> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.life-skool.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # "Am I really doing this?" - URL: https://www.life-skool.com/am-i-really-doing-this/ - Published: 2026-08-31T17:40:25.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-31T17:42:36.000Z - Author: Brit Marshall - Tags: Advice, help, High School, K-5, Middle School Stop right there. *If you're new to this, tired, or just trying to figure out if it's even a real option...I am your person and this is for you.* As some of you may or may not know, back in 2020, I had something placed on my heart that NEVER in a millions years, would I have thought I would EVER do. Homeschool. When you say it out loud, you almost hear the echo. Me? A homeschool mom? Beige and monotone alphabet letters? Wicker baskets with books in them and a reading nook?...no way. I can't homeschool! I am a Realtor, I forget laundry in my washer that I have to wash again. I don't feed my family red dye 40 but I get acrylic nails! I am the last mom to homeschool, let alone, be "good" at it. But when you hear my story as to *why* it was so important to pull them out, you will understand. "It's not homeschool. It's Life Skool. Because life is kool when you get to live while you learn." That is a literal statement that my youngest and I both said together. Is that the mission? Maybe. Either way, you need to realize homeschool doesn't fit in a box. That's the lie and the myth they feed you. That's the whole point of this place, and it's also the reason I knew I needed a hub, a platform without the noise and jargon. *"Homeschool"* as a word makes it sound like you're replicating school inside your home... same desks, same schedule, same textbooks, just at your kitchen table. And that's true. Except, you are not just the teacher, you are the principal, teachers aid and sometimes the janitor (kidding...but seriously). It's the freedom to teach your kid through the actual living of a life, over seeing what they are learning and more importantly....time. Something we don't get back and costs more than ANYTHING in my opinion. Life Skool is your homeschool help and motivation. Trips to the library. Mornings in the garden. Math when math makes sense. A year on bikes. It is a community that encourages living while you learn and learning while you live. I asked 76 parents what they wished someone would just answer for them. The biggest question? You are not the first parent to open Google at 11 PM and type "how do I homeschool" and stare at the results for an hour without clicking anything. Every family I've spoken to did the same thing. **"Where the hell do I actually start?"** So here is the honest version. Not a checklist. Not a curriculum. This is what I would tell any and everyone **Step 1\. Decide, but don't panic.** If you're still deciding whether to do this at all, decide first. Not forever... just for this year. Homeschool isn't a lifetime vow. Families switch in and out. Kids go back to public school. Kids leave public school in December. Nothing about this is permanent. Give yourself permission to try for one year and reassess. The moment you decide, tell your kid before you tell anyone else. Not the extended family. Not Facebook. Your kid. This is their life too, and how they hear it shapes how they feel about it. **Step 2\. Understand your state's rules, in about 15 minutes.** In a perfect world, we would have the freedom to do what we want, when we want. But unfortunately, that isn't always the case and every state has their own set of restrictions and regulations. You need to know two things: how to withdraw from public school (if your child is currently enrolled), and what your state requires you to submit or file. That's it for now. You do not need to become a legal expert. [HSLDA](https://hslda.org/?ref=life-skool.com) has a free state-by-state page that lists the basics. It's the fastest place to get oriented with your state. [CHECK YOUR STATE](https://hslda.org/legal?ref=life-skool.com) Some states require essentially nothing. Some require an annual notice. A few require standardized testing or portfolio reviews. Look up yours, do the one required thing, move on. **Step 3\. Do not panic buy curriculum.** I am begging you. Why? Because I did it and it cost me money, time, and headaches. Almost every parent I surveyed said their single biggest regret was money spent on curriculum in month one. You do not know what your kid needs yet. You do not know how they learn at home versus at school. You do not know what your day is actually going to look like. Buying a $600 boxed curriculum in July, based on what looks good on Instagram, is the fastest way to feel like a failure by October. **Step 4\. DEPROGRAM everything you think you know about school first. For real.** If your kid just left school, take two to six weeks of doing almost nothing academic. Read books together. Go to the library. Cook. Walk. Let them be bored. Let yourself be bored with them. This is not laziness! This gives you time to adjust, reprioritize and structure what your life and schedule will look like. Life is kool when you get to live while you learn, and neither of you has done that in a while. You are undoing years of a specific rhythm. Your kid needs to remember what curiosity feels like when nobody is grading it. You need to see who your kid is when they're not performing for a teacher. That takes weeks, not days. Every experienced Life Skool or homeschool parent will tell you to do this. Every new one will try to skip it. Don't skip it. **Step 5\. Start with math and reading. Everything else can wait.** When you're ready to start something structured, pick one math resource and one reading routine. That's it. Not five subjects. Not a full schedule. Math and reading, twenty to forty minutes each, four days a week. We will be debunking homeschool myths together. I'm not going to tell you which math curriculum. Every child's learning abilities and capabilities are different. Everything else like history, science, art, coding, foreign language can happen through library books, YouTube, walks, cooking, and one field trip a month, for the first six months. That's the entire point. That's living while you learn. We will cover these awesome resources together! **Step 6\. Find one other Life Skool or homeschool family.** Not a co-op. Not a group. One family. Text them. Meet up at a park. This is more important than any curriculum decision you'll make this year. If you don't know any homeschool families, don't worry. You will be connected to a mass amount of families nationwide! I know this because I am actually bridging the gap as we speak, trying to tie and make the connections needed to get you connected! There is so much out there! **Step 7\. Give yourself permission to change everything.** The plan you make this month will not survive the year. That is fine. Every homeschool family I know has pivoted at least once. Whether it's new curriculum, new schedule, new approach, new expectations. The parents who succeed at this aren't the ones who pick the right plan. They're the ones who let go of the wrong plan fast enough. **One more thing.** The most common fear in our survey — by a wide margin — was some version of "am I doing enough?" or "am I failing my kid?" Nearly half of the parents I heard from wrote some version of that sentence. Here is what we'd tell them: *The fact that you are asking that question is the proof that you care. The parents who don't ask it are usually the ones who should.* You've got this. Or you don't and you'll figure it out. Either way, you're not alone in it. We have a lot to cover. Welcome to Life Skool. Because life is kool when you get to live while you learn. — Brit (your new wannabe bestie) --- *This page will keep growing. Real families are answering the same question in their own words — first stories going up soon. If you want to be one of them,* [*hit reply to the newsletter*](https://www.life-skool.com/) *or drop your story* [*here*](https://www.life-skool.com/)*.*