Where do you start? At the risk of sounding like guitar playing nun..."lets start at the very beginning a very good place to start"
Home schooling can be daunting, not because of a lack of information but rather because of an incredible wealth of it.
LURKING. A first step in your journey in deciding to home educate will undoubtedly be lurking.
Lurking on Home Schooling forums can be a great way to see whats out there,consider different approaches and philosophies,bone up on your legal obligations,share resources, review potential tools,get advice,and make contact with others.
JOIN UP Finding your local Association for home schooling and becoming a member is an absolute must do.Here in Perth the HBLN does everything from raising important social and political issues, organizing events for members, all the way to negotiating deals on educational resources.There are home schoolers on these forums that are the equivalent of Yoda in home based learning scenarios. If you have thought it,worried about it,searched for it,or second guessed it,chances are somebody else has too.Perth Homeschoolers Network and PHEN in yahoo groups are also brilliant starting points.
GET A SUPPORT NETWORK The most valuable thing I have found is to find your self a group of like minded individuals who should be.. a) people that you really like, b) people that share a similar sense of humour ( p.s If you have no sense of humour you should immediately go out and purchase one,you will need it later ,I promise. ) c) you should like their kids! d) It is also good if they like your kids!
I love my home schooling group.The friendships we had initially have grown in ways I never imagined.Even if I stopped homeschooling tomorrow my life would be richer for the experience of uncovering 1001 things I never knew about -------- (insert name of friend).I enjoy being able to contribute to a community just because I can, with no agenda other than the possibility of getting a biscuit.
RELAX. you dont have to do everything right now.....RELAX you dont have to know everything right now..
One of the most important mantras is giving yourself and your children time to connect and explore and just be..A lot of people advocate a period of deschooling or unschooling,and even if you dont fall in this category .There will be a period of adjustment for everyone.Remember why your doing it.If you cant remember write it on your forehead with a permanent marker.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Please Note: your decision to pull your children from what others perceive to be a perfectly good school will cause a variety of interesting responses, It sometimes make people uneasy and it also raises questions in there own minds,some people will take this as a personal betrayal and will avoid talking to you about the elephant in the room.(or avoid you altogether.) This is ok,keep smiling to reassure them you still love them and are not out to convert them! Others will have an insatiable curiosity regarding your seemingly insane decision.This is ok keep smiling to reassure them that you still love them and are not out to convert them.Virtually everybody WILL mention the word "SOCIALIZATION" This is ok smile and resist the urge to comment that since home school said childs social life has exploded by the power of Ten.
EXPLORE YOUR POSSIBILITIES If you could shape a world where you could learn whatever you wanted how would you build it.What does you child love?,what is there passion?.what will be there world? what do you have that is valuable? what legacy do you want to pass on? what do you want to avoid?what is important? This is the alchemy part, building a framework that supports what and how you choose to learn and enjoying it.
RELAX...again....before I home schooled I had a happy outgoing little boy who I dropped off in the morning and picked up at 3.00 We would get home,have afternoon tea,a game,park or TV.I would spend that time after, reading through notes in the school bag,marking things off the calender,packing lunches, making dinner,folding laundry,before Dad came home,then we ate and started the slow wind down to bedtime.I would ask about his day and he would tell me,usually in 10 minutes.I dont ask about his day now,now we talk about other things and sometimes its hard to stop talking.
