10 Tips to Start Homeschooling Kids

Hi everyone,

Great to meet you again here. Some friends of mine visited me a couple of weeks ago asking how to start homeschooling. Homeschooling is very rare here. There isn’t a clear law about homeschooling in Indonesia, I feel I was very terrible to answer the question. It really forced me to review what I have written, How We Started our Homeschooling Formally and to recall what we have done.

Pray a lot
There are a lot of things to ask and worry about on the first time of homeschooling. Actually it is not only for the first time homeschoolers, but even the some years of homeschooling might still have things to worry. It depends on your own situation and condition. I cannot say that parents of public schooled children are free of being worried.
Prayer is a must for all religions to give more power for everyone. For Christians, we believe that God will provide the best way and answer for us.
A Commitment with a Partner or Husband
Our husband or partner is the greatest supporter in our homeschooling. Homeschooling is a choice where parents take full responsibility toward their children’s education. For single parents, this is not a problem at all. However, for a couple parent, the support from your partner or husband would be very useful and I can say it is a must. It provides encouragement for the whole family.
Write your vision and mission
Vision and a mission statement is imperative when homeschooling your children. This is to help you remember the why you have chosen to homeschool. Homeschooling doesn’t always go smoothly. There is always a time when you feel desperate and down. It will prevent you of being burnt out.
Read General Homeschooling Books
There are a lot of homeschooling books available for you to read to explore the basic concept, principles, and methods of homeschooling. For me, reading general homeschooling books are not only for newbies, but it is also important for those who have been homeschooling longer. By reading the general books, we can get refreshed of any examples and theory of homeschooling to enhance our experience. Check out my favourite homeschooling books.
Build up networking
Although the trend of homeschooling is increasing through the years, the number of children in public schools in the society is greater than homeschooling. You are very lucky if you have some homeschooling neighbours to meet everyday. Living in a very unique way, it is fun for homeschoolers to have virtual buddies to encourage each other and to exchange ideas. By networking you can get more ideas and more perspectives of homeschooling realities.
Get into more specific homeschooling methods
It is the time to browse the how of homeschooling. Each child has each own needs and parents should be able to recognize and to fulfil the best method and learning styles of each child for the sake of the children. There are ranges of homeschooling method principles that you can customize to your children needs. Some of them are available in my list of favourite homeschooling books.
Share the Work
Homeschooling will not make you a super mom or super teacher to your children. There are some areas where you can share with others. You don’t have to sacrifice yourselves all of the time. Therefore, looking for other people who can assist and replace you in certain time is something common. For instance, I am not good in arts, so I delegate arts lessons to a tutor.
Talk to your Children
When you take your children out of the public school, you need to talk to them from heart to heart about the idea of homeschooling. Listen to their voice whether it is positive or negative. Try to get the best things for them. You might need do some compromise with them. Communicate what you expect from homeschooling and listen to what they expect. If you have younger children, you might show them that they are so special.
Plan ahead
Planning and planning again.You might get bored and desperate when planning the school year. On the other hand you might think that your children don’t need any planning for learning. Planning doesn’t have to be prepared long time in advance, but planning would be very useful so that your children can get most out of their learning time. Even when you have unschooled children, planning can help directing the next step of children’s learning.
Get your resources
Getting your homeschool resources should be done after your are clear with the vision, mission, objectives, methods that you think are best for your children. Homeschooling doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. The expensive resources or curriculum doesn’t guarantee the quality and also it is not always the best for your children. Get some frugal homeschooling resources.