Guides
Illinois homeschool guides
Nearly every homeschool article you will find describes some other state's rules, usually a state with testing and portfolio reviews that Illinois does not have. These are written for here. Start at the top if you are new. Otherwise take whichever one is the thing keeping you up.
All guides
Start here
Homeschool 101
Everything a new Illinois homeschooling family needs, in the order you'll need it
Read the guide →Getting started
How to Start Homeschooling, at Any Age
Withdraw first, deschool second, curriculum a distant third
Read the guide →Right now
How to Pull Your Child Out of School, This Week
You don't need a plan yet. You need today's three steps.
Read the guide →The law
Illinois Homeschool Law
What the law actually requires, and the long list of things it doesn't
Read the guide →The hard questions
Homeschool vs. Virtual School
They get lumped together constantly, and legally they're not close
Read the guide →Daily life
What a Homeschool Day Actually Looks Like
Sample schedules by age, and why it takes far less time than you think
Read the guide →Daily life
Homeschooling Multiple Kids at Once
The schedule that actually survives more than one child
Read the guide →Choosing
Which Homeschool Style Fits You?
A short quiz, plus an honest comparison of the five main approaches
Read the guide →Choosing
Co-op vs. Microschool vs. Hybrid School
What each one actually is, before you pick one out of a directory
Read the guide →Money
What Homeschooling Actually Costs
Real numbers, three budget levels, and the costs nobody warns you about
Read the guide →Money
The Illinois Education Expense Credit, Explained
A real tax credit that applies to homeschooling, and the fine print that trips people up
Read the guide →By age
Homeschooling Kindergarten
The year where doing less is genuinely doing better
Read the guide →By age
Homeschooling Middle School
The transition years everyone underprepares for, and the ones that set up high school
Read the guide →By age
Homeschooling High School
Transcripts, credits, diplomas, and the college question that keeps parents up at night
Read the guide →Specific situations
Homeschooling a Child With Special Needs
What happens to the IEP, what services you can still access, and how to stop measuring against the wrong yardstick
Read the guide →The hard questions
The Socialization Question
The honest answer, including the part where the concern isn't entirely wrong
Read the guide →Paperwork
Record Keeping & Portfolios
Illinois asks for almost nothing. Here's the small amount worth doing anyway
Read the guide →Paperwork
Testing and Evaluations for Homeschoolers
Illinois doesn't require any of this. Here's why some families do it anyway, and what it actually involves
Read the guide →Reference
Homeschool Glossary
Every term people use as if you already know it
Read the guide →
Free download
The Illinois Homeschool Starter Kit
A one-page compliance checklist, a withdrawal letter you can copy word for word, and a record-keeping log that fits on a single sheet. The paperwork part, done, so you can get on with the actual question of what to teach.
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