Before embarking on a home school education for your children, first make sure that you are doing so legally. The Home School Legal Defense Association provides a breakdown of home school laws in each state. In particular, pay attention to which states require parents to make initial government notification before beginning a home school curriculum.
Choosing curriculum can be one of the most difficult parts of home schooling. Luckily, there are many online sources for curriculum. For non-religious curriculum, Oak Meadow and Time 4 Learning provide complete lesson plans and curriculum packages for elementary through high school students. Costs range from $1,000 to $2,000 for Oak Meadow and a monthly fee of around $20 per child for Time 4 Learning. For a specifically Christian curriculum, Calvert School (calvertschool.org) and Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd (www.sonlight.com) both provide non-sectarian Christian-focused curriculum resources for around $600 and up.
Parents new to home schooling might be unsure how to teach lesson plans or prepare their children for testing. Websites such as Donna Young and Home Learning Life provide articles and tips for parents on how to deal with teaching and testing. In addition, home school magazines such as Family Ties, Home Education Magazine and Secular Homeschooling provide monthly articles and tips on teaching, testing and other issues important to home schooling parents.
Many online forums can provide help, support and and lively discussion for homeschooling parents. Homeschool.com provides an active forum of members across the United States and the world. For home schoolers looking for specifically secular discussion and community, the forum at Secular Homeschool provides educational advice without focus on religion.