Thinking About Homeschooling? 10 Honest Questions to Help You Decide

Thinking about homeschooling? Start here.

More parents than ever are quietly asking the same question:

“Is there a better way for my child to learn?”

For some families, school feels rushed and overwhelming. Long days, heavy homework loads, and constant schedule pressure can leave families exhausted – and parents wondering if learning is supposed to feel this hard.

Hey! If you prefer video, catch the webinar, “Homeschool Behind the Scenes: 10 Key Questions Answered“

At the same time, educational options are expanding across the country. Hybrid programs, online academies, flexible schedules, and growing school-choice opportunities have opened the door for families to rethink what education can look like. Many families begin homeschooling simply by trying it for one year.

Many parents aren’t necessarily unhappy with school.

They’re simply asking:

• Could learning feel more peaceful?
• Could my child move at their own pace?
• Could education strengthen our family instead of constantly competing with it?

For some, homeschooling has become a realistic — and surprisingly joyful — alternative.

But the idea can also feel overwhelming.

• Do you need teaching experience?
• How many hours does it take?
• Will your child fall behind?
• How do you know what to teach?

If you’ve wondered whether homeschooling might work for your family, these are the exact questions you should be asking.

Let’s walk through them together.

Is This Guide for You?

This article is for parents who:

• are thinking about homeschooling for the first time
• want to know how homeschooling actually works day to day
• are considering a temporary homeschool year
• want more flexibility or faith-centered learning at home.

1. How many hours Does Homeschool Take Each Day?

One surprise for many parents is that a homeschool schedule is naturally shorter than a traditional school day.

Public schools include transportation time, transitions, lunch periods, assemblies, and waiting in lines. When those disappear, learning becomes far more efficient.

As a general rule, plan for about:

4 hours of academic instruction per day for elementary students.

This varies by age and curriculum – older students need more independent study.

Younger children need less time. In fact, most early elementary kids only need to homeschool for about 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours each day – that’s it!

2. What does Mom’s (or Dad’s) role look like in homeschool?

Parents often worry they must teach nonstop all day.

That isn’t reality.

Homeschooled students gradually become independent learners and rely on direct parent instruction less and less.

Young children — especially Pre-K through first grade — need hands-on instruction because they cannot yet read directions independently. But lessons are short!

Most early elementary students require about 1–1½ hours of direct parent instruction daily.

By second grade, many children begin working independently for portions of the day. By third or fourth grade, many students complete large chunks of their work alone while parents guide and check progress.

Middle school especially shifts into a facilitator role. Parents design coursework, monitor completion, and discuss learning – but students gain much knowledge independently.

Older students can even work at different times of day! One of mine finishes work before breakfast. Another prefers quiet evening hours.

Homeschool learning does not have to happen in one long block – which is wonderful news for working parents.

👉 If you want a step-by-step walkthrough of building a homeschool routine from scratch, I explain the entire process in Heading into Homeschool: A Faith Based Step-by-Step Plan for Beginning to Homeschool, including schedules, curriculum choices, and how to confidently begin.

During these middle school and high school years, we transition to a system where the kids work from a syllabus (similar to college) on assignments that are spelled out explicitly. 

I check in on each subject with the kids once or twice a week.  Like this:

3. How do you know what to teach?

Every child needs core subjects:

• Language Arts
• Math
• Science
• Social Studies/History

Language arts includes reading, writing, spelling, handwriting, and grammar. Some states require additional homeschool subjects such as Civics, too – so it’s important to check on your state’s regulations.

In our home, Bible study is also a non-negotiable part of education, but families can also add subjects like:

• typing
• languages
• art
• music
• fitness
• coding & programming

Planning instruction is one of the most important parts of homeschooling. I cover exactly how to chart out the different subjects for each child and how to decide what to teach in Homeschool Planning: 5 Simple Steps.

In some ways, effective planning is the most important part of homeschooling! And it’s not as hard or complicated as you think.

4. What If My Child Returns to Public School Later?

Many parents homeschool temporarily. If returning to public school is a possibility, align loosely with state standards.

Each state publishes grade-level expectations – and they’re super easy to find with a simple Google search.

Homeschoolers are not required to follow them exactly, but they can serve as helpful guides, especially if you’re thinking of returning to public school later. Printing grade-level guidelines can give peace of mind that nothing important is missed.

Veteran Tip: Also remember: You don’t have to teach everything yourself.

Tutors, co-ops, online teachers, and experienced homeschool parents can help fill gaps! The homeschool parent never has to teach everything alone.

5. Where do you get your curriculum? 

If you want, you can choose to use the exact same curricula that your children have been using in public school.  Your child’s teacher from last year would probably be happy to tell you what they used. 

But one of homeschooling’s greatest benefits is choosing materials that fit your child’s learning style! Yep! It is left up to homeschool parents to decide what curriculum to use at home and there are MANY options! 

