Thinking about home schooling your children? This list of tips from a seasoned home schooling parent will help you find the support and resources you need to be successful.

  • Gather as many home schooling resources as possible. Most home schooling educators consider themselves professionals, just as teachers do. Home schooling magazines are our professional journals. Subscribe to one or two. Just reading the advertisements will help you discover all of the home schooling curriculum available.  Also check your public library or bookstore for home schooling supplies and books. There are an abundance of titles available. Finally, a search on the Internet will return a treasure-trove of articles on home schooling.
  • Attend conferences. There are several home schooling book fairs, conferences and conventions throughout the nation each year, usually in the spring or summer. Attend the talks, check out the curriculum on sale, and talk to the vendors. To locate conferences, contact state or local support groups.
  • Seek out other home schoolers. Don’t be shy about asking lots of questions. In fact, ask if you can spend some time with them simply observing a day in their life.
  • Join a support group. It is very helpful to find like-minded families who support your educational choice. The many benefits of joining a support group include not only mutual encouragement, but organized sports teams, field trips, social get-togethers, music and drama clubs, and more. Home schoolers in rural areas who have a hard time finding local support groups can join an online support group. Start by searching for home schooling groups and listservs at Yahoo or Google.
  • Set educational goals. Sit down along with your child and determine the academic goals that you desire to achieve in the next year. Make sure that your goals are attainable so that you are not discouraged half way through the year.
  • Set family goals. Not all education is academic; it is also psychological, emotional, physical, and spiritual. As a family, ask what goals you would like to attain in the next year. Perhaps your goal is simply to learn to work together as a family unit, that you grow together spiritually, or that you become more involved in community service works.
  • Choose a curriculum. You can put together your own curriculum or sign up with a home study program. Home study programs come in all shapes and sizes, from helping you design your own curriculum to providing you with everything—from textbooks to daily lesson plans to report cards and diplomas. Again, following the previous steps will help you in making this decision.
  • Have fun! This may sound silly, but I am serious. It is easy to become overwhelmed by the task at hand and burnout before you barely begin. Education should be enjoyable; the best teachers are those who love their subject matter. Enjoy learning beside your children. And remember to include fun projects in addition to strict academics. 

Maureen Wittmann is a homes schooling mother of six children. Her family lives and learns in Lansing, Michigan.