You can look up your state's individual laws on home-schooling at HSLDA, the Home School Legal Defense Association. This site has everything you need, legally, to get started. Yes, home-schooling is legal everywhere in the US. Some states look more favorably on home-schooling than others.
There are lots of "methods" you can use, but you don't have to do any of them. Read up on the various teaching styles (here's a jumping off point), and choose whichever one seems to suit you best; or take part of different ones and mix them together; or wing it. It really doesn't matter how you go about it, you will be fine in any case. If it turns out that the teaching style you chose isn't working for your child, change it, and do something else. Don't feel guilty if you have to discard months of prep work or hundreds of dollars in curriculum. Just consider it experience under your belt and water under the bridge. It would be far worse to stick with what doesn't work just for the sake of sticking with it. I've changed horses mid-stream a number of times. If anything, it invigorates our little home-school. You can always sell the curriculum or supplies if you truly don't want them (there is a huge market for them), or you could hold onto them if you feel that they are quite good, but just not right at the moment.
Remember there is no wrong time to start teaching your child at home. even halfway through 12th grade isn't too late. For families with little ones, it might be easiest to begin with "preschool lessons", so as to practice what you will be doing more formally later on. I started with my older son when he was 2.
In a later post I'll go over what we do... but I'll leave this post for the beginning.
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