Parent Resources

Homeschooling is one of the most rewarding jobs. If your child is suddenly moving from traditional site based school to homeschooling, we know that you have not had the luxury of prep time. Good news! We have done the research for you. We have worked with thousands of families that have become masterful in the art of homeschooling and we want to share with you some of our best practices in hopes to give you confidence and help you succeed. You are going to love this new adventure. Welcome!

I AM NEW TO THIS, WHERE CAN I START?

Helping children learn academics at home (even with the support of a teacher) can be daunting. Parents are often worried that they will somehow “mess things up” or fail their child somehow, but you do not have to be a trained teacher to help your child learn. The biggest challenge is helping them enjoy learning. Understanding how your child prefers to learn can go a long way to helping them enjoy learning.

Below are some links to resources that are often used by homeschooling families to help them decided how to help their children learn at home. You might find what they have to say helpful to you while your child is doing school-at-home. Often, a lot of struggles can be overcome, or avoided, by understanding how your child learns and then teaching them (or guiding their lessons) with their learning style in mind.

• READ ABOUT THE DIFFERENT HOMESCHOOL PHILOSOPHIES

• TAKE A HOMESCHOOL STYLE QUIZ

• ANOTHER HOMESCHOOL STYLE QUIZ

• LEARNING STYLE QUIZ

• LEARNING STYLE QUIZ 2

• TAKE THIS QUIZ TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD’S LEARNING PERSONALITY

Some tips to get you started:

Tip #1: Aim for some consistency

At traditional school students follow a set daily routine. School starts and ends at the same time every weekday; lunch, recess, and lessons all happen following a known and consistent schedule. Try to bring some of this consistency into your school-at-home day by setting a schedule for your weekdays that include both academics and fun (bells on the hour are optional). See the schedule page for more information.

Tip #2: Stay connected

This sudden transition from seeing friends every day to being home all day can be isolating. Virtual meetings with their teacher(s) and friends are one way to stay connected when meeting face-to-face is not an option. If you have access to a tablet, a smartphone, or a computer with a camera you can help your kids connect using programs such as Skype, Google Duo, Zoom, and Facetime (Apple only) to video chat. A good “old-fashioned” phone call works well too. Check with your teacher to see if they have a preferred platform and, as always, supervise children when they are navigating these platforms. See the virtual meeting Tips & Tricks page or click HERE for a more in depth article on what this looks like.

Tip #3: Have grace

This is a stressful and trying time for everyone. None of us are going to get everything 100% perfect the first time (or maybe even the 50th time). When you, or your child, or their teacher/school, do not get something right the first time, stop, take a breath, and have grace. Try to be understanding and forgiving of both yourself and of others when things do not go as you expect them. Generally, we all aim to do our best, even if we often fail to achieve perfection. And sometimes, that small moment of grace may be all that is needed to connect and move forward.