The Fear And The Funk Of Homeschooling5 min read

If you’re a new or aspiring homeschooler, you might be concerned about some of the frequent fears that parents have when deciding to homeschool their children. These fears are frequently sparked by things you’ve heard people say about homeschooling or by personal experience with homeschooling families that appear to have issues that you want to avoid.

When you realize you’ve assumed full responsibility for your child’s education in the midst of a culture that believes professionals must teach children what they need to know in order to succeed in life.
There’s the funk on top of the fear. “The funk” is a state of exhaustion in which you’d give anything for a change. Spring (or summer!) fever–the hot weather inviting you outside while you still have things to accomplish indoors–could be the source of your funk.

Some of the major reasons that cause fear and funk among parents while they are homeschooling are

• The level of stress they are under is overwhelming.
• They are unsure if they will be able to devote the necessary time.
• They believe they are unable to teach their child due to a lack of patience.
• They do not believe they are capable of properly instructing their children.
• They have no idea where to begin.

With a little knowledge, some of these typical fears can be eliminated

1. Determine the purpose of your homeschooling

Before you begin, you must first define your aim, or why you are doing this. This is the first and foremost thing to do while starting homeschooling, as determining your aim or purpose again and again will keep reminding you of why you decided to homeschool your child in the first place, and this will keep you going without letting your fear and funk prevent you from homeschooling. You will want to write it down and keep it somewhere so that you see it often because you will want to remind yourself of it.
Consider it similar to running a marathon. Mile markers serve as motivators when you’re running mile after mile. You stay motivated when you see how far you’ve come and how far you still have to go. It’s the same when it comes to homeschooling your kids. You’ll need those mile markers (your goals) in front of you all the time to keep you focused, which will make leaving less alluring. It is obvious that setting goals are not everyone’s cup of tea, but gradually you will learn everything and you will become an expert in goal-setting.

2. Make your curriculum selections based on your goals/purpose

Choosing the correct curriculum can be difficult if you are new to homeschooling. Therefore, it will be much easier for you to choose a curriculum if you start with a clear aim and purpose of homeschooling. It will make your head spin to research all of the choices. If you read blogs or reviews regarding homeschooling, you’ll notice that each family has a different perspective on each program, approach, or style. It’s completely overwhelming! However, reflecting on your own family’s preferred learning style can help you in connecting more deeply to your mission and curriculum in a beautiful way.
Focus on the ones that are transparent upfront to overcome your concern of choosing a curriculum. The key to replacing fear and funk with enthusiasm is to choose a curriculum that matches your children’s needs and is something you are passionate about.

3. Find your homeschooling group

After you’ve established your aim and curriculum for homeschooling, you can move on to other topics that bring fear of homeschooling inside you. Surround yourself with like-minded homeschool moms, either in person or online, to put worry to rest. Find somebody with whom you can vent your frustrations. If you’re having trouble with something, find someone who is gifted in that field and ask them for advice. However, if you do not find your comforting homeschool group, then just trust your instincts and understand that some connections and groups aren’t right for you. You are not being judgmental, and you are not doing anything wrong; you are simply in the wrong place.

If you’re having trouble managing your time, take a look at how other parents handle both homeschooling and their family at the same time. Because, as you also know, they have been homeschoolers for a much longer time than you, and hence, they are more experienced than you are in the field of homeschooling. Therefore, it would be a great help for you to overcome your fear of homeschooling if you took advice from an experienced person.

So, the above mentioned were a few steps that would lead you to homeschool without any funk and fear.

In the end, I would just like to tell all you homeschooling parents out there that homeschooling is not at all an easy job to do. All you need is some dedication and will to provide your children with the best possible education and other facilities, even while being homeschooled and without sending them to the actual schools where they get a whole school environment. I would only ask you to just keep trying and never give up on your kids or their homeschooling.

What’s holding you back? You can do it! Face your fears & funks and demonstrate your strength to your children.

FINAL WORDS

If you are new to homeschooling, selecting the right curriculum can be tough. It will be much easier for you to select a curriculum if you begin with a clear goal in mind. The secret to replacing fear and funk with joy is to select a curriculum that is both appropriate for your children’s requirements and something you are passionate about. This would help you and your children both, in overcoming the fear and funk of homeschooling.