Homeschooling: How To Move From Newbie To Veteran

By Bekki Sayler

A Newbie Homeschooler is one who is still in that honeymoon phase of homeschooling. It lasts for about one to three years and can honestly hold you back from the best homeschooling has to offer.

So how does one move from the newbie side of the homeschool line to the coveted veteran side? It's different for everyone, but it all starts here: Do not quit.

Homeschooling is one of the more challenging endeavours that a parent can undertake. Imagine sitting in your home, surrounded by all of your children. You are the chief cook and bottle washer. You decide what they eat, what they wear, what they learn. Honestly, the task can be daunting.

Complicate the homeschooling experience by the fact that humans are competitive by nature and we tend to want what others have. That translates into having our children involved in too many activities and ordering their school days with an ivy league quality set of assignments to be completed each day.

New Homeschoolers tend to make a huge mistake. They run out an order a curriculum because it looks good long before they discover who their children are as students and who they themselves are as teachers.

A Newbie still believes that this curriculum or that curriculum will help their child learn.

Veteran Homeschoolers are a different breed entirely. While we are all unique, we do share some concrete similarities.

    Veterans know their child's strengths and weaknesses.
    Veterans tailor their child's education to fit in between the lines of their students passions and abilities.
    Veterans are confident in their ability to teach, yet humble enough to ask for help when necessary.
    Veterans are more interested in their child's character than how many math facts they can fire off in 60 seconds.

So how does a Newbie move to the Veteran Side?

    Spend more time studying what makes your child tick than you do shopping for curriculum.
    Ask for help determining your child's learning style and your teaching style.
    Have fun learning along side your children.
    Choose to ignore the laundry and play in the mud.
    Realize that your primary goal is to teach your child to love to learn, not master xyz.2 of your states standards.

Being a newbie can be a wonderful season in your educational career. This is where you can honestly glean wonderful pearls of wisdom from educators around you. Enjoy the process of discovering who you and your children are as homeschoolers. It is never about how well your child knows page 214 of their science book. It is about how well you equip your child to seek knowledge daily.

Your goal should be to reach the veteran camp as soon as possible. Sure, there is more laundry here, but the kids are having a blast at learning, living, and growing!

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