What If I’m Worried I Won’t Be Good at Homeschooling?

Worried you won’t be good at homeschooling? This is completely normal, and it shows you care.

When you decide to homeschool, you are taking on something completely new. While your child will be learning a lot in home school, so will you.

This is very important to keep in mind. Just like starting a new job or trying out a new hobby, starting homeschool is a learning experience. You’re not going to be at your best right away. You’ll need to settle into it, and you’ll need to make a conscious effort to keep learning and keep improving over time.

This is part of our series of free homeschool guides for parent-educators and other caregivers. Here’s what you’ll learn in this Guide:

• Most parents have reservations about their ability to homeschool their children successfully.
• If you have reservations about your ability to homeschool, there are steps you can take to build your confidence.
• Five simple tips you can follow every day (or almost every day) to give your children a fulfilling and engaging home school experience.
• Answers to common questions about how to home school your children successfully.
• How you can start getting ready to homeschool and stay on top of homeschooling once you get started.

Most Parents Have Reservations About Homeschooling

You’re thinking about homeschooling. That’s great! Homeschooling is a fantastic experience, and it affords the opportunity to spend as much time as possible with your children during their developmental years.

But, homeschooling is also hard. Many parents struggle, including parents who weren’t expecting to struggle when they started. With this in mind, what if you are worried you won’t be good at homeschooling? Is it okay to try? If so, how can you make sure you are as prepared as possible?

The reality is that most parents have reservations about homeschooling—not because they have issues with homeschooling itself, but because they aren’t sure if they can handle it. As a result, if you have reservations, you are not alone, and there is a path to follow.

What You Can Do if You’re Worried You Won’t Be Good at Home School

If you’re worried you won’t be good at home school, the worst thing you can do is let this stand in the way of making an informed decision. Worrying about what might go wrong isn’t a reason to set aside an opportunity to have an incredible and life-changing experience with your child.

Instead of focusing on what might go wrong, you should focus on what you can control. To start homeschooling, you have to take the first step. If you let your worry stand in the way, you won’t stand a chance of getting where you want to go.

With this in mind, if you aren’t sure whether you are ready to homeschool your child, you should:

1. Think About What Success Means to You

Start with a critical thinking exercise. If you are worried that you won’t be good at homeschooling, what do you mean, exactly? What are you worried that you won’t be able to do?

To get over your worry, you need to know what success means to you. Once you have a goal in mind, then you can start taking concrete steps toward achieving it. If you just generally feel worried but you don’t have a specific reason why, that’s completely normal when you’re about to embark on something new—and it probably means that it’s just time to start the process.

So, are you worried that you won’t be a good teacher? Are you worried that you won’t be able to get (or stay) organized? Are you worried that you won’t be able to get your child to listen or feel passionate about learning? Be honest with yourself, both positively and negatively. Then, once you have clearly identified the problem that you think you need to solve, you’re ready to move forward.

2. Start By Making a Plan

Moving forward starts with making a plan. Having a plan is essential for successful homeschooling. It will help keep you organized, it will help keep your home school days full and running smoothly, and it will help your kids feel like they have a clear direction and sense of purpose.

We’ve covered planning for home school extensively on our blog. For some tips you can use when you’re just getting started, you can read:

• Create a Home School Planner that Works
• How Do I Create A Daily Schedule for Home School?
• Preparing for Your First Day of Home School

Planning takes time. You won’t build a plan for homeschooling in a day, or even a week. But, if you make a little bit (or a lot) of progress each day, you’ll quickly start to feel more comfortable with the prospect of homeschooling your children.

3. Don’t Stop Planning

While making a plan is a key first step toward getting comfortable with the prospect of homeschooling, it is also an ongoing process. This is important to internalize from the beginning. If you decide to homeschool, planning will become a regular part of your routine.

If this sounds overwhelming right now, don’t panic. Lots of people struggle with organization. But, just as your children can practice and learn, so can you. As you move forward, you’ll get comfortable with creating annual, monthly, and weekly schedules, and you’ll be able to plan fulfilling and engaging days that make clear homeschooling was the right choice.

4. Commit Yourself to Staying Organized

Remember how we said lots of people struggle with organization? We weren’t kidding. This is easily among the most common reasons why parents struggle with homeschooling. It isn’t that they aren’t good educators or that they don’t want to succeed. It’s simply that they don’t have the tools they need for success.

