Give your child the best start in life

How to start homeschooling

How to start homeschooling



Some thinking and planning can go a long way…Read our guide below to start homeschooling your little children for the best start in life.


Before you start homeschooling…


Make sure you are convinced with why you want to start homeschooling.

It might be a temporary situation.  Due to external circumstances like coronavirus (COVID-19), you might be forced to homeschool your children.  If that is the case, then finding good homeschooling activities and services online can be a good way to navigate your temporary circumstances.

Unhappiness with existing school systems.  If you are genuinely unhappy with the school you send your children to, you might be thinking of alternatives.  Is your unhappiness because of the school infrastructure, the lack of attention being provided to your child, the lack of qualified staff or is your child being bullied?


Talk to your family about your desire to start homeschooling

Write down your reasons and if you can provide proof.  Writing things down can be a great way to present your reasons logically with your family members.  This is an important decision and must be dealt with a calm manner.

Talk to as many family members as you can.  Different people may bring different perspectives into the pros and cons of homeschooling.


Talk to other parents who homeschool.

Reach out to parents who homeschool their children and learn how they homeschool.  There are many support groups online that you can write to.  Reach out to different kinds of homeschoolers; parents who are new like you, parents who have homeschooled their children for a while, and parents who tried homeschooling but went back to traditional schooling systems.  Prepare a set of questions before you reach out to them.


Once you have decided that you want to start homeschooling…


Develop your homeschooling goals.  Brainstorm your long terms plans for your child. Write down what you did not like about traditional school systems.  If you are going to adopt homeschooling as a temporary measure, it is still important to write down your goals during that period.  Do you want your child to keep pace with what might have been taught at school?  How will you provide the materials necessary to keep pace?  Does your child’s previous school provide their own homeschooling modes?  Will they accept being taught in a homeschool mode after they come back to school?


Research the laws before you start homeschooling

Homeschooling might be legal in our country, but laws and requirements might vary state to state.  Are there are any parent qualification requirements that you need to be aware of?  If this is a temporary situation, is there a trial period?


Understand your child’s learning styles before you start homeschooling

Does your child learn better when they see things, or do activities or listen to instructions or a combination of all? Learn what motivates your child.  Every child is unique and they may have inherent strengths that you can build on.


Research the curriculum you want to focus when you start homeschooling today

Are you going to follow the same curriculum as your school or focus more on individual subjects that your child is strong in?  Do you want to focus on building on your child’s strengths or want your child to excel in all areas?  Do you want to add technology, computer science and world languages subjects or just stick to the core subject areas?


Plan and organize before you start homeschooling

Develop a daily schedule.  Get your child involved in how they would like to go about their day.  Do they want to do math first and then arts or physical exercise first.  Encourage a badge system for every milestone they achieve.  This will keep them motivated.  Sometimes socializing is not permitted due to external health reasons. Include Facetime in the schedule.


Different weekends.  Make sure your schedules are different for the weekday and for the weekends.  Include a lot of activities that involve their interests.


Create mini centers around the house.  Your child’s desk can be the learning center.  Attach a string in another corner so that your child hang their paintings (art center), put a basket full of science learning toys like a mini microscope (science center) and include puzzles, shapes and blocks in the math center.  Arrange everything in bins so that your child learns how to put it back.




This tool does not provide medical advice or educational advice. See additional information.

MORE ON Homeschooling


Our weekly lifestyle edit for the modern parent and child…


Get Nidara