articles from bloggers I trust for things like curriculum reviews, tips and tricks, and even support when things get challenging.

Finding your support system is a crucial part of your success. You can do this and you could probably do it alone, but getting yourself set up with people you can get help from will make things easier. If you are struggling with something, odds are someone else has been there and has a solution. Or at least, a listening ear and an encouraging word.

Moving Forward As You Start Homeschooling Your Family

As I said, you can do this. I know you can. Reading this series of posts is going to help you succeed! Start working on identifying your family dynamics, looking for potential issues, and how to plan for them now.

Start working on growing your support system now so they will be ready when you need them. I don’t write these things to scare you or make you feel overwhelmed. I write them to motivate and encourage you to take the steps necessary to begin an amazing adventure with your family! So that you can begin planning for what is the biggest undertaking of your life. And so that you too can call yourselves homeschoolers!

Continue reading this series with part 3, How To Start Homeschooling: Learning Styles.

Are you still looking for additional help getting started? Comment below or shoot me an email at kelly@hopeinthechaos.com!

This post has been updated from its original version published June 2017.