In preparing the Ultimate Guide for New Homeschoolers a lot of things affected what I selected to include and not include. Things like my homeschooling experience influenced this list, but my unique experiences in actually mentoring new homeschoolers for years had a greater weight.
Ultimate Guide for New Homeschoolers Who Want to Avoid Rookie Mistakes
I know as a new homeschooler that you are probably interested in curriculum. Though you may be curriculum driven, which is important, I want you to take time to look at these other topics that will be of aid to you when the time comes.
Starting with a homeschool foundation to cement the choice you made or are about to make will give you homeschool conviction when you need it.
Also though because I am the seasoned veteran, I feel the responsibility to introduce you to topics you may not even know to ask about. I am hoping to move you from beginner to expert in half the time by organizing this information in the way you should approach it.
Giving attention to the topics I have carefully chosen here and in the order I introduce them here is not haphazard as I meticulously organized this ultimate guide for new homeschoolers. If you start at the top and work your way down through this guide, it will be a self-checking list.
You can read about some of the beginnings of my homeschool journey below as you get a chucke or shed a tear or two with me.
Homeschooling – When You Don’t Know Where to Begin
One more thing, notice I don’t start with your child’s needs first, but with your needs as the new home educator. It is important to get the help and education you need like just like any new teacher would.
What is Homeschooling?
I don’t believe in talking anybody into homeschooling, but I do feel it is a superior education in many ways. So arming yourself with these pros and cons, you can decide how you will handle these possible upcoming scenarios.
What IS homeschooling & Why You Should Homeschool
What is NOT homeschooling and Why You Shouldn’t Homeschool
What is homeschooling? By Susan Wise Bauer
What is Not Homeschooling
Homeschooling is. . .
So you want to Homeschool: Five ways to fail and Five ways to succeed
Homeschooling 101: What is Homeschooling?
Top 5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Homeschool!
Comparing Homeschooling vs Public Schooling: Ten Reasons for Homeschooling Children A Public School Teacher Tells All
Homeschooling Pros and Cons
Our Homeschool Foundation
5 Reasons to Not Homeschool
Does homeschooling work? Hear it from the students
3 Reasons to Not Homeschool
Why I don’t worry about raising homeschooling ‘nerds’ (and you shouldn’t either)
8 Reasons to Not Homeschool Your Children
18 Reasons Why Doctors and Lawyers Homeschool Their Children
Why I Shouldn’t Homeschool
40 Reasons I homeschool And Growing Each Year
Reasons people say you shouldn’t homeschool…
You Know You’re A Homeschooler When…
Should I or Shouldn’t I Homeschool?
10 Homeschool Do’s and Don’ts
3 Reasons You Shouldn’t Homeschool
10 Unexpected Benefits of Homeschooling
The Real Cons of Homeschooling
40 Reasons I Homeschool And Growing Each Year
A Public School Teacher Talks Homeschooling
Homeschool Laws – Are they Really that Important to Know?
Determining what type of curriculum you will be using is affected somewhat by the laws of your land.
Do you know how many new homeschoolers I help that do not know the homeschool law of the state or country they live in? Why is that important?
Besides abiding by the law, another reason for being sure you are in the know about the law is because you may have easier homeschool laws to fulfill. This affects curriculum purchases because you may have a wider range of choices if you have more freedom in your state or country.
On the other hand, if you have stringent records to keep, then my suggestion for your first or second year is to get something boxed or laid out because it eases homeschool stress or record keeping in the beginning when you don’t what to keep and throw away.
{Note: Check out my post on Learn the Lingo Then Go to help you with unfamiliar homeschool terms like boxed curriculum that season veterans spout off as if you know what they are.}
This doesn’t mean you have to do everything in the box and some veterans would have you not use a box, but not me. After many years of helping new homeschoolers, I have found that those that need the help do much better with a boxed curriculum where they can read and learn about other curriculum while they have a plan in place already. In addition, I have seen new homeschoolers spend thousands of dollars on a curriculum in the long run because they didn’t want to spend the $200.00 or $300.00 dollars in the beginning. A boxed curriculum gives you a pattern to follow which a lot of new homeschoolers need. From that boxed curriculum, you can determine what you like or don’t like about certain homeschool approaches.
