Inside our Homeschool… As a Former Classroom Teacher

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This post is part of a series of homeschool snapshots.  No two families are alike so why should your homeschool.  Head to the Event Page to read the rest of the stories and find your tribe.

Before I homeschooled my kids, I spent over a decade working as a teacher in traditional schools. I thought that this experience would be great preparation for homeschooling my kids, and in some ways it is. But in other ways, I think that my experience in traditional schools makes it harder to homeschool my kids.

What Qualifies You to be a Teacher?

One of the biggest things that I was surprised to discover as classroom teacher turned homeschooler was what kind of knowledge and experience has prepared me to be successful.

When I first considered homeschooling, I thought that homeschooling would be easier for me because I knew about teaching. I had lots of college classes and years of experience. I knew about lesson planning, classroom management, and teaching techniques.

In addition, I also had background knowledge about many of the subjects I would be teaching. I had taught lots of kids how to read, so the sight words vs phonics debate was not new to me.

What I was surprised to discover was that less of that information applies to homeschooling than I thought it would.

Knowing Your Student

Instead, I discovered that I am a great homeschool teacher because I know my kids extremely well. I know what motivates them and what frustrates them. I know what topics they like, and what kinds of activities they enjoy.

As I have spent time observing them I have been getting to know them as learners. This knowledge is what truly prepares me for success as a homeschool teacher, not my formal teacher training or years of experience.

This is great news for homeschool parents because we all know our own kids better than anyone else. We are all qualified to teach, because of the way that we know our kids.

Homeschool vs Public School

Homeschool and public schools are very different, and these differences can make it challenging when trying to homeschool as a former teacher. There are a lot of things about education that I thought I knew, that I need to re-learn now that I am homeschooling my kids.

Here are a few of the key differences:

Length of the School Day

When I first started homeschooling my kids, I thought that I needed to fill a 6-8 hour school day with activities, just like the public schools do.

But then, I realized that homeschoolers and public schoolers have very different definitions of what “counts” as school.

During a public school day, students spend time eating lunch and going to recess. They wait in line, spend time traveling from class to class, and take attendance. They have fire drills and class parties and assemblies. And all of that “counts” as school.

I quickly learned that I do not need to spend an entire day in order to help my kids accomplish the same amount of learning (and often much more) than they would at a public school.

Focus on Each Child’s Needs

As a classroom teacher turned homeschooler, one of my biggest challenges was always trying to meet each child where they were at with the lessons they needed.

It seemed like there were always at least a few bored kids, while some others were completely confused. I love that when I am homeschooling my children, I can customize their lessons to fix exactly what they need.

Over time, I have learned flexibility. Just because my child is in his 2nd grade year, does not mean that our curriculum needs to say “2nd grade” on the front. We have adapted our curriculum to fit my kids’ interests and ability levels in each subject.

This also helps them learn more, faster because they are not waiting for other kids to learn something they already know. And they are not wasting time being confused but too shy to ask a question.

Learning Everywhere

One of the biggest mindset shifts that I have experienced as a homeschool parent is the realization that learning can happen anywhere.

As a former teacher turned homeschool mom, I was taught that learning happens in my classroom when I teach the students something. The more I spend time homeschooling my kids, the more I see that learning is happening all day long.

My kids are learning naturally throughout the day, and my job is to encourage their curiosity and provide resources to help them grow and learn.

School Looks Different

Inside our homeschool, our school looks very different than any of my traditional school classrooms ever did. Neither of my kids has a desk. In fact we don’t even have a classroom.

Learning happens anywhere in the house that my kids are comfortable. Most often, this is either the couch or the dining room table.

And learning takes lots of different forms, most of which don’t involve textbooks, worksheets, or tests.

When we first started homeschooling, I used a free homeschool preschool curriculum. I thought that if I wasn’t using the curriculum, my kids were not learning.

Now I know that my kids prefer reading books together and doing projects, so I am following their lead and using those activities to help them learn.

At first, I was worried that my kids would not learn enough of the right kinds of things if I wasn’t using textbooks or tests, but I have learned that they are learning no matter what kinds of materials we use.

All Parents are Qualified

I thought that my experience as a classroom teacher would give me an advantage as a homeschool parent.

I do know some strategies to help my kids learn, and I have used some of the information I know about lesson planning.

But, I have also had to “un-learn” all the things I thought I knew about what education looks like. In that sense, I think that parents who are not trained teachers have an advantage.

As a current homeschool parent and a former teacher, I believe that all parents are qualified to homeschool their kids. It is your desire to provide the best learning environment for your child, and your extensive knowledge of who they are and what makes them tick, that will make you truly successful as a teacher.

This post is part of a series of homeschool snapshots.  No two families are alike so why should your homeschool.  Head to the Event Page to read the rest of the stories and find your tribe.