To start homeschooling, you need to research your state’s legal requirements, choose a curriculum approach that fits your child’s learning style, establish a daily routine, and connect with a local or online homeschool community for support. Most families find the first year the hardest — not because of the teaching, but because of unlearning the assumption that school has to look like school.
Step 1 — Know Your State’s Homeschooling Laws
Homeschooling is legal in all 50 US states, but requirements vary significantly. Some states require formal notification, curriculum approval, standardized testing, or portfolio reviews. Others have almost no requirements at all. Before you pull your child from school, look up the specific requirements for your state through HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association) or your state’s department of education website.
Key questions to answer for your state:
- Do I need to file a notice of intent to homeschool?
- Are there required subjects or minimum instructional hours?
- Is standardized testing required, and if so, at what ages?
- Do I need to keep attendance records or portfolios?
Step 2 — Choose Your Homeschooling Approach
One of the most liberating — and initially overwhelming — aspects of homeschooling is that you get to choose how your child learns. There’s no single right approach. The most common methods include:
Classical Homeschooling
Follows a three-stage model (grammar, logic, rhetoric) based on the developmental stages of learning. Heavy emphasis on great books, history, and language. Works well for children who love structure and depth.
Charlotte Mason
Prioritizes living books over textbooks, nature study, narration, and short focused lessons. Emphasizes the whole child — art, music, handicrafts, and outdoor time are core parts of the curriculum, not extras. Coloring pages and illustrated narration tie in naturally to this method.
Unschooling
Child-led learning that follows the child’s natural curiosity without a set curriculum. Requires a high level of parental engagement and trust in the process. Works exceptionally well for highly self-motivated children.
Eclectic Homeschooling
Most families end up here — taking what works from multiple approaches and building a custom routine. A structured math curriculum paired with Charlotte Mason-style reading and nature study, for example, is a common and effective combination.
Step 3 — Build Your Daily Routine
A predictable routine is the single most important structural element in successful homeschooling — not because every day needs to be identical, but because children’s brains learn better with rhythmic consistency. You don’t need a rigid minute-by-minute schedule. A simple daily rhythm works better:
- Morning:strong> Core academics — reading, writing, math — when focus is sharpest
- Mid-morning: Electives, projects, or hands-on activities (this is where coloring, art, and crafts naturally fit)
- After lunch: Reading aloud, audiobooks, or quiet independent work
- Afternoon: Free play, outdoor time, extracurriculars
Our alphabet coloring pages and math coloring pages are particularly useful in morning academic blocks — they reinforce lessons kinesthetically and give hands a break from writing without losing the learning thread. For more on building coloring into your homeschool day, visit our Tips & Techniques hub.
Step 4 — Choose Your Curriculum and Materials
You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to homeschool effectively. Many excellent resources are free or low-cost. Start minimal — it’s far easier to add materials than to manage curriculum overwhelm in your first year.
Reliable free and low-cost resources:
- Khan Academy — free, comprehensive, self-paced math and science from K through 12
- Librivox and Gutenberg — free audiobooks and texts for living books and read-alouds
- Printable coloring pages — our science coloring pages, life cycle pages, and fruit and vegetable pages all support unit study themes across subjects
- Your local library — still the single best homeschooling resource most families underuse
Step 5 — Connect with a Homeschool Community
Isolation is the most common reason families quit homeschooling in the first year. Find your people early. Options include local homeschool co-ops (often searchable through HSLDA or Facebook groups), statewide homeschool associations, online communities for your chosen curriculum approach, and extracurricular programs through libraries, community centers, and sports leagues that welcome homeschoolers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I legally start homeschooling?
Look up your specific state’s requirements — every state is different. Most states require either a formal notice of intent to homeschool filed with your local school district, or withdrawal from your current school. Some states have almost no requirements; others require curriculum approval, testing, or portfolio reviews. The HSLDA website has a state-by-state legal guide that’s reliable and regularly updated.
Do I need teaching credentials to homeschool my child?
In most states, no. A handful of states have some qualification requirements, but the majority require only that the parent be capable of teaching the required subjects. More than 3.3 million US children are currently homeschooled, and the vast majority by parents without formal teaching credentials.
How much does homeschooling cost?
Homeschooling can cost anywhere from nearly nothing to several thousand dollars per year, depending entirely on what curriculum and activities you choose. Families using primarily library books, free online resources, and printable materials can homeschool effectively for under $200 per year. Comprehensive packaged curricula from major publishers can run $1,500–$2,500 per year. Most families land somewhere in between.
How many hours a day do I need to homeschool?
Formal instruction time for homeschooled children is typically 2–4 hours per day, significantly less than the 6–7 hours of school time — primarily because the 1:1 or 1:2 ratio eliminates the overhead of managing a class of 25. The rest of the day filled with reading, play, projects, and life experience counts as education. State requirements vary, but most specify hours per year rather than per day.
What do I do if my child resists homeschooling?
Resistance is normal, especially in the first few months during “deschooling” — the period of adjustment where children shed school habits and expectations. The general guideline is one month of deschooling for every year of traditional school before expecting a natural rhythm to emerge. During this period, keep academics light, focus on connection, and lean into activities your child genuinely enjoys as the entry point back to learning.
Starting homeschooling is one of the more significant commitments a family can make — but it’s also one of the more reversible ones. You can always return to traditional school if it isn’t working. Most families who persist past the first year find the flexibility, depth, and quality of learning available through homeschooling worth every early challenge. Our Tips & Techniques hub has more resources specifically for homeschooling families building their curriculum toolkit.
