If you're considering home schooling your child, you aren't alone. According to the Home School Legal Defense Association's "You Can Home School" website, the number of families who choose to home school their children grows by between 7 and 15 percent every year. Parents choose to home school for a variety of reasons, ranging from enhancing academic standards to concerns about safety. If you've wondered about home school, you may wonder what you need to do to home school your kids.
Step 1
Make your school legal by complying with your state's home school requirements. Home schooling is legal in all 50 states, but states make their own rules governing what parents have to do to home school. Find your state's home school laws by visiting the "HSLDA: Home Schooling Laws by State" link.
Step 2
Choose a curriculum. Consider your child's age, abilities and personality as you weigh your options. Look at distance-learning programs, which are administered by you at home but taught and graded by course providers; and pre-packaged curriculum materials, which give you lesson plans, schedules and teaching instructions that you can implement as you see fit. Evaluate different options, and keep in mind that you can combine different programs or create your own curriculum to create the kind of instruction you want.
Step 3
Set up a classroom. Choose a dedicated space for learning, and make it a comfortable place for a child to work. Consider a table for writing and drawing, a comfortable chair or couch for reading or plenty of floor space if your child likes to work on the floor.
Step 4
Collect supplies. In addition to books for your curriculum, you might need maps, measuring cups, art supplies, a blackboard and other materials. Look around your home first to find items that might work and then scout thrift stores and discount stores to save money on supplies.
Step 5
Connect with other home schooling families. Join home school activity groups so that your child has the opportunity to interact with other kids.
Tips and Warnings
- Don't invest in a lot of expensive books or materials beyond your curriculum to start. Expect your home school teaching method to develop over time, so wait to see where your money will be best spent.
- Some states have stricter requirements than others for home school and may require you to submit forms by a certain date to home school legally. Be sure you understand your state's deadlines and rules so that your home school stays within the law.
