Setting Up a Single Parent Homeschool3 min read
Are you a single parent who wants to switch from public school to homeschool? Or are you widowed or newly divorced and want to continue homeschooling your child?
There are many questions that come to mind when one is a single parent who wants to homeschool. Can
I do it? Is it really possible for a single parent to homeschool? How will I manage? How do I do it?
Well, the answer is simple.
Yes, single parents can definitely homeschool.
Although if asked to picture a typical homeschool family, one would imagine it’s run by two parents, that is not necessarily always the case. Single-parent homeschool families definitely do exist, even if their number is relatively smaller.
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How do you set up a single-parent homeschool?
If you are a single parent, we would imagine that you will have to work too. If that is what is worrying you, and if you’re wondering how you’d homeschool your kid, here’s a little reassurance for you: you can homeschool, trust us.
Here are four steps to help you to figure out how and when you can homeschool your kids:
· What homeschooling style fits your family the best?
There are a number of homeschooling styles out there. You need to try and figure out what homeschool style works best for your family. Is it the classical method? Or Charlotte Mason? Is it Unschooling? As you work out which homeschooling style will fit your family well, move on to the next step.
· What schedule works best?
If you notice that you’ve chosen a homeschool style that needs more structure and/or requires your presence quite a bit, then you will probably need to work around your work schedule.
(Even if you have a 9-5 job, you can still do it! Don’t worry!)
What are some options that you could go for?
You could homeschool in the evenings. Since homeschooling doesn’t take as much time as public schooling does, you could always homeschool your kids in the evenings.
You could also go down the route of implementing a four-day homeschool week. You could homeschool from Mondays to Thursdays and leave Fridays for field days, nature studies, dance or singing classes and other extracurricular activities.
You could also send your kids assignments while you’re at work.
Note: If you have chosen the unschooling method, then you’re pretty much covered. Move on to the next step.
· Stick to the plan!
Sticking to the plan that you have chalked up for your homeschool and life, in general, is a good idea. It’s easy to let one aspect of your life overtake another. It’s easy to neglect workbook exercises and let extracurricular activities take center stage. This is why it’s important to sit down and make a plan, and to stick to it! You could use a good planner, or journal everything. Sticking to your plan will help you to create as well as maintain order in your house and life.
· Be flexible too!
And this is the flip side of the coin. You may have the best plan ever only to realize that it cannot really work after all. And that’s totally okay! It’s a process. You may not have everything figured out in the first go. You will always have times where you will need to change things up or do certain things in a different manner. This is why it’s so essential for you to be flexible. If you choose to stick to a method, schedule, plan or system that is only causing stress and anxiety to you and your kids, then what’s the point really?
Be patient with yourself and with your kids. Give everyone some time to figure out what’s best for the homeschool and how to go about things. Homeschools are never perfect, irrespective of how many parents are involved or how long you’ve been doing it.