Be aware, though, that some curricula are designed for school settings while others are especially fitted for individuals in the homeschool setting. 

If your student is leaving public schools, evaluate what subjects were working well and which were a struggle. This is a chance to try something completely different and see if it helps your child thrive!

Some publishers serve both classrooms and homeschool families. Others focus entirely on homeschoolers.

Christian worldview materials are especially common in science and history, which many families appreciate for shaping both knowledge and character. This opportunity to shape the hearts of our kids through the lens of Christianity is one of our favorite aspects of homeschooling!

Here are a few helpful places to start searching for curricula:

• Cathy Duffy Reviews – reviews of many homeschool curricula options
• Free homeschool curricula
• How to do homeschool planning

Another wonderful way to learn quickly about available homeschool materials is to attend a homeschool conference, where publishers come together to showcase their products.

Reading instruction is one area many parents feel nervous about – especially teaching phonics. Programs like All About Learning Press are extremely parent-friendly and designed specifically for homeschool families.

Where to Find FREE Homeschool Curriculum Online

6. Does curriculum Need to be accredited?

Good news:

Homeschools themselves are not accredited – and curriculum does not need accreditation either.

Only schools receive accreditation. So that’s something you don’t need to worry about in homeschooling.

If you have a high school student, however, then you do need to be very careful about meeting your state’s minimum requirements for graduation.  You can download Texas high school graduation requirements – and other states – and also compare requirements for all 50 states.

7. What are the legal requirements to homeschool?

Homeschool laws vary widely by state. The Homeschool Legal Defense Association provides an amazing overview of legal requirements broken down by state.

Some states require certain subjects be taught, some have attendance rules, others require testing, or oversight by a local teacher or district.

Many states require that a parent give notice of withdrawal of the child from the public school system.  Before you make the decision to homeschool, make sure you investigate what is required in your state.

Legally, parents are not required to issue grades to students in their homeschool. However, some states do require that parents maintain a portfolio of work or take state assessments.

Even when not required, saving samples of student work throughout the year is wise – and fun to look back on later!

Many homeschool families choose to give tests in such areas as math and spelling as well as other subjects. Many homeschool materials come with assessments as part of the curriculum that you can choose to use or not.

High school students will need grades as part of their high school transcript. The Homeschool Legal Defense Association offers several useful articles about grading before the high school years.

8. How much does homeschooling cost?

Homeschooling cost can vary greatly as well! 

Just like buying a car, you can buy used & budget-friendly or spend a chunk on a high-end model. 

In general, you can plan on homeschooling costing several hundred dollars per child per year.  If you join a homeschool co-op, they can range from free to in the thousands per child per year. Of course, you do not have to join a co-op – they come with their own benefits and disadvantages as well.

Here are the common homeschool expenses you will probably need to plan for:

• A desk or table (or the kitchen table!)
• Books
• Workbooks
• School supplies
• A computer & headphones
• Digital materials (such as online subscriptions)
• Math manipulatives
• Science lab materials
• Organizational items such as tubs, trays, etc.
• Shelving for books

Books can be expensive and will be your major cost of homeschooling. 

It is not uncommon for a single subject, especially math, to run around $100 per child for a major math publisher. 

However, especially in the lower grades, many families save money by using simple math workbooks picked up almost anywhere. In lower grades, many families rely heavily on the library for studies in science and reading materials.

We buy most of our books used to save money.  There is a robust market out there for buying and selling used homeschool materials!  If you have multiple children and plan to homeschool for several years, you can also cut costs by re-using textbooks from child to child over the years.

You might actually save $$$ in some surprising ways, too!

Most parents accustomed to public schools are used to spending $40+ dollars on school supplies each year and quite a bit more for school clothes, backpack, lunchbox, new shoes, etc.   Not to mention the money you put out for the fall fundraiser, the spring carnival, and the big field-trip. 

One a-ha for me when we transitioned to homeschooling was that our overall costs didn’t go up as much as I expected – our spending was just allocated in different ways. 

Ways we saved money homeschooling:

• We ate at home, which saved money on pre-packaged food and school lunches
• Less time in the car meant less money spent on gas each week. 
• I stopped working so no longer needed business clothes or dry-cleaning
• Many families eliminate the need to pay for child-care when homeschooling
• Homeschool kids don’t need as many clothes or shoes. 
• They don’t use a backpack or lunchbox. 

Honestly, my kids stay in pajamas a lot of days or wear hand-me-downs! We just don’t need much.

What they need is books, materials to learn, and a willing heart.

What are some free options?

While most curriculum cost money, there are some good homeschool materials for FREE!  What? Yes! Free!  We have used some of these as pieces of our curriculum over the years, but others rely on them almost completely.