With this in mind, just as you should think about planning as an ongoing process, you should think about organization as an ongoing process as well. If you can organize your home school space and gather the materials you’ll need for your children’s first lessons, these are great first steps. Going forward, you should remember how it felt to get these steps done and how it felt to have everything in place—and you should let this feeling give you the motivation to keep it up.

5. Commit Yourself to Putting in the Time

From gathering and organizing materials to planning your months, weeks, and daily lessons, homeschooling well requires time. Your children will be spending six hours a day in home school if you choose to homeschool full-day, so you should be prepared to put in a commensurate amount of time.

This doesn’t mean that you need to spend six hours every day planning, organizing, and providing lessons, but it does mean that you need to be willing to put in the time homeschooling requires when necessary. If you’re committed to putting in the time, you can figure out everything you need to—and you can figure it out before any present unknowns derail your home school schedule.

6. Set Yourself Up for Success In and Out of Home School

Another common worry among parents who are thinking about homeschooling is that they won’t be able to manage home school and home life. If you are trying to homeschool while also working, this can make it all seem even more challenging.

With this in mind, it is important to set yourself up for success not only in home school, but in the other areas of your life that matter, too. Maintaining a healthy balance is important. Fortunately, there are coping strategies available, and learning about these strategies now will ensure that you are prepared when things feel hard from time to time.

7. Remember That You’ll Be Learning, Too

We mentioned this already, but it’s important, so we’re going to say it again: As a parent who is homeschooling for the first time, you are going to be learning alongside your child every single day. No one has all of the answers on their first day. You’ll be learning how to homeschool as you go—and that’s completely fine. It’s completely normal, and it’s completely what you should be doing as a parent-educator.

If you keep this in mind—that you’re supposed to be learning as you go—this should help you feel much less worried about your readiness and capabilities as a parent-educator right now. Just like your children, if you focus on giving yourself a solid foundation and then building on that foundation every day, you will be able to make it as a home school parent.

5 Simple Tips for Homeschooling Really Well

In fact, we’re so confident that you can homeschool successfully if you put in the time and the effort, we’re going to go ahead and give you five tips not just for homeschooling, but for homeschooling really well. To help give your family the best possible home school experience, you can:

Tip #1: Stick to a Regular Schedule

While having a routine is important for all children, it is especially important for those who are homeschooled. If you don’t have a routine, home school and non-home school activities can blend together, and it can be hard for children to grasp that they need to act like they’re at school even though they’re at home.

With this in mind, you should stick to a regular schedule when homeschooling. Start on time every day, and have a set plan for how each day will flow. If your children (and you) know when they’ll be receiving lessons, when they’ll be in work cycles, and when they’ll be done with school for the day, this will make things smoother for everyone.

Tip #2: Come Up with Creative Experiences

While you should stick to a regular schedule most of the time, flexibility is one of the great benefits of homeschooling. As a parent-educator, you have the opportunity to come up with creative experiences—from going on field trips to doing scavenger hunts at home. Adding creative experiences into your family’s home school schedule will be fun for everyone. While this requires some additional planning, it is ultimately a relatively simple step that you can take to go above and beyond. .

Tip #3: Lead Your Children’s Home School Days By Example

A good way to help with your children’s commitment to learning (and desire to learn) is to lead by example. This will help with your learning as a new home school parent, too. Show your children that you’re putting time and effort into learning. Talk to your children about the time and effort you are putting into learning. Help them understand why you are putting time and effort into learning. All of these will be valuable motivators for both you and your children.

Tip #4: Think About What Went Well (and What Didn’t) Each Day

A simple step you can take when you are working to get better at homeschooling is to think about what went well (and what didn’t) each day. This doesn’t have to take long—about five minutes will be enough in most cases.

Sit down with your planner and take notes. Is your homeschool organization working? Or, do you need to get more organized? Are your children engaging with their lessons and materials? Or, are they getting overly frustrated or bored? Are you feeling like you are in control? Or, are you feeling like you don’t know what to do next or don’t have enough time in the day?

Acknowledging how things are going is important for reinforcing the good and remedying the not-so-good. Just like we discussed above with identifying why you are worried you won’t be good at homeschooling, if you can identify the challenges you’re facing on a day-to-day basis, you can take proactive steps to overcome them.