Again, do not be slave to the boxed curriculum meaning you need to avoid the thinking that you have to complete the whole thing. Use the parts that you need while you are reading all you can the first or second year. The end goal during the first year or second year is to find the approach that fits your family best and it takes time.
Go to HSLDA {It’s short for Home School Legal Defense Association} to become familiar with the laws of where you live.
Understanding homeschool laws in your area should become second nature so that you not only fulfill any legal requirement, but understand any limitations or appreciate the latitude you have in making curriculum choices as you begin to homeschool.
And yes, I am going there next and that is homeschool socialization.
Homeschool Socialization – We do Crawl Out From Under our Rocks.
If you haven’t already heard the critics, you will. Some of us get hit pretty hard early on in our journey by well wishing family members with questions and then sometimes we receive plain down right criticism. It can be hard if you have tender feelings on top of being antsy about succeeding. Arming yourself with success stories of others and examples of homeschooling pioneers will prepare you for this on going battle. Though it does seem to slow up as you homeschool longer because then you have proof of how your teaching affects your children for the positive, you will still want to answer graciously.
Socialization – A Homeschool Hallucination
How I Shelter My Children
Socialization During the High School Years
Socialization is a Bunch of Malarkey
Socialization: Not in my homeschool!
A Homeschool Grad’s Perspective on Socialization
Let’s Hope They’re Not Socialized!
What’s the Point of Socialization?
The How To’s of Homeschool Socialization
Smart Socialization for Homeschoolers
Homeschool Curriculum That Extinguishes Any Possible Spark for the Love of the Learning
I know you can’t wait to dig into curriculum because you may feel it is the very proof that you need that you are now an official homeschooler. I admit that I love the stuff myself too and curriculum buying can be pretty addicting. It is something that I still look forward to each year as if it was my very first time.
But instead of jumping to buying curriculum because you may feel the pressure to or because the new school year may be around the corner, it is a much wiser choice to read about how to purchase curriculum and avoid making the same mistakes of other homeschoolers. You will stick closer to your budget too by taking some time to read through the posts about choosing curriculum.
How can you determine if the curriculum you choose will make a good fit for your family? True, some of it is trial and error, but some of it is not. Reading below how to choose curriculum, then looking at the 5 common homeschool approaches will make you a homeschooler in the know from the beginning.
Stop Switching Your Curriculum, Switch Your Course of Study
How to Choose Curriculum Other than the “Looks Good” Method.
Are You Curriculum Driven?
What Happens When…..You Know A Curriculum Isn’t Working
How to Homeschool: Choosing Curriculum
Homeschool Planning I: Determining the curriculum to use
Curriculum & Conventions – Cures for Cabin Fever
When Your Homeschool Curriculum Isn’t Working
Homeschool: My kids are not really excited about anything!
The A, B, C’s of Picking Curriculum + {part 1}
Help! My Curriculum has Lost that Lovin’ Feeling
The A, B, C’s of Picking Curriculum + {part 2}
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Curriculum
Choosing a Homeschool Curriculum
Homeschool Curriculum Tips for Newbies
Homeschooling :: tips for choosing curriculum
Do not choose curriculum based on grade level.
Now that you have an idea of what to avoid and what to look for in curriculum, let’s look at some of the more major or common homeschool approaches. Beneath that, I have divided some of the major curriculum players.
5 Popular Homeschool Approaches
Keep in mind that if you use a text book approach now because you feel comfortable with it, it is okay. However, if you have a child that is extremely burned out on this method used in public schools, you will want to implement some other approach from the beginning because you don’t want to turn your child off to homeschooling in the first few months.
As I mentioned earlier, your goal in your first or second year is to determine which homeschool approach fits your family’s value system and that takes time too. So your teaching style and homeschool style will change as you meet the needs of your kids and utilize your strengths to be the best teacher for your children.
