How to start homeschooling in the next two weeks

Look up your state's homeschool rules, file whatever it asks for, and start with reading and math for about an hour a day. That's it for week one. Everything else can be added once you have a rhythm, and most of it can wait until you've seen how your kid actually learns at the kitchen table.

You don't need a finished plan for the whole year before Monday. You need to know it's legal where you live, and you need something to do on the first morning.

Find out what your state asks for, before anything else

Every state allows homeschooling, and every state does it differently. Some ask for nothing at all. Some want a notice of intent sent to the district or the state. Some want records kept, a set number of days, or a test or evaluation at certain grades.

Your state's department of education website is the source. HSLDA, a homeschool legal association, keeps a plain summary for every state too, and a local homeschool group will usually know the practical details, like which office actually reads the form. Arbor doesn't tell you your state's law, and neither should any blog. Look it up once, write down what it asks for, and put the dates on a calendar.

If your kid is in school now, withdraw on paper

Don't just stop sending them. In a lot of places an enrolled child who stops showing up is counted as truant, even if you're teaching them at home, and that turns into letters you don't want. Find out how your state and district handle a withdrawal, send what they ask for, and keep a copy.

Start with reading and math, and nothing else for a while

Reading and math are the two subjects that build on themselves every single day, so they're where a missed month costs the most. Science, history, art and the rest are real and worth doing. They're also easy to start in week three.

A first morning can be this small:

• read aloud together for fifteen minutes, from a book your kid picks;
• twenty minutes of math at the level they're actually at, not the grade on their last report card;
• ten minutes of them reading to you, or writing a few sentences if they're older.

That's under an hour. For a seven-year-old it's a full morning of real work.

Expect the first two weeks to feel strange

You know the morning. It's 9:40, the math book is open, and your kid is lying under the table explaining that they already know this. It happens in almost every house, and it doesn't mean you're bad at this. School had bells and a room full of other kids to set the pace. At home you're building that from nothing, and it takes a few weeks.

If a child is coming out of a hard year at school, some families take the first weeks slower on purpose. More reading aloud, more time outside, a shorter list. Nobody gets behind in two weeks.

Pick curriculum after you've taught a little

It's tempting to buy everything in August. Wait until you've taught for a week or two. You'll know by then whether your kid needs more practice or less, more pictures or fewer, and whether you want a scripted lesson or just a list of what to cover. That knowledge is worth more than any review you'll read online.

What to say when someone asks

Somebody will ask, probably a relative at dinner. You don't owe them a defense. "We're trying it this year and we'll see how it goes" is a complete answer, and it happens to be true.

Two weeks from now you'll know a lot more than you do today. Start small on Monday.