Resources for getting started homeschooling

Are you getting ready to start homeschooling for the first time? Congrats and welcome! Getting started can feel a bit overwhelming but there are so many resources out there that can help. From online resources, to meeting fellow homeschoolers, to some great books. I am going to list some that I have found most useful for our homeschooling journey. We live in Ohio so some of these may be more specific to our state but you can easily apply these ideas to your own state.

Online homeschool resources

Join a homeschool group via Facebook

Honestly I am not big into Facebook but when it came time to finding fellow homeschoolers I knew nobody. Joining homeschooling groups on Facebook tremendously helped us with our homeschooling journey. Some groups are more general to the state at large and give great advice for getting started. For example, Ohio Homeschooling for Beginners and Ohio Homeschooling Parents are two great groups. Some groups are more focused on educational meet ups or just socializing. These are going to be more of the “county groups” where you will search something like Wayne County Homeschoolers and get a list of groups in that area. When searching for groups to join they will give information and their rules before you apply to join and often times you need to answer some questions upon joining. While some groups share more meet up opportunities, others share more curriculum and book recommendations and educational activity ideas. There are secular groups, religious groups, nature exploring groups, co-ops, the list goes on. If you don’t like what is being said in the group you can leave it easily, but most of the people are pretty respectful in the various groups. We have done a few meet ups just at playgrounds, and some activities where we got discounts going as a homeschool group. It is a great way to network with fellow homeschoolers.

Pinterest

Pinterest is my go to when I am trying to look up fun creative ways to teach something. I like to save up lots of ideas to come back to later as well.

Websites with a lot of homeschool information

• Ohio Homeschooling Parents I have found their website very detailed on how to get started homeschooling, and various scenarios to take into account. They have some very useful forms, as well as a local groups list, and recommended assessors.
• HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association)  This organization offers great resources to protect your right to homeschool as well as other benefits.

Meeting Fellow Homeschoolers

• Find and Join a Co-Op in your area – Co-ops are made by groups of families that join together regularly in a common goal of educating their children. In a co-op everyone helps. You may help teach a class, from nature journaling to preschool basics. You may help assist where needed in other ways. Some groups meet a few times a week, and others a couple times a month. Some will include a drop off option (depending on the laws of that state). The classes and activities offered will vary depending on the group. You just need to find one (or two) that work for you and your family and go from there!
• Join a Facebook group that involves meetups. Just retouching on what I already stated above that Facebook groups can be a great way to meet fellow homeschoolers.
• Good ol’ Fashioned meet others while out and about. Going to the zoo or a science museum on a Thursday at 11:00? Chances are if you see other families there with school aged children they are homeschooling as well. You are probably not going with the intent to make some friends but who knows maybe you will.
• Going to a homeschool convention or a homeschool used curriculum sale for example.

Books about homeschooling

There are so many helpful books out there. The following books are all very popular recommendations, by not just myself but many others as well.

• The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer  
  • This book was written for those whom have children that have become very unenthused about learning, or for those who want to set a good foundation to an enjoyment of lifetime learning. It gives good instructions on teaching reading comprehension, and bringing up well rounded children with a lifetime curiosity for learning.
• Home Learning Year by Year by Rebecca Rupp  
  • This book has been very helpful for myself and is highly recommended by many others as well. She discusses education more at length and also gives more helpful resources. The bulk of her book gives a grade by grade guide broken down by subject about things you should think about including in your homeschool journey. I like to go through it a few times a year to evaluate our own homeschoolers. I tend to get most of my books from the library and only buy the gems that will be useful for years to come and this is one of them!
• Dumbing us Down by John Taylor Gatto  
  • Another favorite among many homeschoolers. Interesting read that gets you thinking about why things are set up the way they are in public schools and why things need to change.
    

    Thirty years in New York City’s public schools led John Gatto to the sad conclusion that compulsory schooling does little but teach young people to follow orders like cogs in an industrial machine. This second edition describes the wide-spread impact of the book and Gatto’s “guerrilla teaching.”

• Learning all the Time by John Holt  
  • This one is also very popular amount many in the homeschooling realm.

This delightful book by the influential author of How Children Fail and How Children Learn shows how children learn to read, write, and count in their everyday life at home and how adults can respect and encourage this wonderful process.

• Wild + Free</li>
  • Someone in our homeschool co-op introduced me to this book, and I have to say I love it! It is a very encouraging book if you are new to homeschooling or need to reevaluate a stressful homeschooling situation.

Curriculum Resources for Homeschoolers

There are so many resources out there from full curriculums to extra items to help reinforce a certain concept. You don’t need a curriculum to homeschool and even if you do have one you don’t have to follow it page by page. Curriculum make it easier for us parents to just open up a book and have it set out what you should cover. If your child has already mastered the lesson then skip over it. On the same hand if you have been working on a subject and the child just isn’t getting it add to it in a different way, whether that be printables to supplement with or an educational activity or toy to practice with.  You can simply type a search for a certain subject into your search engine or ask other homeschoolers what worked for them.

• Cathy Duffy Reviews Large resource of curriculum reviews. You don’t have to use a curriculum to homeschool but they can be very helpful depending on your style of homeschooling and she has reviewed lots of them!
• Sunshine and Clover 123 I’ve got to give a shout out to my shop and site too that I have been working hard on!
  • My article on Recommended Kindergarten Curriculums and More if you are homeschooling a kindergartener.
  • Sunshine and Clover 123 Shop Hand illustrated educational printables.
    • Also on Etsy:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/sunshineandclover123

In Conclussion

There are so many options out there if you need to know more about anything dealing with homeschool. I hope my recommended online resources, tips on meeting fellow homeschoolers, recommended books and curriculum help get your homeschooling smoothly in no time! Have fun learning!

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Additional Homeschooling Information

Getting Started Homeschooling in Ohio – Not sure where to start with homeschooling? Check out this post for the FAQs about homeschooling in Ohio.

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