Tina Robertson

When you begin to homeschool, you want to drink in every nugget of homeschool information and rightly so.

But did you know that another common mistake of new homeschoolers is to put their needs as a new home educator secondary to their children’s needs?

Separate Teacher Mom from Mommy

In between stalking perusing veteran’s websites to see which curriculum they use with their children, homeschool forums and reading reviews about curriculum very little brain power is left over for teacher mom.

From the beginning it is important to understand a paramount difference between your needs as mother that most of us do make secondary to our children and your needs as a new educator which most of us also put secondary to our child’s needs.

Understanding that we have to separate the two hats that we wear will motivate us to adopt the second ‘R in our essentials of homeschooling, which is research.

Often times I hear mothers explain how guilty they feel to leave their kids with grandma to attend a homeschool meeting, or attend a homeschool convention, or put them in front a good movie while they grab some information about homeschooling from a live Google hangout.  But what could more beneficial to our children in the long run than to have not only a mother that is taking care of herself physically, but is also at the top of her class in understanding about how to teach?

Not having a public school teacher background though I have helped hundreds of them through my New Bee program, I can tell you my jaw still drops at the amount of time public school teachers are required to put into their work whether by attending an official workshop or through an apprenticeship.  You wouldn’t even think twice to look over a teacher’s resume and credentials with a scrutinizing eye if you were hiring her to educate your child?  Are you doing the same for yourself?

Homeschool Research Warrior

Being concerned with our children’s needs goes to the very heart of our reasons to homeschool.  But if don’t allow enough time to research topics that will come up in our journey, then a lack of conviction or really knowledge could snuff out any spark we have for teaching.  Worse yet instead of helping our children to become life long learners, we could possibly impede their love for learning because we did not take time to be educated about homeschooling.

When You Don’t Know Where to Begin in Homeschooling The 3 R’s for New Homeschoolers Part 2

I am not telling you this because I want you to start off your journey more nervous than you are now, but I want you to place a high price on obtaining answers to your questions that will make you be the BEST homeschool teacher for your children.

What topics should we be researching anyway?

• Research about the different types of curriculum approach.  Why research about one type of curriculum approach if you know it does not work for your child? You do not have to be an expert in EVERY approach to curriculum, just the ones that work best for your family.  Avoid the rest.  Skim them at first, then hone in on one that you think will work for your family.
• If homeschoolers spent as much time learning about learning styles as they did curriculum, it would be the first go to topic instead of curriculum.  Why research about curriculum that fits a textbook approach if your child learns best through hands-on?  Sometimes you have to start first with learning differences.
• Choosing a schedule is another struggle of not just new, but seasoned homeschoolers.  Seasoned homeschoolers sometimes never took the time to research homeschool schedules.  Assuming you have to school 5 days in a week is well – just assumed.

Those topics top my top 3 list if I had to make one.  There are several other  topics, but research in these three areas of homeschool curriculum, learning style differences and the variety of homeschool schedules will help you to avoid many common mistakes.

Your reasons for homeschool will then be well founded on exhaustive research.  Can it be said that your homeschool foundation is solid and firm?  Take time now to build it up.

Hugs and you know I love ya,

Check out these other posts to help you build the 3 R’s of Homeschooling:

Discovering Learning Styles

Homeschool Learning Styles – What’s the Difference Anyway?

Grocery Shopping, Cooking & Laundry Oh My!