You have make the big decision in planning to homeschool you are probably wondering what you need to do next. You might be thinking you are in over your head and start to panic. DON’T! You can definitely do this. Start one step at a time and remember that you have chosen to homeschool for a reason and you know what is right for your child.
Planning to Homeschool, Now What?
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Why are you Planning to Homeschool
What is your reason behind homeschooling? You are going to revisit your reason for homeschooling over and over. It will be what gets you through the hard days, and drives you to keep going. Write you reason down and put it somewhere you will see it, in the front of your planner, on your fridge, etc.
Make Sure You Know the Laws
Make sure you know what the laws are in your province (or state/country). Educate yourself on your rights, and what is required from the beginning so you can plan for success through out your year instead of panicking at the end of the year and reporting time.
Don’t Plan Long Term
Plan for one year at a time, this is going to help you feel less overwhelmed. Year one of homeschooling for us was horrible! I cried, she cried, I wanted to throw in the towel so many times but I kept going back to my why. It is what got use through and the thought of “we just need to get through this year”, towards the middle of every year I have that thought.
Don’t plan on high school when you are still working on kindergarten. As you go along your confidence will grow and the future won’t look as scary. After four years, I can say that I feel like I can homeschool my kids through junior high at this point.
Determine Your Budget before Buying Anything
How much do you have to spend on curriculum and supplies? There are so many great resources available for homeschooling, free to expensive. I know that living in Saskatchewan (in our school division) that I have X amount I can spend and receive reimbursement for. That amount is going to be different from the amount that I will have to work with once we move to a different province without reimbursements.
Be Prepared to Defend Your Choice on Planning to Homeschool
I wish I didn’t feel I had to include this, but the reality of it is you are going to come across people who think they know better than you, who don’t think you can do it, and/or think your children won’t get what they need in life without going to public school.
Be confident in your choice. Create a 30 second elevator pitch to share your why, maybe to let them know your choice is the right one and they shouldn’t criticize. Then you can walk away and go about your day happily.
Find A Support System
There are so many ways to find a great support system now. You don’t have to necessarily find one right in your community with technology you can find a lot of great groups for homeschoolers on Facebook. We have a few homeschool friends, but otherwise just have great friends that support us in our decision.
