I remember my favorite teacher.

Miss McCullough was my fifth grade teacher and she was amazing! She loved to pour herself into us. She was funny; she was loving; she was willing to steer away from the curriculum and delve into some rabbit trail we started down with our many questions; she would have us pile onto the classroom couch after lunch every day and listen as she read exciting books . . . She was everything I wanted to be as a first-time homeschool mom. In fact, you could say she was my inspiration.

“Commit to the Homeschool Lifestyle” may sound a little scary. But I am not suggesting that you rearrange your entire life; instead, I am referring to the fact that homeschooling does not simply occur between the hours of 9:00 and noon or 3:00 (depending on your child).

Homeschooling cannot be put into a schedule box.

You are well on your way! You have selected your homeschool program; you have researched your state homeschool laws; you have found the right approach for your child; you are ready to begin!

What next?

My next piece of advice is essential for an organized and relaxed homeschool program:

Be sure to set aside a specific area in your home for homeschooling.

One of the greatest freedoms in homeschooling is the freedom to explore your child’s interests.

• If your curriculum provides an introduction to medieval history and your child is enthralled, take the time to pursue it further.
• If you know your child has a passion for the study of electricity, give him the tools to dig deeper.

One of the best moves we made as a homeschool family was to establish a homeschool support group. At the onset, we were simply a group of families who planned field trips, met for “physical education” classes, shared ideas and supported one another through the rewards and the struggles. As the years passed, we began to work together to provide specialty courses for our kids:

Does your child love to get dirty and explore the world around him?
Is she a child who loves to sit down and listen as you read a story?
Is he an analytical thinker, who tends to question what is happening around him?
Is she one who can connect events and experiences to lessons in life?
Does he seem to thrive when able to create with his hands?
Does she naturally “get it” the first time she hears it?

These kinds of questions can help to define the best kind of learning approach for your child. A hands-on learner will not be content to sit and fill out worksheets or listen to you explain concepts. A student who has strong auditory skills will thrive with a curriculum that uses interesting stories to teach about history, science or literature.

Before you embark on the incredibly rewarding homeschool journey, you need to examine yourself.

What kind of teaching role in the home do you want to take?

Do you enjoy pulling out all the stops and making a mess while you dig into learning with projects and experiments?
OR
Do you prefer an orderly home with a set schedule where you can plan out any such experiments and ensure that you have just the right materials before you begin?

When individuals begin to consider homeschooling, they are often filled with uncertainty and a little bit of fear. How do I do it? What should I know? What if I don’t do a good job? . . .

However, a great place to start is to get to know your state homeschool law.

This is step one in a ten part series on the ten steps to starting homeschooling.  To skip to step two, scroll to the bottom of the page.

Step One-Commit to Consistency

1. Be sure to commit to a full year-one year at a time. For many first time homeschoolers, the thought of years of running a homeschool can be daunting-in some cases, so much so that they have trouble making the decision. And although we believe that you will continue for years to come, your level of commitment should be one year at a time–one full year.

The question, “But does this homeschool program line up with what they do in the public schools?” is one of my biggest pet peeves. Why? Because what they are doing in the public schools is failing! Kids are dropping out every day; others are pushed through a system that is not providing them with even the fundamentals; and still others struggle through a program that places them in a mold that just does not fit them.