Hi, I'm Meg and I have a small issue with curriculum hoarding.

I'm an addict of sorts.

I hold on to every piece of curriculum I've ever bought or been given, even if I don't use it. I have that momentary panicked thought But what if I NEED it?

The annual Currclick Name-Your-Price sale has seen me faithfully for several years now. I'm fairly sure I have entire servers devoted to my digital curriculum library.

I have a stack of textbooks mixed with my cookbooks. There's catalogs for scientific lab equipment and art supplies in my personal loo.

I have four cases of nutrition guidelines sent by the FDA just chilling next to a box of environmental science kits in the closet where I normally keep the Christmas tree. My Christmas tree is living in a giant box in my hallway.

I'm fairly sure, if I remember correctly, that I have a couple of owl pellets in a ziploc baggie in the freezer, awaiting dissection. Yes, that's owl poo. I have owl poo in the freezer. (It's well wrapped.)

I found a pair of our safety glasses mixed into the pool googles. My fish scale (technically it's a newtonian gravity scale) resides somewhere near the laundry room.

It's coming out of my ears.

I'm Meg and I hoard curriculum.

I have been homeschooling for five years now.

No. I do NOT count the preschool years or toddler years as "homeschooling". I'm sorry. I was parenting in those years, just as the folks that end up not homeschooling their kids were doing.

So, as I was saying, I have been homeschooling for five years. My son, Chaos, was first of my children to homeschool. It was through his education that I was able to discover the joys of learning at home. I say "joys", but mentally I'm thinking "stress, insanity, doubt, fear, mommy-guilt, paranoia, lack of sleep, and constant isolation." Sounds fantastic so far, right?

Well, it is. Err, um, it's fantastic I mean. No, this time I'm not being sarcastic. I LOVE homeschooling. No lie. I didn't love it at first. I was constantly worried about failing my kid. I was always nervous and filled with doubt that I was going mess it all up. He wasn't going to learn anything. I wasn't a teacher with degrees in child education. OH NO! IT WAS ALL GOING TO GO DOWN IN FLAMES! MAY DAY! MAY DAY!

*deep breath* Okay, I'm better now. Whew! Bringing back memories of those early days just was a bit stressful in its own way.

What is my secret to successful homeschooling? I stopped making it be all about "school" and started making it about "learning". (More on this in a bit, pinky promise!)

So, you have decided, for whatever reason, that you want to try teaching your kids at home. You're probably thinking, "What the heck do I do now?"  Here's my handy little checklist for you in two forms, the short form and the long form. The long form will explain the short list.

WHAT THE HECK DO I DO NOW?

1. Google "Homeschooling in INSERT_STATE"
2. Determine required method of student withdrawal from school/notice of intent for your state.
3. Figure out HOW you want to homeschool.
4. Figure out your homeschooling style.
5. Find a support group.
6. Pick your curriculum.
7. Relax and breathe, it's time to teach.

Ok, So, that was a VERY brief list. I'm sure you're sitting there wondering if I've skipped a few things. Let me explain it a little more in depth.