What I don't like about each of these answers is that I learn from them more about the answering homeschoolers, and nothing about those who would like to begin homeschooling. Let me explain.
One of the first paradigm shifts you may encounter as you begin the homeschooling journey is that there are very few wrong ways to go about learning. Contrary to the impression you may have received from professional educators or learning institutions, learning does not solely occur when we are taught something, nor is learning complete when we have a good answer or are tested on what we have learned. The long-forgotten truth is: to learn is to discover.
(In suggesting that there are very few wrong ways to learn, which idea may be contrary to the impression schools leave, I don't mean to belittle the very real challenges professional educators face, and the value their training and policies play in meeting those challenges. I have discussed a bit of that here.)
What I mean to say is: the simple fact of homeschooling is that you are home-learning. So getting back to the question of how to begin homeschooling, THAT means you CAN and perhaps SHOULD, if you feel so inclined, begin homeschooling TODAY.
You DON'T, in fact, need a book, OR a curriculum, OR a plan, OR an end vision, OR a support group. You might simply say, "I'm going to learn something with my child right now." WHAT you attempt to learn together probably won't matter very much. You could start with something she has asked about. If you can't remember any of her questions, you can begin with any of yours. How you go about finding your answers - whether it is googling it, asking someone, hitting the library, trying something out - won't reflect the right way to come to an answer. But it will reflect your way. (Or your child's way, if he is old enough to jump right in and find the answer first.) Similarly, how you share the answers together isn't the right way to share, but it will be your way.
Thus begins your process of discovering HOW to homeschool. THIS learning, the learning you can begin right now, today, will give you clues as well as the best questions about what YOU might want to try next in your homeschooling process. For example, if in your learning something together today, you came to answers by throwing the question up on Facebook, joining a group will likely be a very helpful move. If you hit a book, or delved into the why's of anything, a book on homeschooling philosophies might be what helps YOU most. If you really struggled to think of anything you wanted to learn, or worried that what you thought might be most interesting wouldn't be covered on any test, finding a curriculum will take some stress out of what to learn next and will likely be relevant to the path your child was or would be on in school.
You DON'T, in fact, need a book, OR a curriculum, OR a plan, OR an end vision, OR a support group. You might simply say, "I'm going to learn something with my child right now." WHAT you attempt to learn together probably won't matter very much. You could start with something she has asked about. If you can't remember any of her questions, you can begin with any of yours. How you go about finding your answers - whether it is googling it, asking someone, hitting the library, trying something out - won't reflect the right way to come to an answer. But it will reflect your way. (Or your child's way, if he is old enough to jump right in and find the answer first.) Similarly, how you share the answers together isn't the right way to share, but it will be your way.
Thus begins your process of discovering HOW to homeschool. THIS learning, the learning you can begin right now, today, will give you clues as well as the best questions about what YOU might want to try next in your homeschooling process. For example, if in your learning something together today, you came to answers by throwing the question up on Facebook, joining a group will likely be a very helpful move. If you hit a book, or delved into the why's of anything, a book on homeschooling philosophies might be what helps YOU most. If you really struggled to think of anything you wanted to learn, or worried that what you thought might be most interesting wouldn't be covered on any test, finding a curriculum will take some stress out of what to learn next and will likely be relevant to the path your child was or would be on in school.
There! That wasn't so bad, was it? You did it, and you CAN do it. Because home-learning is just that! We continuously DISCOVER questions and then find answers to them. Sometimes we discover academic answers. Always we discover HOW we learn, how we share that knowledge, and what makes each person in our family tick. It's one of the best parts of homeschooling. If you don't have all the answers about how you are going to homeschool today, NOW is the perfect time to begin the discovery process!
(If you still feel you need a list of instructions, check out this blog post for a 4 step process.)
PS: Ultimately, when it comes to NOT sending a school-age child to school, the only thing you NEED to do is figure out the legalities of keeping him or her home, and complete those requirements. What those are varies from state to state, even from country to country, so I won't get into specifics here. But hey! there's your first question! :) Happy Discovering!
PPS: Actually, Utah specifics can be found here: http://www.uhea.org/utah-homeschool-laws/filing-your-affidavit/
That was awesome!
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