Answer 0101: Please give me the first steps to start homeschooling my child, starting with withdrawing him from public school? What do I need to tell the school or give them?

1) Decide AS A FAMILY that homeschooling is what you really want to do. Depending on how long the child has been in school, this is going to be a big lifestyle change for everyone.

2) Do some reading. Most libraries have quite a few books on homeschooling, and many libraries are starting to get to know their local homeschoolers. Maybe they know someone locally that might help you get started.

3) Decide that whatever you do, you and your child(ren) are going to take this slow and with as little stress as possible. I often remind people that your child will not become an idiot in a few weeks. (After all, we take vacations, do we not?) Let the child decompress while you both talk about, read about and think about what you both would like to learn. Find out what he or she DID NOT like about school, so you know what NOT to try.

4) If your child is currently enrolled in school, then you need to write to the school, informing them that your child will be transferring to a private school (your homeschool) and to please forward all school records to you. IHEN has a sample letter in the documents section of our web site.

5) Read through our New Homeschoolers pages on IHEN.org and decide if you will be reporting your enrollment to the state DOE. It's probably a good idea to go ahead and fill out the online form and report. But if your child has never been enrolled in a state school, there is no pressing need to do this right away.

6) Join discussion lists like IndianaHomeschoolers where you can discuss homeschooling issues and styles with a variety of people from across the state. There are also several groups that are using YahooGroups e-list services, to help network locally. Search for your county to see if there are any based near you.

7) Check out IHEN's Statewide Support and Resource Directory. Many of Indiana's counties have resource pages listed, and it's growing every day. You'll find support groups and local resources that are used by homeschoolers in there.

8) Finally: Sit back and ENJOY your children. They've been in school for a few years, it'll take more than a few days to get to know them again. It will be the best thing you ever did. You'll be amazed at how much TIME has been taken away from your family by state schooling.


Links:

IHEN.org
IndianaHomeschoolers.com
IHEN Statewide Resource Directory
IHEN Mail Directory