If you’ve recently pulled your child out of school, or you’re seriously thinking about it, the first question is almost always the same: where do I even start?
I get it. When I started homeschooling my son, I felt like I was standing at the bottom of a mountain with no map. The internet has a thousand opinions and most of them assume you already know things you don’t. So this is the post I wish someone had handed me on day one.
Six steps. In order. Skip nothing.
Step 1: Look up your state’s homeschool laws — the actual state laws, not what someone on Facebook said.
Every state in the U.S. has its own rules for homeschooling. Some states are hands-off. Some states want notification. Some states want attendance records and standardized tests. A few states are strict enough that you’ll need to dig deeper.
Don’t trust forum posts, group threads, or even an old printout your sister-in-law gave you. Go to your state’s Department of Education website and look up “homeschool requirements.” If you can’t find it, the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) has a state-by-state guide that’s usually accurate — though their version is shaped by their organization’s perspective, so verify with the actual state law.
Write down:
- Do I have to notify my school district that I’m homeschooling? If so, when, and what form?
- What subjects am I required to teach?
- How many days or hours of instruction do I need per year?
- Do I need to keep attendance records? Test scores? Portfolios?
- Is there anything I need to file at the end of the year?
If you can answer those five questions, you’ve done more than most people start with.
Step 2: Officially withdraw your child from school (if they’re currently enrolled).
This trips up new homeschoolers more than anything. If you don’t formally withdraw your child from public or private school, you could end up with truancy issues. That is a real legal problem in some states.
The withdrawal process is usually a short letter to your school district stating that you’re removing your child to homeschool, effective on a specific date. Some districts have their own form; some don’t care as long as you give them notice. Check what your state and district require.
Keep a copy of everything you send. Always.
Step 3: Decide on your basic approach.
You don’t need to commit to a “homeschool style” forever. But it helps to know roughly what kind of homeschooler you want to be in the first month. Some common approaches:
- Traditional / school-at-home: You use a structured curriculum that mirrors a school schedule. Predictable, requires the most money up front, easiest to adjust to if you’ve never homeschooled.
- Eclectic: You pull from different curricula and methods depending on the subject and the child. Most homeschoolers end up here eventually.
- Unschooling: Child-led learning with no formal curriculum. Hardest for new homeschoolers because it requires the most trust in yourself and your child.
- Charlotte Mason, Classical, Montessori, etc.: Specific philosophies with their own methods. Worth reading about, not worth committing to in your first month.
For your first 30 days, I’d recommend traditional or eclectic. You’re learning how to teach AND how your child learns. Don’t add the burden of an unfamiliar philosophy on top of that.
Step 4: Pick a starting point — and keep it small.
You don’t need to buy a complete K-12 curriculum on day one. You need to teach this week. That’s all.
For each subject your state requires you to cover, find ONE resource you’ll use this month. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be something you can actually open and use tomorrow.
Free starting points:
- Khan Academy (math, science, basic everything — free, well-organized)
- Your local library (you can check out a stack of books on any topic)
- YouTube (yes, really — there are excellent free educators on YouTube for almost every subject)
- Free state homeschool resources (some state DOEs post free materials)
You can buy a curriculum later if you decide you need one. Start with what you can get this week, free or close to it.
Step 5: Set up a simple record-keeping system on day one.
Don’t wait three months and try to remember what you taught. Write it down as you go. The simplest system that works:
- A notebook (paper or digital) where you record what you taught, what your child read, and any tests or activities they did
- A folder for samples of their work (one or two pieces per month per subject is plenty)
- A calendar where you mark the days you “did school” — this is your attendance record
If your state requires more, build on this. If your state requires less, this is still smart to have.
Step 6: Find your people.
Homeschooling alone is doable but lonely. Find at least one other homeschool family near you, online or in person. A co-op, a Facebook group for your state, a homeschool support meetup at the library — anything.
You are not the first person to do this. There are people two streets over who’ve been homeschooling for years. They want to help you. Let them.
You don’t have to have it all figured out.
You will not get this right the first month. Nobody does. You’re going to change curricula, switch approaches, drop subjects, add subjects, and possibly cry in your kitchen at least once. That is normal. That is part of it.
What matters is that you start. The map only appears as you walk.
If you need to come back to this post and check off the steps as you go, do that. If you have a question I didn’t cover, the contact page is at the top of the site. I read every message myself.
— Dee