How to Homeschool Your Kids Without Even Trying

You’re not a teacher. Er, well maybe you are. The kids are not at school. They’re at home and you’re the responsible adult.

School is not out. It’s in.

I’ve schooled every grade at home and the most helpful thing anyone ever said to me was this: You can’t teach your children everything; nor can any teacher. So get your head in the right place.

First of all, take a breath. Why had you been thinking you should or even could? Honestly, it’s obvious that educating a child is no trifle. There are professionals for that who study years to be good at it. But no one can cover everything. Think of your own education. There will be gaps. Drop the guilt.

Second, while you may not be a professional educator there is one place where you are an expert. You are THE expert on your child. This gives you an advantage no teacher has. The ability to customize their learning is yours. Related to this is the love you have for your child which no teacher can replace or replicate.

Thirdly, you can think of this time as an opportunity to re-educate yourself. Teachers learn more than their students as they teach, not only before they teach.

I am aware that many of you have full careers and extremely busy lives. This is not exactly the optimum moment to take in the task. You may not have time to give this project what it needs.

Step back and evaluate what’s important. It’s a complex problem but I’ll bet you can come up with solutions. Look for and use all the resources you can get. If you think you can, you can.

Trying to educate children at home was often a near-drowning experience for me. It may feel that way for you too. I believe this is somewhat normal and speaks to the scope and value of the endeavor.

Being present for your children in this way is temporary. You will–they will survive.

Someday you’ll look back on this and I’m going to bet you’ll see pure gold.