Getting Started

1. Decision to Home School

There are two main times when families decide to home school: A.) before their children ever go to school, and B.) when their children are already in school and a serious problem comes up. There are some differences in what these two types of families do.

There are also a few families who discover the benefits of home schooling while their children are in school, and just decide to switch to home schooling, even though their children are not having a serious problem in school. If you are in this third category, many of the tips for children being pulled out of school will still apply to you.

A. Before Your Children Go to School

This is a more gradual way to start home schooling. This usually gives the parents more time to learn how to home school. It is also more comfortable to experiment when they are in Kindergarten, because you can tell yourself that you can still send them to school in grade 1 if this doesn't work out. This is a great time to start home schooling.

It will still take you time to learn how to home school. Take your time, and try lots of different types of activities and field trips. And have fun with it.

B. When Your Children Are Already in School - If There Is a Big Problem

This is a bit more challenging, because 1.) usually you pull your child out fairly quickly without a lot of time to prepare yourself, 2.) usually your child has lost a lot of self confidence and is quite unhappy, and 3.) often the parents are very frustrated from trying unsuccessfully to fix this problem while keeping their child in school. Also, the child has usually been put well behind by the problem.

This will probably be harder on you when you start. You will have to be patient, as it may take a number of months to switch over fully to home schooling. However, don´t worry too much. Home schooling is a far more efficient way to educate children. If you get behind, or if your child is already behind, you will catch up, and eventually, once you get the kinks worked out, you and your child will enjoy it (most of the time).

Also, make sure you see our article on "De-schooling - For Children Who Have Been in a School" on our page "6. Decide Methods," below.

PLUS

If you haven't already read these, check out our pages on:

Should You Home School?

And one of the best ways to learn about home schooling while deciding if you will home school, is to meet home schooling families.

You will also probably want to do some of step 3, learning about home schooling, to help you with your decision.

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