How To Begin Homeschooling

I've had a couple friends ask, "what is it that I need to do to start home schooling?"

I know when I first started looking into it, I quickly realized that it's a BIG subject with a lot of answers. So, I decided to blog about what I did to get going. I hope that you will keep in mind that I am in my first few months of homeschooling and am as beginner as you can get! But, I am willing to share what I know if it will help someone else out.

Here are the steps I took.




Step 1: Research What your state requires in order to homeschool.
I live in Wisconsin, and it seems to me that they make it pretty simple.

Wisconsin requires we do only two things.

1.) If your child is between the ages of 6 and 18 years old, you must enroll them into homeschool by using the PI-1206 form. So, if you have a five year old Kindergartener, they do not need to be enrolled unless your child will turn six on or before Septemeber 1st.

2.) You must complete 875 hours of instruction each academic year.
That doesn't nessasrily mean you need to spend 875 hours at the table doing book work.
You can include field trips and everyday life lessons into that time.

• Also, you do not need to be a certified teacher to teach your children.

And that's it for Wisconsin's requirements. Pretty simple.
If you do not live in Wisconsin, just Google, "such and such state requirements for homeschooling."

Step 2: Choose a curriculum.
The State of Wisconsin lets you choose your own curriculum. You are not required to teach your child what the kids in public schools are being taught.

You can mix and match different curriculums to meet your child's needs, or you can make up your own. I don't mind paying for a curriculm because it makes it easier for me.

Wisconsin homeschoolers are not required to take state-mandated tests like public school kids are.
You can choose to have them tested if you'd like, but they do not have to take any tests.

Step 3: Make sure you want to do this 100%.
I've already had my ups and downs. We have some very stressful days and we've had some awesome days! During a streak of bad days, I wanted to quit. I had to decide if I really wanted this. I came to the conclusion that as a Christian, homeschooling is the best choice for our family.

If you'd like to hear more about why I chose to homeschool, you can check out my post on that here: http://homeschoolingthehoffmans.blogspot.com/2014/02/why-we-chose-to-homeschool_21.html?m=1
One thing that's helping me stay with it was becoming a part of a "support group" on Facebook.
I joined two of the MFW Facebook pages and they've helped tremendously!

That's it! Those are the first steps to homeschooling. I hope that was helpful. Please ask any questions you have and I will do my best to answer them or help you find the answers to them.
Also, my fellow homeschooling moms, please let me know if I forgot anything!

Have a blessed day,
Mindi