Homescool Scout, Find your people. Build your home.

Your first 90 days

Starting homeschooling can feel like standing at the edge of a cliff. It is not. This is a calm, ordered path through the first ninety days, one step at a time, tuned to your state. Make it legal, give everyone room to breathe, start gently, find your people, and build the proof that you are doing enough. Check things off as you go and come back any time.

You have not ruined anything. Homeschooling is a fresh start. This page sequences the tools you already have here into one gentle journey. The legal step uses your state's verified rules, and it is a plain-language guide, not legal advice. Your progress stays in this browser.

Your first 90 days

Welcome. You can do this.

0 of 8 steps

Step 1 · Right now

First, breathe

If you just pulled your child out of school, or you are about to, take a breath. You have not ruined anything. Homeschooling is a fresh start and you get to go gently. There is no behind here. This page is your hand to hold for the first ninety days, one calm step at a time.

I am giving us permission to start gently.

Step 2 · Week 1

Make it official

Pick your state above and we will show you exactly what, if anything, you need to file, and by when.

I know my state's rule and my start date.

Step 3 · Weeks 1 to 3

Rest before you rush

Before any curriculum, give everyone time to decompress. This is called deschooling and it is normal and healthy. A common rule of thumb is about one week of rest for each year your child was in school. Read aloud, play, cook, get outside. Learning is already happening.

Read about deschooling

We are taking time to decompress.

Step 4 · Weeks 2 to 4

Find your homefolk

The fear that your child will be lonely is the most common one, and the answer is simpler than it feels: find one group or one family. Co-ops, park days, library clubs, and nearby homeschoolers are out there, and you only need to start with one.

Find your homefolk See local events

We have made one connection.

Step 5 · Weeks 3 to 6

Start light with a simple plan

You do not need to recreate school at home. Pick two or three subjects, keep the days short, and use the planner's scope as a gentle guide, not a mandate. You can always add more once you find your rhythm.

Build a gentle plan

I have set up a simple first plan.

Step 6 · Weeks 4 to 8

Take one field trip

Some of the best early lessons happen outside the house, and they rebuild a child's love of learning. Pick one real place near you and go. A museum, a farm, a creek. It all counts.

Find places near you Build a trip day

We have planned or taken one outing.

Step 7 · Weeks 6 to 12

Jot down what you do

As you go, log your hours and save a few work samples in the Records tool. It takes a minute a day, and it quietly becomes your proof and your peace of mind.

Open the Records tool

I am keeping a simple record.

Step 8 · By week 12

See that you are okay

By now you have a legal homeschool, a gentle rhythm, people beside you, and a record. Open the On Track dashboard to see, in plain words, that you are doing enough, and print your first proof packet.

Am I on track?

I have checked my On Track dashboard.

By the end of these ninety days you will have a legal homeschool, a rhythm that fits your family, people beside you, and proof in hand. You can do this. Go gently.