The Most Important Skills for Homeschooling Parents to Have

Are you a parent who would like to try homeschooling this fall, but you’re worried that you’ll be a lousy instructor? If so, you’re not alone. (By the way, the fact that you’re having these doubts just means that you care deeply about your child’s education, which is something to be proud of.)

It’s unfortunately true that parents’ own insecurities sometimes prevent them from giving homeschooling their total consideration. There are other reasons why parents opt against homeschooling, too, including the anxiety it can cause. For instance, Christine Tyler admitted, "It's such an uncertain time right now...To add the stress of becoming a homeschool teacher – that was not something I was willing to take on.”

But there’s good news: you don’t need a degree in education or a teaching certificate to successfully homeschool your kids. The proof? Parents in North America have been doing it for hundreds of years. Instead, you need a set of skills, including these ones:

Organization and planning

Teaching requires significant planning, and, relatedly, superior organizational skills. According to a late 2018 survey conducted by EducationCloset, about 44% of teachers spend 6-10 hours a week planning, and another 16% spend 11-20 hours. 

Parents who are new to homeschooling may not realize just how much out-of-class time is required to successfully deliver lessons. And even though you may receive guidance from your child’s school district or rely on books with pre-designed lessons, you will still need to devote some of your own time to ensure the best possible learning experience. For instance, you should always read over lesson plans at least twice beforehand, study course content that’s unclear to you, and secure any materials or technology you will need for your activities.  

In the world of education, another indispensable skill is anticipating problems. Things go wrong all the time in the classroom—whether the computer won’t turn on or no one has done the homework—so teachers should have preconceived solutions to these problems. Rather than assuming that everything will go smoothly, plan for the worst-case scenario. For example, if your internet connection tends to be unstable, print out the materials you want to use from the internet—and don’t wait until the last minute to print them, either, or you may realize too late that you’re out of paper or ink. 

A beloved mantra among teachers is, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” No matter how you slice it, homeschooling is an investment for parents—but that doesn’t mean you can’t manage it with a little foresight. 

Comfort with research

Thankfully, we live in an era where the answers to many of our questions are just a few clicks away. Previous centuries of homeschooling parents didn’t have the luxury of online search engines—so be sure to take advantage of all the quality information that’s online.

Notice the inclusion of the word “quality.” For as many legitimate and helpful sources as there are on the internet, there are just as many or more unhelpful ones. This is one of the reasons that big social media platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, have reserved the right to remove posts containing misleading information. 

Parents and students alike are urged to exercise precaution when surfing the internet for resources. Think twice about using sources that appear to have an agenda, lack citations, or look outdated. 

Listen to your instinct when you assess the trustworthiness of a source. As a general rule, websites ending in .edu, .org, and .gov are great resources. You can also discover other proven tips for selecting accurate digital resources here.

Patience 

It’s normal to get irritated with your children at times, especially when you’re cooped up together for so many hours in the day. In educator Jill E. Thomas’s article entitled “Often a Teacher, Always a Student,” she recounts her student-teaching mentor’s wise words: “The best teachers [are] lifelong learners… Be a student—of anything... That way you'll always empathize with those you are trying to teach.” 

Not surprisingly, it’s more difficult to relate to your children’s academic woes when it’s been ages since you were last in their position. Furthermore, it’s key to note that the struggles of today’s students are, in some ways, vastly different from those of previous generations. 

Consider, for instance, how technology has assumed a predominant role in the modern-day learning experience. Maybe you never had to worry about navigating the “Track Changes” feature of Microsoft Word when you were younger, but now this is a tool that many students, especially high schoolers, are expected to be proficient in.

Every person experiences similar feelings during the learning process—for example, the frustration of not catching on right away and the joy of mastering difficult material. Becoming a student again, by picking up a hobby in your spare time, can help you better understand your child. Not only will you be able to relate to your child’s emotions as a fellow pupil, but you may also become more adept at troubleshooting based on solutions that have worked for you.

Tiffany Sorensen holds a Master of Science in Spanish-English Translation from New York University. She works remotely from sunny Mexico, where she gives English and Spanish classes, writes educational articles, and designs practice tests for the ACT.