At Classical Conversations®, we’ll never try to convince you that homeschooling is easy. However, homeschooling is worth every moment of effort, and we believe that with the right tools under your belt, homeschooling can be made doable.
11 Things to Do to Homeschool Successfully
Homeschooling is a journey. Along the way, you’ll encounter obstacles and challenges your family will have to overcome. With the following list of keys that make homeschooling doable, we believe you can overcome these challenges and homeschool your child successfully!
1. Pray and Trust That God Will Guide and Provide
Above all else, rely on God throughout this journey to guide your way, keeping your child’s education in constant prayer.
2. Remember Your “Why” for Homeschooling
Why did you decide to homeschool in the first place? To give your child the individual attention they deserve? To teach from a Christ-centered worldview? To encourage positive socialization opportunities?
Whatever your ‘whys’ for homeschooling, keep them top of mind throughout your journey, especially during times when homeschooling is really hard! Being constantly reminded of these ‘whys’ will motivate you to keep moving forward knowing that the rewards of homeschooling are worth the effort.
3. Seek Support From Other Homeschool Parents
Whether you’re a part of a Classical Conversations local community or a homeschool co-op, having a support network of other homeschoolers is essential to succeeding in this endeavor.
On the one hand, homeschool students need some peer group with whom to learn together and do life together. Among many other benefits, this network helps students learn how to work collaboratively and gives them the chance to build positive and lasting friendships.
On the other hand, homeschool parents need the same thing—a network of other like-minded parents on whom they can call for support, guidance, accountability, and encouragement. When you’re homeschooling alongside other families, the journey becomes much more doable!
Read: “The Power of Community: Not What You Think”
4. Encourage Your Student to Pursue Personal Interests
One of the many benefits of homeschooling is that you are able to give your child more freedom to follow their passions and interests. Whether your child is interested in dance, sports, filmmaking, music, or outdoor adventure activities—don’t hold back on encouraging him or her to pursue these passions!
After all, there is so much students can learn outside of a traditional curriculum with traditional subjects. Plus, by encouraging your child to explore their interests, homeschooling becomes much more fun (and likewise more doable!).
5. Enjoy Learning Alongside Your Student
At Classical Conversations, we often say homeschool parents can redeem their own education as they teach their children.
As time passes, we naturally forget lessons we were taught in our own school days. However, those of us who embark on the homeschooling journey have the unique opportunity to relearn material once forgotten. Plus, you’ll be surprised at how much new information you’ll learn alongside your student!
In other words, don’t just view homeschooling as a way to teach your child, but also to teach yourself. Enjoy learning right alongside your child!
6. Train Your Student How to Learn and How to Think
At the end of the day, a quality education is one that encourages students to develop the skills of learning and thinking.
In other words, you should prioritize teaching your student how to learn and how to think, rather than what to learn and what to think, so that they develop strong critical thinking and problem solving skills to help them succeed in all areas of life.
7. Spend Time Learning Outside of Your Home
Not all homeschooling is schooling at home! There are many ways to learn outside of a traditional curriculum, from pursuing extracurriculars like taking dance or art lessons to playing a sport to volunteering at a local food bank or homeless shelter. Or, you can take a field trip to a nearby park, the city zoo, or a museum.
As a homeschool family, the whole world becomes your classroom. Don’t let a curriculum constrain your learning!
Read: “Best Homeschool Field Trip Ideas”
8. Tailor Your Curriculum to Suit Your Family’s Needs
Similarly, while a well-structured curriculum is an essential element to keeping your family on track in your homeschooling journey, it should never constrain your family.
As a homeschool parent, you are ultimately responsible for your child’s education. While this can come across as daunting, it’s also freeing. If part of your curriculum is not working for your family, you are free to customize it as you see fit.
Naturally, some homeschool curricula are easier to customize than others. At Classical Conversations, we aim to provide a curriculum that gives students a well-rounded, in-depth education but that can also be personalized to suit each family’s needs.
9. Control Your Schedule; Don’t Let It Control You
Like a curriculum, it’s important to have a structured yet flexible schedule.
Sometimes, life gets in the way of your homeschooling plan. This is just the way things are. So, when (not if!) life happens, know that you are free to adjust your schedule, whether that means shifting things around for the week or for the year.
10. Learn at a Pace That Is Comfortable
Homeschooling offers your family the wonderful benefit of being able to learn at a pace that is comfortable.
This can mean spending less time on subjects your student has already mastered or taking more time to dive deeper into areas which are more challenging. With some experimentation and experience you will find a pace of learning that works for your family!
11. Become Your Child’s Best Teacher—Because You Are!
As you navigate your homeschooling adventure, always remember this: as your child’s parent, you know your child better than any other teacher ever could. This means there is no one else better to teach your child than you!
You Got This!
There you have it—eleven keys to make homeschooling doable. May God bless your family on your homeschooling adventure!
Not yet a Classical Conversations member and interested in our community-based approach to homeschooling? We’d love to hear from you! To learn more about us, click here.
