For 14 years, I was an overworked, underpaid, and often unappreciated teacher. I worked in crowded, under-funded low SES schools with average class sizes of 40. Therefore, I was ecstatic to leave the public education realm behind and begin a new journey as a homeschool mom. I dreamt of spending mornings sipping coffee, listening to light classical music and teaching my two angels their lessons before going off the play in the sunny backyard each day.
Let’s just say it didn’t quite end up that way!
My husband and I welcomed surprise twins right after my oldest child turned 4. My father died 2 months later, leaving me as the executor of his mess of an estate, 3 states away. And trying to balance working from home, homeschooling my oldest and raising my other three, and overseeing the responsibilities of a military household … well, it’s not exactly been a walk in the park!
Don’t get me wrong. I love being a homeschool mom and believe that we’ve made the right choice for our family. But I’ve realized the extraordinary dedication it takes to really make it work. The rewards, though…oh, the rewards! I’ve watched my child grow from cooing her first sounds as a young infant to now reading fluently at 5 years old. And I know it was all because of us! The feeling is indescribable, and enough motivation to keep me going!
So, for those of you considering becoming a homeschool mom (or dad), or wondering what you can do to possibly improve your homeschooling, here is my advice: honestly evaluate yourself. And I mean be honest. It takes a dedicated, adamant personality to homeschool successfully. Anything less is really cheating your children, and that’s not fair to them.
Think you have what it takes? Ask yourself the following questions and find out!
1. How dedicated are you?
Homeschooling should be your main job and focus during instructional time. Laundry and dishes can wait. Put your phone down and out of reach. In fact, put it on silence if you can! The American Academy of Pediatrics gives recommendations for parents’ use of electronics too! Bills, phone calls, and other menial tasks will be there later. This is the time to sit down with your child and engage him or her in learning. Send the message to your children that their education is of utmost importance to you. It should be to them, too.
2. What about your organizational skills?
Being a homeschool mom requires a fair amount of recordkeeping, just as with any teaching job. At a minimum, you may be responsible for reporting grades and maintaining lesson plans, work samples, a grade book, and an attendance record. You will need to also spend even more time organizing learning materials, creating and using a filing system, and organizing digital files on your computer. Staying organized will help you keep track of your child’s progress and of important deadlines that need to be met. It will also ensure that your child meets the requirements for a proper education in your state.
3. Do you make efficient use of time?
Yes, we can all agree there aren’t enough hours in the day. But, you can get more out of them if you remove yourself from your electronic devices a bit. Stop trolling through social media, quit checking your e-mail every 30 minutes, and turn off your favorite TV show. You’d be surprised how much time technology takes away from us, even though it was meant to save us time! Additionally, if you aren’t already a morning person, try it! You would be amazed at the things you can get done if you wake up earlier than usual. No one else in the house is awake and demanding your time!
4. How creative are you?
I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the most creative person ever. But being a homeschool mom does require a degree of creativity if you want your child to learn in a manner beyond worksheets and YouTube videos. Thankfully, the Internet is full of great ideas to teach your children with fun and interesting lessons at home. However, if you are naturally creative, you can save yourself a lot of time, money, and hassle by coming up with your own ideas!
5. Can you hunt for resources?
A good homeschool mom (or dad) is resourceful and knows how to seek out various resources for his or her children. This is especially important for parents whose children have started studying subjects beyond their scope of ability to help (i.e., physics, calculus, etc.). Homeschooling parents should also know where to find information about the most updated homeschooling laws in their state. They should also know about graduation requirements, curriculum guides and reviews, college entrance requirements, standards and standards-based testing, etc.
6. What is your level of patience?
Patience is one of the most important personality traits a successful homeschooling mom or dad can possess. Learning is a lifelong process and does not happen easily for every person. Children may pick up some concepts quickly and struggle with others. Some children may excel at all subjects, and some children may struggle with learning overall. As homeschooling parents, we have to remember that everyone learns differently. Being patient will encourage our children to continue trying and to learn persistence as they work through difficult tasks.
7. Can you be flexible?
Parents choose to homeschool for a variety of reasons with flexibility being one of the top ones. Some days, despite my best intentions and well-planned lessons, my twin toddlers are too needy to allow me to continue with homeschooling. So, I must move on to Plan B (which usually involves “PE” in the backyard :-)). By nature, I am a very structured person and have a rather difficult time stopping an activity before it is completed. But I’ve learned to become somewhat more flexible with homeschooling. Having a plan for homeschooling is definitely a must, but being flexible in case the plan falls through is imperative, too.
8. Do you tend to procrastinate?
If you ever need to cancel part or all of your homeschooler’s learning day, re-schedule it and stick to it! Many homeschool parents simply put it off until the next regularly scheduled time to learn. Doing this too much, however, eventually sets a homeschooled child behind and he or she loses valuable learning opportunities. A great homeschooling mom or dad will make up the missed learning opportunities outside of the regular learning time. This shows persistence. You and your child will see that persistence pays off as the school days wind down and your child is on schedule to finish/graduate on time.
9. Can you handle more than one thing at a time…like ten things at a time?
If you homeschool more than one child, you will certainly need to hone in on your multi-tasking skills! The ability to multi-task is a definite necessity if any of your children are not yet able or motivated to do independent work. Unless you want to teach one child at a time (which seems terribly inefficient to me), you will need to be able to juggle the learning activities of more than one child at a time. Keep in mind that you will also need to manage any interruptions during homeschool time, which will be plenty! Keeping your children engaged, focused, and productive as they learn, especially in these interruptions, may be a challenge. But with some planning ahead, proper learning spaces, and an awesome ability to multi-task, you can overcome it!
Are you ready to be a homeschool mom?
So, there you have it! If you were able to answer these questions favorably, then being a homeschool parent just might be a good fit for you (if you aren’t already). However, if you are struggling with homeschooling (or trying to decide if it is a right fit), then you may want to take a closer look at your answers and find opportunities for growth.
If you are still considering homeschooling, these reasons to homeschool may be helpful, or you can read about homeschooling versus public school from my unique perspective.
I hope this list has been helpful! What do you feel empowers you as a homeschooling parent? Please share below!