Are You Ready to be an Educating Parent?

© Beverley Paine

Before you begin or start worrying about how to legally register as a homeschooling or unschooling family there are a few things you need to consider...

Are you cut out to be an educating parent?

• Do you really like your kids - enough to spend all day every day with them?
• Do you enjoy their company?
• Can you find your way around the library and the internet?
• Do you understand primary school maths? Can you read and write?
• Do you find learning easy, challenging, exciting, enjoyable, interesting, an adventure?
• Do you have the time available to be attentive to your children's needs? Can you make time?
• Do you have support from family and friends who can step in and supervise your children if you need to work, are ill or need some 'down' or R&R (rest and relaxation) time?

Do you see yourself as a:

• teacher
• mentor
• facilitator (resource person)
• guidance counsellor
• parent
• friend
• co-learner
• all of the above?

If you answered the last point ... Congratulations! However, if you mentioned yes to any of the above you already have the necessary qualifications needed to homeschool your children.

Further reading: If You Are a Parent You Are Already Educating Your Child!

What does it take to be a homeschooler?

Anyone can teach their children at home if they are willing...

• to take the responsibility of being an educating parent seriously;
• to give their children's education a high priority in their lives;
• reorganise their schedule to make time for their children's education;
• be enthusiastic learners;
• lead by example: model the character traits, manners and habits they wish their children to emulate;
• be flexible and adaptable;
• establish workable routines that suit all members of the family;
• take the time to find out more about home education and how different children learn...

There is no 'one way' or 'right way' to home educate. There is no such thing as a perfect curriculum, or a 'right' or 'wrong' way to teach your child something. Trial and error will help you find what works for your family and each child. And that's okay. It is a natural way to learn and will model essential problem solving skills to your children. You are a learner too - we all are. When we accept that we're learning alongside our children, perhaps not the same things, we build empathy and understanding about the processes involved in learning and are much more sympathetic educating parents.

Life-long learners start their education at home. You taught your children everything they learned before they went to school. Spend a moment thinking about what this means.

" Education is not a preparation for life; Education is life itself."
John Dewey

" I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions
in which they can learn."
Albert Einstein

It is too easy to underestimate or undervalue the teaching skills that naturally come with parenting!

Try this simple de-schooling exercise: Think about everything your children could do and knew before they started school. How did they learn these things? There were no teachers. No special learning aids or specialised equipment. There wasn't even a curriculum.There you were, with no specific teaching skills, and probably less experience, teaching your children, expecting and obtaining success!

Children don't really need schools, or teachers, or books, to learn. They are exceptional learners from birth. You are already a capable teacher!

Further reading:

• What Exactly is Homeschooling?
• The Best Place to Start - A Defining Task
• Why Families Homeschool
• What is Unschooling

Don't forget to download my FREE The Educating Parent Resource Directory. It is packed full of information you'll find yourself refering to again and again: lists of support groups and Aussie blogs, books on home education, academic competitions for students, a quick guide to getting started, plus links to resources and materials.