Whether you just made the decision yesterday or you've been thinking about it for months — here's exactly what to do first, in order, without the overwhelm.
Homeschool law varies dramatically by state. In Idaho, Texas, and Alaska you can start tomorrow with zero paperwork. In Pennsylvania and New York, there's a formal approval process. Before you do anything else, look up your state.
Key things to check: Do you need to notify your school district? Are there required subjects? Testing requirements? Instructor qualifications? Our state database covers all of this in plain English for all 50 states.
If your child is currently enrolled in school, you'll need to formally withdraw them. In most states this is a simple written notice to the school. Some states require you to also notify your local school district or Department of Education that you're homeschooling.
A few important notes:
Keep a copy of everything. Any written notice you send, send it certified mail and keep your receipt. If a school administrator ever questions your legal status, you want documentation.
You don't owe them a curriculum. In most states, when you withdraw, you do not have to tell the school what curriculum you're using, your schedule, or your educational philosophy. You're simply withdrawing enrollment.
This is the most underrated piece of advice in homeschooling, and almost no one talks about it: if your kid just left a difficult school situation — give them time to decompress before you start structured academics.
Kids who've experienced school stress, anxiety, burnout, or just a poor fit often need weeks (sometimes months) to reset. This looks like boredom, video games, unstructured play, reading for fun, and asking "when do we start school?" This is not wasted time. This is healing.
For parents: resist the urge to immediately replicate a school schedule at home. "School at home" is not homeschooling. You have more flexibility than you realize, and the flexibility is the point.
There's no single way to homeschool. Your approach will likely evolve over time — most families start with one method and drift toward something more eclectic. That's completely normal.
Here's a quick overview of the main philosophies to help you find your starting point:
New homeschool families consistently make the same mistake: buying too much curriculum before they know what works for their kid. Don't buy a full-year package until you've tried something with your child. Many publishers offer samples. Most curriculum has a resale market.
A practical starting approach: pick the two hardest subjects to teach (usually math and language arts), get a solid curriculum for those, and fill everything else with library books, documentaries, and real-world experience for the first year. You can add structure as you learn what your child needs.
Homeschooling in isolation is hard. The families who thrive long-term almost always have community — a co-op, a local group, online connections, or even just a few other homeschool families they can vent to and learn from.
Find a local co-op through your state homeschool association (our state pages link directly to them). Look for Facebook groups for your state or city. Check out the influencer and community accounts we've curated — many of them share detailed day-in-the-life content that's genuinely useful when you're figuring out what your days should look like.
Check these off as you go. Click to mark complete.