by Jane Wolff
Homeschool parents serve in the dual roles of parent and school teacher to their children. Of course, all parents serve in a teaching role for their kids. Homeschool parents just play a much bigger teacher role in their children’s lives than parents who send their children to settings outside of the home to receive their basic educational needs.
Some parents have tried to distinctly define the two different roles, however, the preferred model seems to be a full integration of the two roles, where your children always see you as both parent and teacher. This provides continuity in your family relationships and communicates the fact that learning is a natural part of life that is integrated into everything we do and not just confined to 'school time.'
Burnout
Teachers who teach in traditional classroom settings and are committed to their students and their profession find themselves enthusiastically giving of their time, energy and emotions to a career they are passionate about. Even when you love what you do, or perhaps especially when you love what you do, it is easy to wear yourself out emotionally and physically. This is true of homeschool parents as well.
When you are fulfilling both of these important roles in your childrens' lives, it is easy to push yourself beyond your limits and end up drained of the energy and enthusiasm you started with. Parental guilt can easily settle in if you realize that you are no longer meeting the standard you have set for yourself and your children. Guilt is another energy drainer which can simply make the situation worse. That's why it so important for homeschool parents to create a strategy ahead of time to prevent burnout from happening.
Maintaining Balance
The first key to keeping your life as parent/teacher in balance is to be realistic about time commitments to lesson preparation and school time. A schedule that you find manageable for one week's time may not be sustainable week after week, month after month. In addition, life's circumstances have a tendency to interfere with the best laid plans. Give yourself plenty of leeway in this area and set a realistic limit to the 'average' amount of hours you will spend each week on lesson prep and school time. Don't be so rigid that you can't adjust your schedule when needed to accommodate life's interruptions.
The other key to keeping your parenting and teaching enthusiasm fresh is to have planned times of rejuvenation. How often and what type of refreshing activity or down time you schedule will be different for every family, but preplanning those times will give you something to look forward to and the opportunity to refuel your emotional and physical energy levels. Breaks from your school routine will be welcomed by your kids, as well, giving them a fresh perspective and enthusiasm when you return to the regular routine.
As a homeschool parent, you have given your children a great gift, one that gives back to you with the opportunity to build a stronger bond and relationship with your children than you might have if they were spending their time in school outside of the home. To keep this aspect of your family life at its richest, you need to protect it, by making sure that you, as parents, take the time to refresh yourselves and not overcommit. Don't compare yourselves with other homeschool families or try to live up the ideals of others. Be realistic about what you need to do to keep yourselves at your best and commit to taking the time to schedule times of refreshing into your schedule.
This article has been written by Jane Wolff on behalf of Sopris Learning who develop learning resources for children & schools. They offer many tools & resources including an algebra assessment & a literacy curriculum.
Homeschool parents serve in the dual roles of parent and school teacher to their children. Of course, all parents serve in a teaching role for their kids. Homeschool parents just play a much bigger teacher role in their children’s lives than parents who send their children to settings outside of the home to receive their basic educational needs.
Some parents have tried to distinctly define the two different roles, however, the preferred model seems to be a full integration of the two roles, where your children always see you as both parent and teacher. This provides continuity in your family relationships and communicates the fact that learning is a natural part of life that is integrated into everything we do and not just confined to 'school time.'
Burnout
Teachers who teach in traditional classroom settings and are committed to their students and their profession find themselves enthusiastically giving of their time, energy and emotions to a career they are passionate about. Even when you love what you do, or perhaps especially when you love what you do, it is easy to wear yourself out emotionally and physically. This is true of homeschool parents as well.
When you are fulfilling both of these important roles in your childrens' lives, it is easy to push yourself beyond your limits and end up drained of the energy and enthusiasm you started with. Parental guilt can easily settle in if you realize that you are no longer meeting the standard you have set for yourself and your children. Guilt is another energy drainer which can simply make the situation worse. That's why it so important for homeschool parents to create a strategy ahead of time to prevent burnout from happening.
Maintaining Balance
The first key to keeping your life as parent/teacher in balance is to be realistic about time commitments to lesson preparation and school time. A schedule that you find manageable for one week's time may not be sustainable week after week, month after month. In addition, life's circumstances have a tendency to interfere with the best laid plans. Give yourself plenty of leeway in this area and set a realistic limit to the 'average' amount of hours you will spend each week on lesson prep and school time. Don't be so rigid that you can't adjust your schedule when needed to accommodate life's interruptions.
The other key to keeping your parenting and teaching enthusiasm fresh is to have planned times of rejuvenation. How often and what type of refreshing activity or down time you schedule will be different for every family, but preplanning those times will give you something to look forward to and the opportunity to refuel your emotional and physical energy levels. Breaks from your school routine will be welcomed by your kids, as well, giving them a fresh perspective and enthusiasm when you return to the regular routine.
As a homeschool parent, you have given your children a great gift, one that gives back to you with the opportunity to build a stronger bond and relationship with your children than you might have if they were spending their time in school outside of the home. To keep this aspect of your family life at its richest, you need to protect it, by making sure that you, as parents, take the time to refresh yourselves and not overcommit. Don't compare yourselves with other homeschool families or try to live up the ideals of others. Be realistic about what you need to do to keep yourselves at your best and commit to taking the time to schedule times of refreshing into your schedule.
This article has been written by Jane Wolff on behalf of Sopris Learning who develop learning resources for children & schools. They offer many tools & resources including an algebra assessment & a literacy curriculum.
