Over 3 million students are currently being homeschooled. That’s over a 50% increase since 2018! You can join the millions of other homeschool families and start your own homeschool journey this year. Don’t worry, I will walk you through how to start homeschooling and it’s not as scary as you think!
First things first. You will need to find the legal requirements for your home state. The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) has all of the legal requirements listed by state. You can find your state here. If you are in Texas like me the laws are super lenient and it’s easy to get started homeschooling.
Texas requires that you teach math, reading, spelling, grammar, and good citizenship. Texas also requires that you use a written (or digital) curriculum in a “bona fide” manner. If choosing a curriculum has you worried, then keep reading! I will talk about some of my favorite curriculums further down in the post.
If your child is currently enrolled in a public school in Texas, you’ll need to officially withdraw them before starting your homeschool journey. Thankfully, it’s a pretty simple process. According to the Texas Home School Coalition (THSC), you just need to send a written notice to the school stating your intent to homeschool. THSC even provides a free withdrawal letter generator here to make it easy. Just fill in your info, and it creates the letter for you. Keep in mind, I’m not a lawyer and this isn’t legal advice—just sharing helpful resources to get you started! If you would like to read more from THSC about unenrolling from public school click here. THSC offers a lot of great advice and resources!
Once you have withdrawn from public school, you are ready to start homeschooling. It’s going to be such an exciting adventure in the life of your family!
One of the most exciting times of the school year for many homeschooling moms is choosing new curriculum! Looking at all of the options is so exciting. In fact, there are so many amazing curriculums out there it can often feel overwhelming. The good news is that there is no right or wrong answer. The beauty of homeschooling is that everyone can choose what works best for them. I’ll share a few of our favorites below. If there are any that you would like to see a review for just drop it in the comments and I’ll try to get a post up soon!
Warning: Do NOT try to do it all! We use all of the curriculums below, but not all at the same time or even for the same kid. I recommend starting with the basics and then adding in “extras” once you feel comfortable with your schedule.
Bible: The Gospel Project: Home Edition
Reading: All About Reading (You can read my review here.)
Spelling: All About Spelling
Grammar: Fix-It Grammar
Writing: Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)
Literature: Novel Studies and Reading Journals (We don’t use a specific curriculum for novel studies, but we do like Mosdos for short stories and other literature components.)
Math: Math-U-See, Math with Confidence, The Good and the Beautiful
Science: The Good and the Beautiful
History: Unit Studies (I often create my own unit studies, but we also really enjoy the units from Little School of Smiths)
Handwriting: The Good and the Beautiful
Geography: The Waldock Way
Current Events: World Watch News (Check out my review here.)
You can also follow me on Pinterest for more curriculum and homeschooling resources!
Once you have chosen a curriculum, you can decide how your days will flow. I don’t recommend a strict schedule, but rather a general plan. For example, we always begin our day with Bible. Then we move onto Language Arts, followed by math, and then lunch. After lunch, we complete anything that didn’t get done before lunch and then rotate between science and history during our afternoon time. Find a routine that works for your family. That’s the joy of homeschooling!
Are you ready to dive in and start homeschooling? Then unenroll, choose a curriculum, and get started! Homeschooling has been such a blessing for our family and I hope it is for your family as well.
Happy Homeschooling!
