How to Get Started

When you decide you want to take the homeschooling leap, the first thing you should do is check your state laws.  It is in your child's best interest that you are well versed in your states homeschooling laws.  The Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a great resource for not only state laws but information on court cases and legislation regarding homeschooling as it happens.

You've decided to homeschool and you know the laws for your state....now, HOW are you going to teach your children, what are you going to teach them and where are you getting the information that you will be teaching them???

Homeschool.com gives you a basic rundown of the different approaches to homeschooling.

If you are unsure of how to approach your child's education or what will work best for them you may want to check out Home Ed Expert.   

"Home Ed Expert is a powerful tool developed by home schooling specialists to help you find the curricula and resources that best fit your goals and teaching style, as well as your students’ unique needs and learning styles. Our proprietary system not only leads you to the teaching and learning tools that match your situation, it also enables you to purchase those tools at a great discount with just one click."

There are some great books for homeschoolers available. Here are some of my favorites:

Homeschool Your Child for Free by Laura Maery Gold and Joan M. Zielinski
The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child by Linda Dobson
The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas by Linda Dobson
100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum by Cathy Duffy
The "What Your ______ Grader Needs to Know" series by ED Hirsch Jr

I was recently told that Jessie Wise's, "The Well Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home" is a great book but I have not read it yet.

Staying with my recurrent theme that homeschooling does not have to be expensive; I would recommend getting what you can at the library first so you can decide what you need/want before you buy.  For those that you want to buy or can't get from the library, I suggest getting them used when possible.  I get most of my books from half.com.

There are literally thousands of homeschooling sites available with more popping up everyday.  Here are some of my favorites:
headoftheclass.com
lessonpathways.com
123learncurriculum.com
enchantedlearning.com
homeschooladvantage.com
edhelper.com
internet4classrooms.com
kidzone.ws
schoolexpress.com
superteacherworksheets.com
tlsbooks.com
abcteach.com
ixl.com
http://www.khanacademy.org/ 

Other great resources for homeschooling are blogs.  The homeschooling community, while widespread, is pretty tight because we all want our children to succeed and want homeschooling to get the credit it deserves.  I have many homeschooling blogs that I follow and I would encourage you to take time to check them all out.

There is one more homeschooling resource I have to share with you and that is Happy Homeschoolers.  This group actually exist on the social network, Cafemom.  The women within this group are a never ending wealth of information and support which is especially great for those of us who lack local homeschooling groups and co-ops.

I hope this is as helpful to you as I planned it to be.  : -)

Happy Homeschooling!