Making the Choice: When to Start Homeschooling
Freedom to Live Life as It Was Meant to Be Lived
Are you wondering when to start homeschooling? Homeschooling has been around longer than any other form of education. Before there were brick-and-mortar buildings and teachers with education degrees that prepared them for multitudes of students, there was simply learning passed from one generation to the next.
Artists, pioneers, engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs were cultivated. Imagination was just as important as knowledge, and the soul of the society was passed through generations. That way of life still exists and thrives in the homeschool environment where parents are given back the authority to decide what is important for their children.
Freedom to Decide Worldview
There is no doubt that what children are taught today will influence how they interact with their world tomorrow. Classrooms with a one-size-fits-all philosophy miss the uniqueness of the individual child. Taught as a group leads to thought as a group.
What do you truly want to pass on to not only your children, but also future generations? Homeschooling isn’t a classroom. It is a way of life. Life happens and learning never stops. Every moment in a student’s life is meaningful and incorporated. Homeschooling families don’t track life as a series of tasks satisfactorily completed with a checkmark. Instead, they measure understanding of concepts, encourage immersive learning experiences, and allow for love of learning to grow in areas of interest.
Freedom to Choose
No two families are alike. The world would be a dull and mundane place to be if we were simply automatons moving from one moment to the next. Generations of children have been trained to follow predetermined rules, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a different way of doing things. There’s your way!
And as long as you are making the conscious choice of what is right for your family; you are doing the right thing. No one should tell you when to start homeschooling. Just make sure it’s your choice. Is homeschooling right for your family? Well, the easy answer is, “You’ll never know if you never try.”
How and When to Start Homeschooling
I’ve got some good news for you. You’ve been homeschooling since the beginning. You’ve taught your children many things without even thinking about school. So why should now be any different? If, however, you are debating whether to pull your student from a public or private school setting and bring them home, you might be nervous. And that’s okay!
Change is always hard because it’s unknown. Do you start homeschooling tomorrow or wait until the next school year? I can’t answer that for you, but I can give you some advice. The best place to start is with a date night with your spouse.
A few hours away with the person you love will give you space to look at your family dynamic to decide if it is meeting your dream scenario. Talk about the possibility of a family schedule where there are no blackout dates because of a school calendar. Decide what priorities you want to protect. What opportunities do you want to pursue? By intentionally creating a family rhythm, you can work towards the life you want to build.
Decision Made! Now What?
Once your family has made the choice to homeschool, you need to research the requirements set by your state. The Homeschool Legal Defense Association is an organization with a wealth of knowledge for you. Browse their website and find out how you can let your district know that you are choosing to homeschool.
Choosing the Right Curriculum
The next step in regards to when to start homeschooling, is to consider the curriculum you feel is a good fit for your family. Your curriculum choices should reflect your larger end-goal perspective. Typically, the END-goal in choosing a curriculum is not to create a transcript, but rather to shape your children’s minds, hearts, and souls. As homeschoolers, we want our children to become intelligent, wise, moral, mature, and compassionate adults. So, while you’re planning out your school year, be careful that your plans and your curriculum choices don’t block out your big picture objective.
We invite you to spend some time exploring the curriculum we offer at Apologia. Because we’re homeschoolers too, we know how important it is to have the best materials available for students of all ages. And so, we’ve brought together professionals in their fields (and many of them homeschoolers too) to write curriculum in a way that creates an educated person. We aren’t about honoring a state standard; we honor God as the Creator. We believe that truth exists in all subjects, and that God is central to that truth.
We believe that an educated person:
- Speaks comfortably in the subject matter and can explain complicated concepts in their own words. Our textbooks are written in a conversational tone so that your children are conversing in the subject matter the moment they open an Apologia textbook. And we’ve taken the stress out of the subject for you – the textbooks are the teachers. You do not have to have a complicated lesson plan when you homeschool with Apologia. We’ve even built in “On Your Own” moments where students stop and self-check their knowledge before moving on.
- Is wise and moral because he or she relies on God. Societal pressures are not an issue when you are raising children who can understand their unique place in Creation. Every Apologia course is taught from a Biblical worldview. We don’t shy away from teaching the beauty of Christianity in our textbooks.
- Has life skills that make them observant and responsible. They pull from a strength that is physical, mental, and spiritual, and have the stamina and perseverance to see things through. Their work ethic holds them accountable for their own actions. At Apologia, we help you teach your children to strive to achieve by creating materials such as student notebooks that give students the personal initiative to track and be responsible for their course work. With the Apologia curriculum, students are literally taught how to be independent learners.
An Exciting Journey Awaits
If you believe homeschooling is the right fit for your family, we’re excited for you! We’re also here for you every step of the way. Start here for more information on Apologia’s mission and approach to learning. Download some of the fun, free content we’ve created for your family. Spend some time browsing our curriculum options. And if you have any questions, feel free to call our incredible customer service team for answers to any of your questions. We know that we can’t be the perfect fit for every family, but we are grateful that you consider our curriculum options as you explore homeschooling. We work hard to provide your family with options that allow you to curate your children’s education and set them on a path as lifelong learners.
