The Skills You Must Develop When Homeschooling Your Kids
Homeschooling can be a great option for many families, especially if you don’t think your kids will benefit from the highly structured approach in schools. With the opportunity to learn in different ways, in a more relaxed environment, many children flourish in a homeschool setting.
Before you get started, it is important to ensure that you’ve got all the skills you need to give your kids a great education. However, you might find that teaching becomes a passion and, if so, the skills you’ve learned will certainly benefit you in the future. You might want to start working for Teach for America or qualify as a teacher when your kids are older, for example.
With this in mind, take a look at these five skills you must develop when homeschooling your kids:
1. Organization
Being a parent is hard enough but throwing homeschooling into the mix means you’ve got even more on your plate. If you’re not naturally organized, this is certainly something you’ll want to work on. When you implement organizational hacks, you can ensure that your kids stay up to date with the syllabus you’re using and that all of your scheduled tasks get completed.
In addition to this, being organized can take the stress out of homeschooling and give you confidence that you’re doing the right thing for your family. With task management software or a priority To-Do list, you can transform the way you and your kids work together.
2. Knowledge Sharing
As a teacher, you’re tasked with sharing knowledge in a way that students will understand and remember it. This means putting potentially complex topics into context so that your kids will grasp it in a meaningful way.
Of course, professional teachers study for years in order to be able to share knowledge with their students, so don’t panic if it takes some time for you to develop these skills.
3. Listening
If you attended school yourself, you might remember sitting quietly in a classroom and listening to the teacher. What you might have been less aware of, however, is how carefully the teacher listened to you and the rest of your classmates.
Active listening ensures that you’re picking up on feedback from your kids and gives you the opportunity to respond appropriately. While kids might not always say what they mean, listening is the first step to figuring out the best learning methods for your homeschooled students.
4. Research
From the moment you decide to homeschool your kids, you’ll need to put your research skills to the test. Whether it’s finding out what the requirements are to register your kids as homeschooled to getting hold of the syllabus and learning materials, there are many research skills you’ll need. As you develop your own research skills, you’ll have the added benefit of being able to share them with your kids too.
5. The Ability to Multitask
Even though you may be spending the majority of your time homeschooling and lesson planning for your children you also don’t want to forget your own pursuits. You should also try to incorporate your own interests and carve out a career plan which involves enrolling in online degree programs. The benefit of doing this is that you can complete it from the comfort of home and do as much or as little as you want, to fit around your homeschooling duties. So try not to forget your own hobbies and interests too, even though you want to focus on the wellbeing and education of your children.
Is Homeschooling Right for You?
Switching to homeschooling is a big decision, particularly if you’re thinking about taking a career break in order to do it. With so many opportunities and rewards to be gained from homeschooling, however, it’s well worth considering whether it could be right for you and your family.
