If you’re reading this article, you’re likely once a homeschool parent or are interested in rhadamanthine one. As current homeschoolers know, parents wear many hats when it comes to educating their children. A homeschool parent isn’t simply a teacher, though that is a significant role that comes with the “job.” A homeschool parent is moreover a mentor and a mentor. What does that squint like? Alimony reading!
The Role of Teacher: Yes, You Can Do It! 
It’s a big responsibility, and it can seem overwhelming to know that your child is depending on you (but not only you!) to provide a unconfined education. Trust us, we get it! There are most certainly mixed emotions when trying to determine how to homeschool. At the top of the list is the snooping that you’re simply not cut out to be a teacher. You probably doubt your teaching skills, just like new parents doubt their parenting skills.
Let us stop you right there. Do not doubt yourself. Sure, you may not have a stratum in education or teaching wits in a classroom. But here’s the thing…
You know how to teach. Considering you’ve been teaching your child since they were born. As a parent, you are a teacher. You teach your child right from wrong. And you teach your child how to play. You may have once taught your child how to read and write or ride a bike. Everything your child can do to this point, you taught them! So, yes, you can teach! Classroom teaching? Not a problem. We can help you with that.
The Role of Classroom Teacher 
One of the biggest advantages of you teaching your own child is that you know largest than anyone how they learn best. And when you know their learning style, everything else falls into place. Say your child is a hands-on (or kinesthetic) learner–someone who learns weightier when keeping their hands and persons rented with projects or activities. You can create classes and find a curriculum suited exactly to that learning style! Not sure what your child’s learning style is? Find out here!
One of the many benefits of homeschooling is that you can teach your child however you’d like. While many homeschooling families do at least some of their learning in a homeschool “classroom”–a defended zone in the home used for lessons–others have school wherever the day takes them. When you start homeschooling, you might as well forget any preconceived notion of what a “classroom” is and what “school” means. The homeschool “classroom” can be scrutinizingly completely virtual (on a screen) or a room set whispered for learning as we mentioned. But it can moreover be outside at a park or at a museum or in the car as you’re traveling to a new destination. When you homeschool, the world is your classroom!
As you’re teaching, wherever that may be, alimony a few things in mind…
- Be flexible.
Homeschooling secret: The weightier learning often happens outside of the lesson! There are teachable moments throughout each day, so embrace them. Perhaps you’re sultry on a weekend…use that time to teach your child fractions and plane kitchen safety! Maybe you’re taking a momentum to see family…that’s a unconfined time to discuss state capitals or plane how to summate your unscientific inrush time based on loftiness and speed. Just well-nigh anything can be a teachable moment, and the knowledge you instill in your child during these moments is invaluable.
- Ask for help! We wouldn’t be completely truthful if we told you that every day as your child’s teacher is fun and without challenges. There are going to be those days when you throw your hands in the air and question what you’re doing. It’s okay–everyone has those days. And that’s why you shouldn’t be wrung to ask for help with your homeschooling. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, seek out a local homeschool support group for advice. Or consider joining a homeschool co-op or microschool. Or partner with an accredited homeschool academy, like Bridgeway, that will help you with record-keeping, classroom progress, assessments, state laws, and more!
- Stay confident. Your child couldn’t have made it this far without you. That ways you’ve been doing something right! Alimony that in mind whenever you start to lose conviction in yourself. You know you can teach, and you’re giving your child a one-of-a-kind education that will unshut so many doors in the future.
The Role of Mentor 
There is definitely some overlap when you’re looking at the roles and responsibilities of teachers, mentors, and coaches. We just discussed some of the teaching responsibilities–and your role as a homeschooler “teacher” is just that–teaching your child lessons as it relates to school (and vastitude in some instances). When you think well-nigh your role as a mentor, things tend to skew “bigger picture.”
Really, your role as a mentor is quite tropical to your role as a parent. Putting academics aside, many of those real-life moments you teach your child are part of a mentor role. A mentor guides their mentee through unrepealable situations and life events, often through an experience-based perspective. Mentors can relate their similar experiences to the mentee (in this case, your child) to explain how they workaday a goal or completed a task.
