Articles
Plain-English guides for families using an Education Savings Account, and for families thinking about homeschooling at all. We link to official sources rather than restating rules that change.
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New to an ESA? What to Do in Your First 30 Days
A calm, week-by-week plan for your first month in an education savings account program: find the right documents, set up records, ask good questions, and make one small purchase before you make a big one.
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How to Plan a Homeschool Week That Survives Contact With Reality
A weekly homeschool planning method that holds up: realistic time by age, loop and block scheduling explained, plans that work around a job, and what to do when the week falls apart.
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Moving From Public School to Homeschooling
What the move from public school to homeschooling really involves: the paperwork side, deschooling and how long it takes, the first six weeks, and whether your child will fall behind.
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Reading Your Program's Handbook Without Losing Your Mind
A method for getting through a long ESA program handbook: make sure you have the right document, read six sections first, build a one-page cheat sheet, and know what to do when the handbook doesn't answer your question.
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What Happens If an ESA Purchase Gets Rejected
A calm, step-by-step guide for when a program turns down an expense: why it happens, what to do in the first 48 hours, how to ask for the specific rule, and how to reduce the chance of it happening again.
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What Is an ESA? A Plain-English Guide for Parents
A plain-language explanation of education savings account programs: what the money is, how it usually reaches a vendor, and what to check in your own program's handbook.
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Who Actually Decides What ESA Money Can Be Used For?
Why a parent group's answer isn't the rule, who in the chain actually makes the decision about an expense, and how to get an answer in writing that's worth something later.