There are many things to consider, as you begin this adventure called homeschooling.  The first thing to consider is:  What is your philosophy of education?  For example, perhaps you want your children to love to learn and to know that life is about learning.  As you begin to think through these things, you may want to start a journal, writing down all your ideas.  One of the next things that you have to consider is what you want your school day to look like?  Do you want everyone in their room studying quietly?  Or do you want everyone in one room learning together?  Do you want to go on lots of field trips?  Be sure to jot down those thoughts as well.   Now, you need to think about your child/children and how they learn.  What is your child’s learning style?  Are they visual, audio, or kinesthetic (hands on)?  For help with this, please, go to our Observable Characteristics page.  After you have made some notes on learning styles, you need to consider how you are going to teach.  What method are you going to use?  Some of the more common methods are:  traditional, classical, unit study, independent study, Charlotte Mason, Montessori, unschooling, eclectic, umbrella program, distance learning program and the list goes on and on.  A reference tool that might be helpful is Debra Bell’s Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling. In this book, Mrs. Bell covers a ton of information about homeschooling and the impact it will have on your family. After you have considered all of these things, you must begin to look at your budget. Homeschooling is not an endeavor to be taken lightly.  We cannot emphasize enough that a family must count the cost, before they begin this journey.  When you look at homeschooling, you must remember that you are going to be in charge of doing all the things a school would be doing for your child/children administration, counseling, teaching.  Your budget is not only the financial aspect of homeschooling, but also your time and the physical, mental, emotional, psychological and spiritual well being of your students and your family.  When you have considered all of these aspects, we recommend a budget of $200-$400 per student/per year, if you are willing to use used materials.  Otherwise, your budget will need to be much larger.  Now that you have determined how much you are going to spend, you can begin to look at the books you will use. In the early years of homeschooling, there was not a lot of curriculum to choose from.  Today there are literally hundreds of curriculums to look at and consider.  There is one book that you might want to consider purchasing before buying any curriculum;  you might want to use Cathy Duffy’s 102 Top Picks.  In this book, she has taken the time to review curriculums and she recommends them based on learning styles.  This may be a helpful resource.  We also love to help get families started on homeschooling.  We have tons of textbooks, books, and manipulatives to help you on this adventure.  Give us a call and let us be of service to you today!