Look at the major homeschooling approaches that I have included here. Again, I am not going to overwhelm you with all of them. These are the most popular approaches in homeschooling. First, I have defined them for you and then I give you some links as homeschoolers share about the choices that fit their family.
Eclectic/Relaxed/Unschooling
Though I think that unschooling has received a bad rap in the past, it is more common for this approach to mean more of a relaxed approach and somewhat eclectic. Though it is child-led, many of these homeschoolers do use some curriculum. I prefer to use Sandra Dodd’s definition found here at What’s the Difference between Relaxed Homeschooling and Unschooling?
Classical education
Susan Wise Bauer is the modern model of classical education and I prefer her definition: “Classical education depends on a three-part process of training the mind. The early years of school are spent in absorbing facts, systematically laying the foundations for advanced study. In the middle grades, students learn to think through arguments. In the high school years, they learn to express themselves. This classical pattern is called the trivium.”
Charlotte Mason
I prefer the definition at Simply Charlotte Mason: “The Charlotte Mason method is based on Charlotte‘s firm belief that the child is a person and we must educate that whole person, not just his mind. So a Charlotte Mason education is three-pronged: in her words, “Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.”
Unit Studies
I also prefer Susan Wise Bauer’s definition of a unit study. “A unit study integrates disciplines together, rather than dividing them into separate “subjects” to be pursued at different times during the school day. Literature, history, science, mathematics, art, music, history, and so on are all studied through their relationship to a core organizing principle.”
Textbook
I like the definition at Education Today. “This traditional approach uses graded textbooks or workbooks that follow a scope and sequence. Each subject is covered in 180 daily increments per school year for a span of 12 years. Teacher’s manuals, tests and record keeping materials are usually available.”
Eclectic/Relaxed
Classical
Charlotte Mason
A day in the life of radical unschoolers
Planning the Logic Stage Part 1
Our Typical Charlotte Mason Day
I’m an Eclectic Homeschooler. What Exactly Does That Mean?
Planning the Logic Stage Prequel
Why We Chose a Charlotte Mason Education
Delight-Directed Homeschooling
How to Teach Classically: The Grammar Stage Series
What Drew Me To A Charlotte Mason Approach
Relaxed Homeschooling
Classical Meets Eclectic
Top 10 Charlotte Mason Homeschool Resources
Being A Relaxed Homeschooler
Classical Methods
Jimmie’s Collage. A homeschool blog based on Charlotte Mason’s Methods.
Unit Studies
Textbook
Homeschooling {4 Boys} Using Unit Studies
Homeschooling Philosophies and Methods: Traditional Textbook Approach
Homeschooling Styles: Unit Studies
The Textbook Approach to Education
Unit Studies: Multi-Age, Multi-Subject Approach to Learning
Traditional Approach to Homeschooling
The Unit Study Approach: An Adventure in Learning
Homescholing Approaches and Methods
Unit Studies at Homegrown Learners
Homeschool Curriculum Organized by Homeschool Approach – Ewww so Fantastic!
Now that you are on your way to becoming a bit more of an expert, it is time to look at the much anticipated curriculum.
Just keep an important fact in mind the whole life of your journey and that is you are not really teaching curriculum, you are teaching a child.
If I have not heard from a hundred new homeschoolers, I have heard from a thousand new homeschoolers tell me their child is in x grade now or that he may be gifted. It may be true, but by abandoning the way the public school measures our child, i.e. by grade level, you will do a much better job in selecting curriculum.
Avoid the mind-set that if your child repeats a subject on a grade level that he will be behind. A well-defined goal in the beginning should be that you want your child to become a master of his material which means slowing or going down a grade level when he needs and skipping a grade level when he has it.
And guess what? In homeschool, we don’t really keep up with grades. Oh we do pay attention to them as we move our child on their courses, but the point of it is that children do not develop evenly. They are ahead in some subjects and struggle with others.
It is better to take advantage of online free tests to determine a better fit for your child instead of assuming he is ready for the next grade level.
If a child is gifted, he may be ready to skip a level or if he has had a terrible time struggling with a subject, he may need to stay on that level while he matures.
Look at the candy store homeschool curriculum providers below that stand ready to help you succeed.
