Starting your homeschool midyear can seem overwhelming. However, we’re here to remind you thousands of families in Kansas and Missouri have done it successfully, and their children have thrived in the process!
How do you start a mid-year homeschool when it wasn’t even on the horizon in August? The answer may be easier than you think.
Drawing on 30+ years of experience, we’ve compiled a list of quick, easy steps anyone can take to make the journey as smooth as possible:
1. Research your state’s homeschool laws (Kansas or Missouri).
Because homeschool laws vary by state, it’s important to know how your state defines and regulates homeschooling before you begin.
We have members in both Kansas and Missouri, so we know the laws of both states pretty well. Kansas defines homeschools as non-accredited private schools, while Missouri recognizes homeschooling as its own form of school (different from public school and private school).
As a result, you may need to change the way you homeschool if you move from Kansas to Missouri or vice versa. Many of our families in the Kansas City area have experience homeschooling in both states. They often have their own opinions as to which state had the “better” approach!
You can also contact the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) for more information. We appreciate HSLDA’s work to protect homeschool freedoms and have a discount code for its annual membership. Feel free to contact our office if you’re interested.
2. Establish your homeschool (registration required in Kansas but not Missouri).
Homeschoolers in Kansas are required to register their non-accredited private school with the state department of education. Historically, we’ve encouraged our members to register online.
This year, however, we learned the online non-accredited private school registration form was requiring information not required by law (K.S.A. 72-4346).
According to the statute, a school custodian must submit the name and address of the school when registering. The law does not require school custodians to provide a phone number, email address, estimated number of students, or grades offered.
We took immediate steps alongside HSLDA and other homeschool associations around the state to get the form back into compliance with the law’s requirements.
If you’re in Missouri, you don’t need to register your homeschool. However, you should be familiar with the three requirements for homeschoolers involving 1) a record of periodic assessments, 2) documentation showing a thousand hours of instruction during the school term, and 3) tracking work samples from your student.
3. Withdraw your child from their current school.
If your child is already attending public school, you will need to officially withdraw them to avoid any possible charges of truancy.
Keep in mind, you as the parent have the right to withdraw your children from their current school at any time of the school year. Don’t feel intimidated!
We even have free school withdrawal letter templates on our website you can customize to your family’s situation:
4. Tweak any curriculum to fit a midyear (not full year) schedule.
If your child is already comfortable using a specific curriculum, feel free to continue or finish it for the school year.
However, don’t feel forced to keep using the same lesson plans from your child’s previous school! Many families may choose to take an online placement test for another program or course instead, and switch to something else.
In addition to placement tests, you may also want to consider skipping any areas in the curriculum that your child already knows well. We know many first-time homeschool parents who make the mistake of thinking their child has to cover 100% of every lesson before moving to the next.
Guess what? It doesn’t have to be that way! If we focus on mastery instead of checking boxes or filling out every blank, our children can often complete more academic work in less time.
What’s important is tailoring our homeschool learning experience to each child’s needs. Your child may test ahead of grade level in one subject such as language arts, and below grade level in another subject such as math. That’s perfectly fine! Meet your child wherever they are academically.
5. Change your homeschool as needed.
Feel free to adapt your initial teaching approach as both you and your child adapt to homeschooling. You don’t have to get it perfect all at once! In fact, the first 1-3 years of homeschooling are typically the hardest.
Some transitions include:
- Your whole family being at home for extended periods of time
- Changing paradigms to “learning anytime, anywhere” instead of only at a desk
- Finishing academic work faster and more flexibly with the one-on-one attention, as opposed to the “crowd control” of a classroom
- Finding other homeschoolers in your area to come alongside you
In all these areas, we can help!
- Consider our 9 tips to ease the transition from public school to homeschool
- Sign up for our free how-to-homeschool webinars for answers to the most frequently asked questions we receive throughout the year
- Join our annual Kansas City conference and curriculum fair to get “on-the-job” training, resources and encouragement
Withdrawing your child in the middle of the school year to homeschool them is a right, and one you can exercise anytime as their parent.
After all, our country has a long history of recognizing parents as the primary authority for their children’s education (see this interview with one of our conference speakers, Zan Tyler).
Feel free to reach out anytime as you begin your mid-year homeschool in Kansas or Missouri. We’re cheering for you every step of the way!
Looking to start homeschool midyear in a state other than Kansas or Missouri? Check out HomeschoolFreedom.com’s blog post from homeschool organizations nationwide!
