Yes you begin to homeschool in the middle of the year.  All you have to do is test your child inshAllaah at what level they are, and go from there.  We took our daughter out at the end of March, and I actually started her on the next grade, and mashAllaah she did really well.  When her classmates were going to the 2nd grade, she was beginning 3rd grade, mashAllaah.  There are no rules to homeschooling unless your state has requirements.  I would definitely check with your state homeschooling laws to understand better what you can do and what you can’t do inshAllaah.

This is a great question and I want to answer it by telling you the truth: SubhanAllaah (Glory be to Allaah), yes it does. However you have to remember when it burns you out, it is because you’re doing too many things. The only reason we get burned out, is because sometimes we have high expectations and goals and we feel that we must achieve them in this much time or else…Remember that your human, and that your 1 person. All you can do is try your best, when you feel the pressure coming take a half day or just take the day off, and let everyone relax. If you must take a few days off inshAllaah. Don’t worry we all need to rest, and regain our energy or else we will be horrible at what we do.

I take time off of home schooling when we travel for speaking events- this helps me get a break from the classroom setting, and also let’s the kids read more and feel like they are on a field trip. This is a great feeling of relief and relaxation. You might want to take the kids to the park all day while you read a book there. Maybe have a picnic somewhere and just enjoy the day. Do something and have fun, and remember that you’re always teaching, and they are always learning, that learning is not confined to a classroom.

Yes, you can. Homeschooling in the US can begin whenever you want it to. It does not matter if it is in the beginning of the school year or the middle, or the end of the school year. I started homeschooling my first child April of the school year. Just remember to check the State Laws to make sure that you’re on the right path in your state. We had just moved and I went and visited the private schools to see which one I wanted to enroll my children in, and I was not impressed in how they ran their system.

I think school systems try their best please do not think I am bashing them, it’s just I wanted more for my children. I had so many dreams and goals for them that the school could not provide for them. That is when I decided that if I wanted to raise my children with dreams and goals and to get more out of life than I must do it myself inshAllaah. I must say that when I started homechooling it was extremely tough the first few weeks, then as I started to learn more and continued to grow and do thing differently it started to feel right.

So for all the parents out there I want you to know, nothing great worth achieving is easy at first. We must work at it, and we must continue learning and growing ourselves. If you’re thinking about homeschooling, then I would say just do it. Try your best everyday and ask Allaah (God) to help you achieve this goal and dream, and say Bismillah (In the name of God) and just begin.

Well it depends. If you’re only teaching them their grade, it only requires 3-4 hours maximum a day. The reason for this is because you’re teaching 1-1 or 1-2 or 1-3. There is less kids to teach. What takes the teacher an entire class to explain to the students, you as the parent will take only a few minutes to explain and they will begin the lesson.

Most kids will finish that lesson and another 1-2 in the same subject in less than 30 minutes. Again this depends on them grasping the lesson or not. Regardless they finish much faster and then have the rest of the day to read, write, and do other creative work.

As funny as this sound it is true. Many people think this and say it to new home schoolers. I got so many comments that it was unbelievable. It’s as if they don’t trust your judgment or think that you’re good enough to teach your own kids. Don’t let the negativity of other people affect you. Just be kind to them and tell them that this is your decision, and that you want to raise your kids the way that you want to raise them.

Most homeschooler have more work to do because we want to teach our children more than the school will. Know that one day they will actually understand and no longer question your way of life. Until then just be patient, nice, caring and calm. It is hard for them to understand for they have never done it, and it just doesn’t seem to be the way the majority do school. You need to remember that a leader takes the road less traveled, that is why they are a leader… J