I suppose that the last thing educators want parents to say is that homeschooling is easy. That would mean that teachers may be heading the way of the dinosaur. However, teachers can relax. Most people, especially Americans, are so intimidated about teaching that they can't even wrap their heads around the idea. As long as people have to work 40+ hour work weeks, the odds that they would all turn to homeschooling their children instead of busing them off to school during the day is practically nil.

The good news is that if you really want to homeschool, you can. Anyone with a high school education should be able to teach their own children. If you have a college education, that is even better. In most states in the U.S., the people teaching your children have a 4 year degree to start. That means if you have a 4 year degree also, you have approximately the same ground work that your teacher counterparts do. The exception is that you haven't learned how to do certain kinds of paperwork, may not have taken sociology or psychology, and you haven't done a semester placement in a school.

However, not all teachers have children, and if you're reading this you probably do. A 22 year old has less experience teaching children than you do at this point. It is also important to note that you've been teaching your child since the day he or she was born-- and who knows your child better than you?

Each state within the U.S. has rules and regulations regarding how homeschooling is managed at the local and state level. There are a few states that don't require the parents to do anything and at the opposite end of the spectrum, there are states require very detailed paperwork. You can find out what your requirements are by calling your the public school in your district and gathering any of the necessary paperwork.

In most instances, the paperwork stating that you intend to homeschool your child is due before the beginning of the school year. As soon as you decide that you want to homeschool, call your local school's business office for complete details.

Keeping excellent records is one of the most important things when it comes to homeschooling. Your records can be held up to scrutiny at the local level to prove that you are indeed teaching your children and that your child is making progress. In some states these records, called Quarterly Reports, need to be turned in by a specific deadline. They become part of your child's permanent record that can be viewed by the Department of Education at any time. If your records are not complete or appear false in any way, you can expect your homeschool to be scheduled for an inspection.

It is also important to keep good records for another reason - college. If your child intends on attending college at some point in their education, there will need to be some quantifiable record of their scholastic achievement. Professional looking academic records will help support this.

You've made the decision to homeschool your child, but then comes the realization that you need to teach your children with some sort of text books. If you've already been a teacher, this won't be difficult. However, for the rest of the population, selelecting a curriculum can be a daunting task.

Luckily, there are plenty of pre-planned curriculums to choose from and they're readily available on the Internet. Choose from curriculums focused on religion or others that include tests that can be taken on the creator's website (which provides evidence of a child's progress). Many others are available that can seamlessly take your child from first grade through their senior year of high school.

The best way to select a curriculum is to check out what is available first. Everyone's learning style is different and you'll find that certain curriculums are more geared toward your child's learning style than others.