You do not need to become entangled or even
burdened with what the school down the street is up to, because you have
the ability to design a program that is perfectly suited for not only
each of your children, but your entire family as well.

To be a successful homeschooler you need a foundation, a plan, and sheer determination.

Foundation

This is the most essential piece to the homeschooling puzzle.

You need to lay a solid foundation for your children and your family.

• What does your ideal homeschool environment look like?
• What do imagine your daily routine to look like? How will the house run in the midst of your homeschool day?
• Will your children help around the house?
• What part will both you and your spouse play in their education?
• Will you incorporate your faith into the school day?

If you are a new homeschooler, you should take a few days
to consider what your foundation should look like.

If you are a brand
new homeschooler, understand you may laugh at your ideas a few months
from now, but that should not stop you from laying an idea of your
foundation.

Plan

It is true, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

The
good news is, in homeschooling the plan is fluid and changeable. You do
not need to stick with plans that are failing, but you do need a plan.

• What grade levels are your children?
• What subjects are required in your state?
• What topics would you like to teach your children?
• Will you design your own teaching materials or acquire them from a big curriculum company?
• How long will your school day/year be?
• Where will you find coaching, mentoring, and encouragement?

Sheer Determination

Homeschooling is wonderful, but
it is also wonderfully hard.

It is a huge undertaking to not only
educate your child, but keep your home from falling apart
simultaneously. There will absolutely be days when you question
everything.

There will be more than one day, week, or year that you fear
that you are ruining your child’s education. This is normal.

Before you go any deeper into this thing called homeschooling, you should:

• Determine that you will stay the course.
• Determine
  to never quit out of frustration. When those days come that cause you
  to believe you should quit, declare it a free play day, go to the
  library, visit a veteran homeschooler, or go to the zoo.
• Just determine to never quit out of frustration.
• Understand
  that homeschooling is hard, but that just because it is hard does not
  mean that you are unqualified. Honestly there is no one more qualified
  to teach your children than you are. You know their strengths,
  weaknesses, and passions better than anyone else.

Homeschooling
can be extremely fun, rewarding and exhausting.

It is worth every bit of
effort to be able to see your child blossom into a curious learner.

If what you are currently doing is not working, go back and look at your foundation and plan.

As a veteran homeschooler, I can assure you that it is very common
for homeschoolers to go on tangents. It is also common to throw out
topics or whole curriculums that are not a good fit for your family.

Change is good.

Homeschooling is good. It is not for everyone, but it is good!