Welcome, Home Educators!

For many home educators, the decision to homeschool involves an immense amount of dedication and self-sacrifice. We support and affirm home educators who work hard to give their children an excellent education in a supportive and nurturing environment. It is our hope that these resources, created by homeschool alumni and CRHE staff, may aid homeschooling parents in providing a robust educational experience, one that supports children’s natural development and instills in them a lifelong love for learning.

Successful Homeschooling

What does successful homeschooling look like? Below, three adults who were homeschooled through high school describe what worked for them—and what helped them succeed.

My Parents' Homeschooling Methods Empowered Me to Follow My Dreams

How My Parents' Homeschooling Choices Gave Me an Excellent Education

My Parents Homeschooled Me Successfully (Here's How!)

Meeting Your State’s Legal Requirements

One of the first things a home educator needs to do is meet their state's legal requirements for homeschooling. These requirements vary substantially from state to state. Many states have homeschool statutes that mandate things like annual notification, required subjects,...

Identifying Your Educational Philosophy

Most people have a set of ideas and beliefs that guide their actions on a daily basis. What is right and what is wrong? How should we aspire to live? What is true and what is false? How do we...

Curriculum & Learning Standards

When you homeschool, everything you teach, or that your child learns, is your curriculum. If your child is learning about the Civil War and you read aloud a picture book about Harriet Tubman, that book is part of your curriculum....

Assessments & Record Keeping

If you are homeschooling your children, you will need to make a plan for assessing their progress, as well as a plan for keeping and maintaining your child’s educational records. Assessments are means of ascertaining what learning has taken place....

Mentors, Peers, and Socialization

Many parents setting out to homeschool have a lot of questions about socialization. This is natural and good! The questions you should ask yourself are: What socialization does my child need, and how can I ensure that their social needs...

Homeschooling & Disabilities

By some estimates, between one-fifth to one-half of children have at least one disability. Because of the high prevalence of disability, you should be prepared to recognize signs of disability while you homeschool, even if you are currently not aware...

Homeschool Resources & Support

No parent can effectively homeschool completely on their own. Children need a variety of teachers, adult role models, and access to peers, and every parent needs a support system. Fortunately, there are many resources out there for home educators to...

Children’s Rights and Child Protection

Children have rights that are independent from those of their parents. For example, children have the right to be cared for and to not be abused. Children also have the right to access information and develop their talents. All children,...

Homeschooling During High School

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, children are more likely to be homeschooled during high school than for any other grade. Parents homeschool high school age children for many reasons, including bullying, mental health, and a desire to...

Wellness and Health Education

Homeschooling is about more than providing an education for your children. When you homeschool, you are also responsible for arranging regular medical and dental visits and health screenings, monitoring your children for physical or mental health problems and learning disabilities,...

What Does the Research Say?

Research on homeschooling can help guide homeschooling parents as they make decisions for their child---and their child's future. What do we know about homeschool outcomes?

• While there is little research comparing homeschooling styles, what research does exist suggests that students whose parents use a more structured homeschool program perform better on standardized tests than students whose parents are more unstructured.
• The most consistent finding is the existence of a math gap. The reasons for this are still unclear, but it is likely that math is harder for many parents to teach than reading. Parents should pay special attention to their children's math education.
• Homeschool graduates appear to be less likely than other graduates to attend college. While college is not for every student, parents homeschooling high school students should make sure college is accessible to their children when they graduate.

Additional Resources

Getting Started Homeschooling

If you're considering homeschooling, now is likely an exciting time of research and questions. For many families, homeschooling provides a positive and child-centered educational option that meets children’s needs and furthers their interests. Like these families, you may find that homeschooling works...

Free Educational Resources

During COVID-19, we began a curated list of free online educational resources; we have continued updating this list over time. For each subject area, we have included homeschooling tips and annotated lists of resources labeled by grade level. To view...

Advice from a Homeschool Grad Turned Public School Teacher

You were homeschooled?  And now you’re a public school teacher? I get that question fairly often…and I understand why.  Many homeschoolers strongly dislike public schools—some even fear them or consider them evil—how in the world did someone who was homeschooled...

Black Lives Matter 101 for White Homeschooling Parents

As the Black Lives Matter movement has gained steam, many white parents across the country have found themselves struggling to answer their children’s questions about race, racism, and police violence. This page was designed to serve as a starting point...