1. Check your state laws. We don’t have to!
2. When my kid was in school and had tests, I had no idea what he was learning. Now that we’re learning together everyday, it’s not hard to tell. I mean, first you need to define “what they need to know”, but I listen to my kids give a narration of a story, I look at the list of books we’ve read, I wonder at the LEGO solar system they built for fun on their own time, hear them talk about math between themselves…I do like to take short videos of everything they’re doing at the beginning of the school year so it’s easy to look back and see — yes, they’ve learned so much. It just happens one small, peaceful step at a time.
3. Err. Not really. My oldest went to public school for a year, and he tells the other kids that homeschooling is the best! Maybe try to find other homeschooling friends to hang with?
When we started, it felt terrifying to be wholly responsible for my child’s education…but eventually I realized I was *always* responsible, whether we chose to pursue education in a public school or at home. Good luck!

I think the absolute *best* way to homeschool is to find out when and how your family is at your best and go from there. It’s so easy to start with a method and try to squeeze ourselves into it, rather than figure ourselves out and find methods that enhance our unique family style.

@Tsh, I like what you said about loving your family culture. We love ours too and in so many ways it’s what gives us the confidence to know that even though we don’t have all the answers we’re doing okay by our kids.

Thanks for the thoughts Renee 🙂

But this is just the reminder I need — to be us. I really love our family culture, and one of the things that gets me excited about homeschooling is that it can really nurture that well. So why would I try and swim upstream using something that’s just not “us”?

Thanks for the wise words!

I like your questions. They give me something to chew on.

Thank you

Math is the main subject that is deemed “needful but less delightful” in our home! I fully understand the “pulling teeth” scenario over just a few minutes of Math. Feel free to use my term … I can’t say that it makes getting the Math done easier, but it sounds nice anyway 🙂 !
Blessings,
Catherine 🙂