Certainly! My advice is to take a deep breath and RELAX! As part of HPA, you are no longer on anyone’s timetable except your own. You have the freedom to make decisions for your family and the time to follow through with them. Your days, weeks, months and years are yours to do with what you will. Take a vacation anytime you want without worry, take time off from “school” if you choose. You will have no one hanging over your shoulder telling you what to do or how to do it!

You have your child’s best interests at heart and will need to learn to trust that your child will get what they need when they need it. Children have a natural curiosity and thirst for knowledge, they will learn whether you teach them or not! Through trial and error, you will learn what works best for you and your family. If something isn’t working, you have the freedom to change it.

Firstly, please make sure you take the time to de-school. This is an important step many skip but is crucial! What this means essentially is that you take the time to ‘reboot.’ The general rule of thumb is to take off one month for each year of school attended thus far. This time is for you as well as for the student. If you are unfamiliar with what this means, please research and practice. I can’t express enough the importance of this to your success!

You have complete freedom to use any curriculum you choose, or you may choose none, that is completely up to you. A simple google search will present you with many options and choices. If you are new to homeschooling, I do suggest that you shop around and do not spend a lot on a boxed curriculum. Most seasoned homeschoolers end up using a variety of things to teach and until you learn what will work best for your family, it is best not to spend a fortune for things which may not work for you. Many companies will send you samples of their program if you request it. There are many options online which are completely free! I post many things on our Facebook fan page so please be sure to “like” us.

My last bit of advice is to join a local homeschool group if possible. It is always helpful to have a support system and being around like-minded people is a plus. If there are no local groups, start one! I’m sure there are others in your area who would be grateful to you. You may also join online groups as being able to connect with other home schoolers at any time is very beneficial. After enrolling with HPA you may wish to join our private group on Facebook, our Class Dojo and/or our Yammer group.

YOU CAN DO THIS!