Also, some of these providers may fit into more than one category, but where possible I tried to give you a running start.
Textbook
Charlotte Mason & Living Books
Unit Studies
Classical
A Beka Book
Alpha Omega Publishers
Bob Jones University
Calvert School
Christian Light Publication
Christian Liberty Press
Connections Academy
Rod and Staff
Saxon Homeschool
Seton Testing Services
Queen Homeschool Supplies, Inc.
My Father’s World
Sonlight Curriculum
Five in a Row
Five in a Row
Konos
In the Hands of a Child
Supercharged Science
Nancy Larson Science
Trisms
Homeschool In the Woods
Brimwood Press
Classical Academic Press
Classical Conversations
Memoria Press
My Father’s World
Tapestry of Grace
And then grab this wonderful must-have resource that matches curriculum by learning style:
Then you have to have a place to organize all those new pretties and homeschool organization is best done from the very beginning.
Homeschool Organization, Schedules & Routines
Homeschool Organization
Must-Haves For the Organized Homeschooler
Organizing Our Homeschool Area
Homeschool Organization – 12 Unconventional Ideas for Storage
Making Progress: Our Homeschool Room
Homeschool Organization–Where do you begin?
Organization Tips: Ten Days of Organizing Your Crafts & Supplies
Day 11: Swoonworthy Learning Spaces & Homeschool Rooms. {31 Day Boot Camp For New Homeschoolers on My Blog}
Homeschool Routines & Schedules
Our Homeschool Routine
Begin Homeschool Day with Peace & Purpose
Theme of the Day
Goals for my Children
Mapping Out Our Homeschool Day
Our Typical Daily Schedule
A Typical Homeschool Day
Homeschooling with a New Baby
Homeschooling with Learning Styles
Should I Name My Homeschool?
How I Plan Our Homeschool Day
How I Plan Our Homeschool Week
A Routine for Young Children
A Typical Homeschool Day
Creating a Homeschool Schedule
Sample Homeschool Schedule
Free Homeschool Planner
My Free 7 Step Homeschool Planner
Free Home Management Binder
Free Student Planners
Printable Calendars and Simple Planners
Helpful Homeschool Articles on Things You May Encounter on Your Journey
Homeschooling Multiple Children Planning a Homeschool Routine When You Are Homeschooling Multiple Children
The most important thing you need for homeschooling your gifted child
The Benefits of Homeschooling an Only Child
Tips for Homeschool Planning for Multiple Ages
5 Days of a Homeschooling Co-op Convert
Tips for Homeschooling the Early Years..You Can Do it!
How We Homeschool Kindergarten
Preschool Homeschool Routine
Kindergarten Homeschool: Our Week
How To Occupy Your Two Year Old While You Homeschool
5 Things I Wished I knew When I started Homeschooling High School
10 Days of Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation
AND I have OH SO MUCH MORE for you!!!
One more FREE program that would be very helpful for you to go through is my 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers here on my blog.
Ready For A 31 Day Free Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers?
Also, look at these books that I recommend for reading.
My Top Must-Read Books for New Homeschoolers
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Amazon.com Widgets
This is a small sampling of the many helps and how-tos for homeschooling that I have for you. I hope you find them helpful. If you would like more support and help, then my new bee program is the perfect fit for you.
Begin here with my FREE 2 hour Workshop # 1 “Here We Go!”, which is chock-full of helpful details along with a FREE comprehensive detailed outline found on that page.
And lastly don’t forget, I am a homeschool consultant and we can talk by phone if you want 1:1 help like curriculum help or scheduling your homeschool day.
Hugs and enjoy this plethora of information intended to set your feet firmly on to the road of new homeschool beginnings,
This is also a blog hop. This blog hop is organized by iHomeschool Network, a collaboration of outstanding homeschool bloggers who connect with each other and with family-friendly companies in mutual beneficial projects. I am proud to be a member of iHomeschool Network. Connect with us on Pinterest, Google Plus and Twitter. And of course, click the image below to visit all the other blog articles from the homeschool moms of the iHomeschool Network.
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