I Want to Homeschool. Now What? Step 3

If you are reading this, congratulations! You completed steps one and two and are ready to take step three of “I Want to Homeschool. Now What?" You understand your state requirements for homeschool and have filled out and turned in all the necessary paperwork with your local school system, your chosen umbrella school, or an accredited online school. 

Now it's time to begin defining your homeschool vision. This is a long post and will require a bit of your time so take a moment and go check on the kids, microwave that cold cup of coffee, and grab a pencil and paper.

Before scouring the internet for the best curriculum and resources for your students, you need to decide what you want your family’s homeschool experience to look like. I have always found that writing a vision statement at the beginning of the year helps us not only stay focused on difficult days but also helps when choosing a new curriculum. Choosing a curriculum sounds fun (and really is) but there is an extraordinary amount to weed through. Believe me, it can send you into migraine mode quickly. So, before you enter that headache-inducing (but also fun) arena, let’s talk a bit about vision. 

When we decided to homeschool our first child I felt more overwhelmed than I should have. After two weeks of kindergarten in public school, we pulled him out.  I immediately dove into research about teaching styles, learning styles, methods of homeschooling, and curricula. I spent hours upon hours researching and was exhausted by it. Friends, this was not a good approach! Finally, I spoke with someone who recommended a popular homeschool blog written by a mom with tons of experience. Once on her website, I clicked on a page tab that read, “Why We Homeschool.” She listed out her top five reasons her family chose this different path to education. It put it all into perspective for me. It caused me to pause my crazy googling of all things homeschool and truly think about what I wanted it to look like for my family. Doing this made choosing curricula and resources much easier.

So, before you go googling "all the things,” I want you to ask yourself the questions below. If you have already begun your googling, STOP. If you are feeling like you don’t have time for this, you do. I promise. Even if you have pulled your kids out of school in the middle of the first semester and you think you have to start teaching right away…. You don’t. It’s actually a good idea to take a break before diving in. Most students need some downtime after leaving public school. This is especially true if the public school was a stressful or negative environment for them. 

After answering these questions, allow them to sit for a day or two. See if your answers change or evolve. Pray over these questions and ask God to reveal what his plan is for your family. Share the questions with your spouse and your children. Ask them what they want their homeschool experience to look like. 

On to the questions:

1. What do you want the experience of home education to give each of your kids?
2. What do you want your family as a whole to get out of homeschooling? 
3. What type of learning atmosphere do you want for your children?
4. When your children graduate from homeschooling, what skills would you like them to have?
5. How much time do you wish to devote to sit-down lessons each day?
6. What is the driving force behind your decision to homeschool?

There are many more questions you can ask yourself but these are a good start. Having these answered will give you a great jumping-off place when you move on to choosing a curriculum and scheduling your days. Also, and this is a big one, the answers to these questions serve as your “testing station.” When making decisions about homeschooling, test everything against these answers. If it doesn’t fit or if it doesn’t feel right, say no and move on. It's important to note that as your homeschool journey continues, you may find these answers don’t quite work for you anymore. Some of them may change dramatically based on your homeschool experiences and your family’s needs. That’s okay. In fact, it’s a good thing. The beauty of homeschooling is that you get to tailor your students' education to fit their needs and the needs of your family. Don't lose sight of that.