Through the grace of the sacrament of marriage, parents receive the responsibility and privilege of evangelizing their children. Parents should initiate their children at an early age into the mysteries of the faith of which they are the "first heralds" for their children. They should associate them from their tenderest years with the life of the Church. A wholesome family life can foster interior dispositions that are a genuine preparation for a living faith and remain a support for it throughout one's life. Education in the faith by the parents should begin in the child's earliest years. This already happens when family members help one another to grow in faith by the witness of a Christian life in keeping with the Gospel...Parents have the mission of teaching their children to pray and to discover their vocation as children of God.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church 2225-2226 Download Handouts from the Beginning Homeschool Talk at the Minnesota Catholic Homeschool Conference, June 3, 2006

"Catholic Homeschooling: Where to Begin? What to do? How to do it? A Guide for the Overwhelmed" by Alicia Van Hecke (outline of talk)
"Homework Packet"
Recommended Reading
Catholic Suppliers
Catholic Homeschool Programs
Quotes to Ponder on Children and Education
25 Ways to Inspire a Love of Learning in Your Children

Download Handouts from the Getting Started Workshop at the Milwaukee Catholic Homeschool Conference, April 16, 2005

"Getting Started: Nuts, Bolts & the Big Picture" by Andrea Fojut and Alicia Van Hecke (outline of talk)
"Homework Packet"
"Homeschool Style Quiz"
"Quotes to Ponder on Children and Education"
"Additional Resource Suggestions"
"Homeschool Suppliers to Get You Started"
"Mistakes to Avoid" by Alicia Van Hecke
"25 Ways to Inspire a Love of Learning in your Children"
One Homeschool Mom Shares..."Things I Would Have Done Differently"

The talk was recorded by St. Joseph Radio - you can print out an order form from here.

Some Suggestions for Preparing to Homeschool your children from the beginnning:

Since I was homeschooled myself, I've been thinking about the idea for quite some time. My younger brother and I spent many hours discussing the merits and possibilities of homeschooling. By the time I was married I was fairly certain that I would homeschool my children. When I started reading things about homeschooling, though, I was disappointed to find very little information that specifically addressed parents who were going to homeschool their children from the beginning and gave people an idea of how to prepare for such an undertaking. Don't get me wrong, there's lots of wonderful information that's useful to homeschoolers at that stage, but I wanted someone to answer questions like - when do I start?

The following is a list of things that we have found useful in preparing to homeschool our children:

• Pray! Can't give you better advice than that. That'll help you answer all the major questions of course - am I really supposed to homeschool? when do I start? what curriculum do I use? will my kids be socialized???? Remember when praying for successful homeschooling to define that success according to God's plan for your children. Beware of tyrannical societal conventions.
  
• Read! Read lots of good books to your children. I think the Lives of the Saints and stories from the Bible are two of the most important areas to cover in your reading. But I also think it would be a mistake to limit the stories to ones with "religious" content. I recommend reading For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer McCauley. It has some excellent pointers for choosing books and ideas on how to read and discuss them with your children. A Landscape with Dragons by Michael O'Brien has a huge appendices which is my very favorite book list in the whole world. I bring it to library book sales and other places to collect wonderful stories for the family. To see some of our favorite books for these early years (and beyond) jump to: Good Read-Aloud Books for Families. It's not easy for busy moms to find time to read - but there are ways. For example, whenever I have a nursing baby around I get more reading in - I try to spend a lot of that time reading to either the kids or myself.
  
  
• Read! Take the time now to read some of the good books about education (see Books About Education for some suggestions). Remember that you aren't required to read every word. You can skip the sections on teenagers and pulling your kids out of school (for now). Write down a few thoughts - things that you liked from each book. Talk ideas through with your spouse and perhaps some friends (especially homeschooling ones). Read some of the wonderful blogs written by Catholic Homeschool families (each with their own unique challenges, ideas and methods) found in the sidebar of our Love2learn Blog. Try to develop an idea of what you want for your children's education, but don't expect to have it all figured out before your oldest starts kindergarten! You can also check out our page on providers of Catholic Homeschool Programs.
  
• Read! Read good books to yourself to continue your own education (no matter how much education you've had in the past). This will be useful to homeschooling in two particular ways. You will have increased your knowledge base (and of course given your brain a little more exercise) and you'll be able to discuss those books with your children when they reach the right age. Even if you read nothing else, be sure to read the The Catechism of the Catholic Church - it's excellent. Don't forget to look into a few of the subjects that aren't exactly your strong points.
  
• Learn right now! Don't spend all your time thinking and preparing for future homeschooling. Right now your children are eager and ready to learn all kinds of neat stuff. That doesn't mean you need to go out and buy them stacks of workbooks. Spend a lot of time with them doing puzzles, reading, playing outside, observing nature out-of-doors, playing with blocks, drawing, talking about things... There's no time like the present. Also, don't worry too much about waiting till they're "old enough" to appreciate a certain book, game etc. (within reason). Try out interesting things with your children - maybe they'll love learning the Greek Alphabet! Have fun.
  
• Buy Stuff! (Moms usually like this part, but please see our budget section.) When my oldest was two we decided to set aside a small portion of our monthly budget to spend on educational materials. We're really seeing the fruits of this decision now that my daughter is doing somewhat more formal homeschool for Kindergarten. We have a very nice collection of books and manipulatives that would have been impossible to purchase in one big lump. Naturally she has been using many of these materials for quite some time. We've made a particular effort to buy things that will last for a long time (good quality) and are useful for a broad age range. We will use many of the "Preschool" items well beyond those years. Because we were serious about collecting good things for homeschooling we started reading many books about education, perusing catalogs and keeping our eyes out at garage sales and used bookstores ($20 a month goes a lot farther at a garage sale). Warning: I've heard that some people make the mistake of buying materials early that they never end up using. Use common sense here. You don't need to buy a first-grade curriculum when your child is two (your whole philosophy of education may have changed in that much time). But, you can begin filling your house with interesting books and toys and movies that will spark their imagination and satisfy their curiosity. Keeping a minimal budget wll help you to choose materials carefully and not overwhelm yourself with too many resources.
  
• Think "Learning": Make your home a place of learning. Develop good attitudes about learning in your family. Books should be very accessible - more accessible than the television. Hang up beautiful art (even if it has to be with thumbtacks!) and play beautiful music. Don't be afraid to have a map of the world in the living room - it goes with any decor! Don't expect to have a perfect house, but let the children help out with what they can. Don't forget to have fun.