Much information can be found on the internet regarding getting started home schooling. The MACHE website has a whole section dedicated to providing you with helpful articles and information. Sometimes it is best to be able to speak to someone in person regarding home schooling. The yearly conference in April also provides workshops to assist in this important endeavor. Below is a checklist of things for you to consider or provide in documentation to the school district if home schooling is right for you. Please feel free to contact us at info@raache.org if you wish to speak to an experienced home school educator directly. 

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• Consider you children's learning styles and your teaching style - Are your children movers, manipulators, or quiet thinkers? Are they visual or verbal? How about you? Explore websites such as Christian Book Distributors, My Father's World, Rainbow Resources, or A Beka to name a few for materials.

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• Cover the basics first - reading, writing, arithmetic, and Bible. Add the other topics in as you feel ready and able. In the elementary years, science, history, and geography can often be included as part of the reading and writing curriculum.

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• Create a corner with teacher's planning calendar, a library basket, and a bookshelf. The calendar, whether on a computer spreadsheet or a hard copy, provides a place for planning and documenting material covered. The library basket helps corral all books, movies, or magazines in one place for easy returns. Organizing any supplies or textbooks on one bookshelf makes it convenient to find what you need when you need it. Bins for keeping science experiment supplies or coloring material together are useful and can also be placed on the shelves.

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• Connect with your school district, community, and other home school families. Fill out the required annual documentation (see documentation page in side bar) and keep immunizations updated. Look for opportunities for field trips or hands-on learning provided for home school students at local gyms, art stores, churches, or at the library. Join a home school group such as RAACHE, MACHE, or HSLDA to meet other families like yours and have co-op opportunities for music, sports, or learning. 

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• Be Compassionate with yourself and your students. Home schooling is a joy, but it can also be a challenge. Grace is required for the teacher and student alike! Enjoy the process of being together and discovering new things and individual interests and gifts. The end-product is important, but if we focus only on the grade or the award, we miss out on the special relationships and fruitful lifestyle that home schooling provides room for in our families.