For some, homeschooling is not a decision made lightly. It’s not something you can really be impulsive about, because it takes planning and preparation, but if there’s one thing we trust ourselves with, it’s the well-being of our child—and we know that whatever happens, our child comes first.

There are too many decisions to take on when planning for homeschooling, and in this post, I will help you identify the 5 basic things you need to think about when starting a homeschool:

The current level of your child

Is your child a toddler or a preschooler? Did she already start in traditional school and you want her to transition to a homeschool? Do you have multiple children, and if so, what are each of their levels? Is she starting in the primary or middle school level?

These are only some of the questions you need to identify, because the resources and materials you are going to provide later on will greatly depend on your child’s working level.

Homeschooling schedule

Would you start at a later time? How many hours a day and how many breaks in between lessons and activities? Should every day be a lesson time or will you have time each week for more varied activities like environment explorations (museums, parks, etc.) or outdoor study times (going to libraries, mingling with other homeschooling families, etc.)? Would you be doing homeschooling 5 days a week similar in regular school?

The flexibility that homeschooling offers will ensure that you can create a schedule that would work best with your child and your other duties. The most important thing to think about at this point is to make sure that the learning is optimal and will best suit the needs of your child. You can be strict or lax in your scheduling, depending on your goals, but you have to remember that even though homeschooling would only take you a few hours a day to teach your child, every moment should count. This is more like a quality vs. quantity thing.

Your chosen approach

Would you outsource teaching such as downloading or purchasing online or video classes? Would you prefer direct instruction and a self-study delivery mode? Would you like to micro-manage or do a “scaffold” approach where you allow the child to discover solutions on their own while nudging them at times when you see them having difficulties? Would you prefer to be strict or lax? Would you like to be firm and consistent or generous and open at all times?

This is another important thing that would also depend on your daily interaction with your child—you can decide if you want your child to know the difference between home interaction time or homeschooling times, or just transition towards homeschooling period as if it is just another activity at home. You can decide whether to be there the whole time or just come back when your child finishes the exercise. You can decide to make house chores a learning activity, like the art in cooking dinner, the science in baking pastries, or the health implications of maintaining a clean home. You can decide whether to stick to a singular approach or shift to different strategies whenever you feel that there is a need for it.

Again, your child is central to this factor—you can choose an approach that suits you, but most importantly, you can choose an approach that suits your child.

Your child’s learning needs

Does your child have special needs in learning or does she have some struggles with specific tasks like writing or reading? What are the subjects she has difficulties with or subjects that she could accomplish with ease? What does she need to focus on for this week? Did she have a need to accommodate and reflect on a new learning that could have been taught by a family event that happened this week?

It would be worthy to take down notes of your observations on such things, as it might help you in the future when you decide to craft your “curricula” or lesson plan.

Where would you get resources and materials for homeschooling?

Would you study textbooks you have in your home, or scour the internet for resources and download those that you think would work for your child? Would you stick to a singular website that provides a structured lesson plan or would you be inserting multiple sources in your curricula? Would you prefer to use the library and other learning establishments or would you discuss and get ideas from a fellow homeschooler like you?

Whatever you decide on, remember that there are a lot of resources and support for homeschoolers, and with extensive research to back it up. One thing is for sure: you will never run short of the things that you can teach your child.

Let’s discuss: what are your answers to these questions? What other questions would be useful to ask if you want to start with homeschooling?