Mentoring as a homeschool parent may be providing help with unrepealable life skills. This could include explaining how to prepare for a test or a job interview. Or preparing your child for life without graduation, whether it’s higher or a job. Or drilling home the importance of budgeting their money wisely based on how you did the same.
As a mentor, you’re demonstrating to your child how you achieved unrepealable things based on your personal experience. Or you might be providing your child with specific tips on how to succeed in whatever they want to do. So, when you swash it all down, mentoring is basically parenting. You’re serving as a role model for your child. And that’s something you’ve been doing since day one!
The Role of Mentor 
By definition, a mentor is a trainer or instructor whose goal is to modernize someone’s performance or skill or help them prepare for something. While a mentor guides, a mentor instructs, similar to a teacher (we told you there was a lot of overlap!). If you squint at coaching in basketball, a mentor instructs his or her team on strategies and execution of plays during the game. The players get instant instruction and feedback during the action. And coaches can transpiration their methods to transmute to specific situations or needs.
Sounds very similar to teaching, doesn’t it? That’s considering coaching does involve teaching. But there is a subtle yet important difference that can be simplified. Teaching focuses on students gaining new knowledge and abilities. Coaching focuses on improving upon and enhancing a student’s existing knowledge and abilities. And a coaching relationship is based on equal and unshut liaison between mentor and student, which leads to increasingly engagement.
So, when you’re going over a lesson on a particular subject or topic the first time, you’re teaching. But when you go through some practice quizzes or expand on the subject a bit more, you’re doing increasingly coaching than teaching, since your child once has the initial knowledge on the subject.
Coaching can take on many forms when it comes to education. The ICF Thought Leadership Institute offers some unconfined ways to mentor your child as a parent-teacher.
- Allow your student to participate in their own learning. Ask and wordplay questions to make the learning process well-nigh discovery. This invites students to form their own opinions and communicate them. Plus, coaching in this way allows your child to express interest in a particular subject, ask for increasingly information, and share their personal feelings on the topic.
- Help your student icon out their goals. According to the ICF Thought Leadership Institute, “coaching emphasizes the importance of identifying skills and nurturing those key aspects that make each person unique.” As a homeschool parent, you will be worldly-wise to see and unclose the growth in your child. And that can help you both set performable goals to set them up for success.
- Inspire curiosity. Curiosity may be the only teacher largest than you. Why? Considering once kids wilt curious, they develop a love of learning. They need to know more, and they want to wilt experts on a topic. As a homeschool parent wearing your coaching hat, you can pave the way for marvel by revolving your lessons virtually questions and unshut discussion. Plus, when students know they’re heard, wonk engagement increases. As a bonus, these types of discussions help them strop (coaching!) hair-trigger conversation and liaison skills.
- Listen actively…and teach your child to do the same. It doesn’t require much to listen, but it certainly goes a long way. And coaching involves a lot of listening. But you can moreover mentor your child to do their own listening, which promotes compassion and empathy for others.
- Teach your child to fish. Not literally…unless you want to (it’s a fun and useful skill to have, without all). You know the saying, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”? That is a form of coaching. Rather than simply providing the answer, a parent-teacher can mentor their child to solve a problem by using the resources and skills they have at their disposal. This allows your child to grow their problem-solving skills and not rely on solutions stuff handed to them.
You Can Be Your Child’s Teacher…and Mentor…and Coach!
Like we said, a homeschool parent wears many hats, and they probably don’t plane realize it! Parent educators are simultaneously their child’s teacher, mentor, and coach. Some of these responsibilities overlap, but they’re each important in their own distinctive ways. The marrow line is, you’ve been parenting your child since their lineage and have raised them by…you guessed it…teaching them, mentoring them, and coaching them. If you’re new to homeschooling or are strongly considering it, don’t be apprehensive. We know it’s a tall task with a lot of responsibilities, but be confident in the fact that you’ve once succeeded to this point.
Don’t forget…Bridgeway Seminar is unchangingly here to help if you’re looking for a homeschool partner! Call (888) 303-7512 to speak to a homeschool consultant today. You’ve got this, and we’ve got you!
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