If you want to start on this beautiful journey of homeschooling your children…
The First step you need to take is find out your state requirements for homeschooling. Every state has different laws. Some states require testing and porfolio reviews, while others nothing at all. To check out homeschooling laws in your state go here.
Second Step would be to choose curriculum. There are thousands of curriculum books and each one will claim to be what you need! I recommend to remain faithful with the classics and with what has worked for many people for many years. I have found that the "Well Trained Mind" Book by Susan Bauer has been instrumental for me. It lays out what to do for each grade offering you some curriculum choices based on a classical education model. I have used it as my "Homeschooling bible" or go to book for homeschooling. Alot of people have also found Cathy Duffy to be a very good book to get for deciding what curriculum to choose. Cathy guides you through the process, offering her "Top Picks" from each subject area, narrowing down to a manageable number of choices.
Third Step is to find social opportunities for your children. I personally take my children to many library events my library hosts such as interactive story time, parties, hands on activities, lego clubs, language classes, crafting classes. The best part of it is that they are FREE! I am a library junkie. I travel to local libraries to find what is available and schedule it in a monthly activity calendar I create for my children. I also find other free local community events in my local newspaper and I am subscribed to my county events so I schedule free events that my kids love such as festivals, races, seasonal activities such as easter egg hunts, and other seasonal events. You can also find free classes in Homedepot, Lakeshore Learning, and Michael's Arts and Craft Store has awesome art classes on weekends! Create a calendar and schedule some of these in to provide rich opportunities to engage with others and have great experiences. I also do extra curricular activities. We do one sport every season we choose soccer and swimming. Our kids also as part of homeschooling all learn one instrument of their choosing. They go to an academy for classes. Whatever classes you choose please consider your family size and do not overcommit or overspend. There is a peace in not running around shuffling kids from class to class. Be moderate. I recommend no more than 2 recurring classes per season. Another option for electives is to join a homeschool cooperative. Find local ones in your community. One popular one found in almost every state is classical conversations.
Fourth Step is to create a daily schedule. Write down all topics you will be teaching each child and create a daily schedule. All subjects do not need to be taught everyday such as Science, History and electives. All my my homeschooling is done from 8 am to 12 noon. The rest of the day is to play, explore and be outdoors. My kids are young so if you have older children you may need to have a longer schedule to accommodate more subjects. Below are some videos on how to organize your child's school work. These are different ideas I have used with different children:
Workboxes For Multiple Children
This is a basic starter guide! I made a video on why we homeschool here.
To see all my homeschooling videos visit my youtube channel.