First Steps in Homeschooling - Woven Homeschool

My very first steps in homeschooling started way back when my firstborn would have been going into pre-k.

I had a teacher certification, I had worked at a daycare with a preschool already, and I was already warmed up to homeschooling thanks to a some friends and family members. Why pay money for preschool when I was perfectly capable of getting him started?

I made color and shape flashcards, sang circle time songs every day, and prepared cute letter themed crafts. I took pride in helping my son memorize the days of the week and months of the year. Oh yes, we were going to rock this homeschool thing.

The reality of homeschooling

It turns out that I had quite a learning curve ahead of me. Being both mom and teacher was harder than I thought. We struggled with some behavioral issues, and I fretted over whether or not my kids were hitting academic benchmarks at the right time.

My self-doubt grew. As we approached official school age, the panic started to set in.

What am I doing trying to homeschool? How can I be sure we’re doing enough? How in the world do I pick the right curriculum? What if I mess up my child’s education for forever?

It wasn’t very pretty, folks. My first steps in homeschooling were turning into spurts of crazed runnning in circles followed by falling flat on my face. I was a highstrung basket case, hyperventilating over curriculum websites and sample routines.

I wish I had slowed down and taken things one step at a time. Maybe dipped my toes into the waters of homeschooling a little bit before diving in over my head. I think if I had, I could have learned to swim before nearly drowning myself in self-doubt.

First Steps in Homeschooling Mini-Course

You may be looking into homeschooling for one of several reasons. Perhaps:

You are a stay at home mom of a preschooler and you want to begin educational activities with her.
You want to establish an intentional learning routine for your school aged-kids home for the summer.
Your schools have closed for an extended period of time and you need to complete assignments at home while you juggle your work.
You want to begin homeschooling in earnest, complete with legal filing, curriculum, and end-of-year evaluations.

If you’re anything like me, you may be feeling completely lost and overwhelmed. What subjects should we study? Should we use a curriculum? When will we fit this in?

It’s tempting to try figure everything out. However, when you are first beginning, the most important thing is to start small, make some basic decisions, and get used to your new routine.

That’s why I made the First Steps in Homeschooling mini-email course. It’s totally free, and includes three short lessons to help you get started:

Your homeschool mindset: Taking off the pressure and finding the value in everyday learning.
Choosing what to learn: Narrowing down the possibilities so you can start studying what’s most important to you.
Creating a simple routine: Forming a starter schedule for your homeschool that you can add to gradually.

The mini course also comes with a free printable workbook that will help you put your first steps into action.

A quick disclaimer: This short email course is not meant to be comprehensive, nor is it meant to cover homeschool legalities. Rather, it is meant to help you get your feet wet in the world of homeschooling.

Ready to dive deeper?

If you’re looking for more in-depth guidance, I welcome you to check out How to Start Homeschooling, my comprehensive, self-paced, online course made just for new homeschooling families. It includes video and written lessons along with printable “homework” assignments to help you internalize what you’re learning. What’s more, I’ve tried to keep it as affordable as possible so that more families could benefit.