Free Homeschool Curriculum Resources:

• Easy Peasy Homeschool for grades K-12
• The Good and the Beautiful for grades K-5
• Kahn Academy for math
• Ambleside for grades K-12
• More free homeschool resources

9. How do you homeschool Multiple grade levels all at once?

This is perhaps the most daunting and scary part of homeschooling.  Schooling multiple kids in different grades in a limited amount of time.  Yikes! One room schoolhouse, anyone?

Helpful approaches include:

Teach Family Style

Combine grade levels for topics like Bible instruction, science, history, and read-alouds. 

Some publishers like Sonlight and My Father’s World are complete curricula designed to accommodate several grade levels at once, served up family-style. 

Virtual Learning for Certain Subjects

In our house, we farm math out to virtual teachers for our older children.  My kids use Saxon and watch their math lesson online through Nicole the Math Lady.

We prioritize hands-on learning and real books over virtual instruction, but have found online learning in small amounts can significantly relieve the burden on the primary teacher (Hi, Mom!).

Some homeschoolers rely even more on virtual instruction, such as attending online schools like iUniversityPrep or dual-credit college courses conducted online during high school years.

Dual Credit At Home is a phenomenal source for those interested in dual college credit options for high school students.

Collaborative Learning

Older children can read aloud to younger siblings, give them spelling tests, or go over math facts with them.  Everyone knows that the person who learns the most is the one who teaches! 

Teaching younger siblings is a great way to foster family love and reinforce learning for all involved! 

In our family, Daddy is very involved in the children’s school instruction, too. Each year he chooses a subject to do with each child. In one family I know, the father is in charge of all the science instruction, which they do in the evenings when Dad is home from work.

There is no reason why Mom has to be the only teacher in the house!

Working Together but Apart

You can have all the kids do silent reading for 20 minutes, but each is reading on grade level.  Or, all kids work on hand-writing, but one child may be learning to print while another does cursive.

Some families prefer sitting together at one large table and staying more or less in-sync by subject: math for the 1st hour, reading next, and so-on.

Other families choose to school all over the house and allow each child the freedom to organize his routine as needed. This will depend largely on the personality and ages of your kids!

Small Group Instruction

Otherwise known as mom-to-kid time, or in our house: snuggle time.  I allocate around one hour per day of face-to-face time with each child to teach what that child specifically needs. 

With older kids, we do this on a rotating subject basis as previously mentioned and check all work completed that week for understanding. 

For younger kids, we spend around 10-15 minutes on each subject and cover multiple subjects together every day. We like to do this lounging on the sofa curled up under a blanket!

Independent Learning

While many subjects are great for whole-family instruction, kids need targeted grade level teaching on certain subjects – especially language arts and math. It is hard to “share” spelling instruction when kids are on different grade levels!   

Many families use more of a college-style approach to homeschooling, where students “meet” with the teacher (mom) once or twice per week and otherwise do their reading and work independently. 

They learn to engage with whole texts for comprehension and understanding.  This takes a while to train a child to be independent!  Don’t expect that immediately if you are just transitioning!

You can read more in-depth about each approach to homeschooling multiple kids here.

10. How do you get your kids to listen When You’re the teacher?

Transitioning from traditional school can be challenging!

This might just be the toughest thing of all – but it is doable! Any parent that has transitioned their child from school outside the home has probably heard, “that’s not the way my teacher did it!”

We have found it helpful to define definite times of day as “school” and minimize household interruptions such as laundry, phone calls, and chores. When it is school time, we only DO SCHOOL and nothing else.

Homeschooling works best when children take ownership of learning.

• Talk openly about learning together.
• Model curiosity.
• Show them how you research answers when you don’t know something.
• Let them chase their interests.

In some ways, in attending public school, a student is a passive recipient of their education. Teachers, administrators, and law personnel decide what and how a child will learn. That’s not the case for homeschooled kids.

In a homeschool environment, it helps to have a frank talk with your child about the idea of owning and creating their own education. You get out of it what you put into it. Be honest and tell your kid, “I won’t always know all the answers, and neither will you, but that’s what learning is all about!”.

Make learning an adventure you do together! The sky is the limit!

Teach Character over Curriculum

But, ultimately, learning obedience and submission as part of a godly character is of much greater importance than learning multiplication facts.

Set your child up for success and dialogue about how you can make homeschooling work. Then set the standard for compliance and respect in your homeschool.

Don’t tolerate disrespect or lazy work completion. Learning to “do school” with willingness is ultimately a heart issue.

Should You homeschool next year?

Only you can answer that.

It is my prayer for you that with God’s help you will make the best decision for the children in your family.

No matter which educational path you choose, I’m here to help you in your journey.

I’d love for you to join me as part of our teaching & parenting community!

Next steps:

• Homeschool Planning in 5 Simple Steps
• Top 10 Tips for New Homeschoolers
• Why I Homeschool My Kids
• Download the freebie: 10 Steps to Begin Homeschooling