Tip #5: Be Prepared for Some Bumps (and Give Yourself Grace)

Finally, since you’ll be learning alongside your children as you start homeschooling, you should be prepared for some bumps along the way. Encountering some bumps is normal, and it does not mean that you are doing things wrong.

With this in mind, if things don’t go according to plan, don’t get down on yourself. Don’t stop trying. While encountering bumps is fine, what is not fine is ignoring why things went wrong. So, give yourself grace, and give yourself the opportunity to avoid the same bumps in the future.

FAQs: When You’re Worried You Won’t Be Good at Homeschooling

How Do I Know if I Will Be Good at Homeschooling?

If you are thinking about homeschooling your children but are also worried that you might not be good at it, this is completely normal. While some of your concerns might relate to homeschooling specifically, they also probably have a lot to do with taking on something you’ve never done before. With this in mind, being good at homeschooling is about putting in the time and effort to make sure you are prepared. Homeschooling is a skill that requires practice and patients. The more effort you put in—both initially and on an ongoing basis—the more confident you will be in your ability to home school successfully.

What If I’m Not Good at Homeschooling?

If you feel like you’re not good at homeschooling (or are worried you might not be good at homeschooling), you should think about why this is the case. Once you know why you’re struggling (or why you’re worried), then you can start taking steps to give yourself confidence. No matter what specific issues or concerns you are facing, there are steps you can take, and there are resources available to help you.

How Can I Be the Best Teacher for My Children Possible?

As a parent who homeschools, being the best teacher for your children possible is all about giving your children full days with engaging lessons that promote creativity, independence, and growth. To do this, you can make sure you have a plan for the school year that allows each lesson to help build the knowledge and skills your children are currently developing, and you can empower your children with the lessons, materials, guidance, and freedom they need to enjoy the process of learning.

How Can I Make Sure I’m Ready to Homeschool?

Your first day of homeschooling will probably feel like your first day at a new job, or maybe even your first day of school back when you were a kid. You’re never going to feel 100% ready, but you can take steps to ensure that your family’s first day of home school goes smoothly. These steps include making sure that you have lessons planned and materials readily available, and that you have a schedule for the day that will maintain a good flow without feeling either too rushed or too slow.

What Does It Take to Be Good at Homeschooling?

Being good at homeschooling takes planning, practice, and patience. This includes both patience with your children and patience with yourself. You’ll need to have a plan for the overall school year and for each day; and, if you are new to homeschooling (as most parent-educators are), it will take time to get used to your new routine. Making sure you are as prepared as possible will help minimize unanticipated bumps throughout the day, but it will not avoid bumps entirely. This is completely normal, and being good at homeschooling is about making sure you are learning and putting in the effort alongside your children.

Key Takeaways

• You Can Be Good at Homeschooling – While it’s natural to be worried about doing a good job when you’re preparing to take responsibility for your children’s education, you can be good at homeschooling. If you put in the time and effort, you will be able to do what you need to do.
• Planning and Preparation are Key – As you begin your homeschooling journey, planning and preparation are key. You should come up with a detailed schedule using your home school planner, and you should make sure you have the materials your children will need for their first few weeks of home school.
• It’s Also Important to Stay Organized – Staying organized is also key. This will help you feel in control, and it will help ensure that your family’s home school days go smoothly. It will also help ensure that your family’s home school days are full without bleeding into your children’s after-school time.
• Things Aren’t Going to Be Perfect All the Time – Just like everything else in life, homeschooling isn’t going to go perfectly every single day. This is fine, and it is to be expected. Give yourself and your children the opportunity to succeed, but don’t get down on yourself if things don’t quite go according to plan from time to time.
• You Will Be Learning Alongside Your Child – Just like being a student, being a parent-educator is a learning experience. You will be learning alongside your child, and you will need to rely on resources (like our subscription plan for home school parents) to help you continue providing an engaging and fulfilling home school experience as your children progress through their education.

How You Can Homeschool Your Kids with Confidence

At Crush Home School, we provide free and paid resources for both new and experienced parent-educators. If you are preparing to homeschool your children, consider becoming a Crush Home School member. Each month, you will receive a membership package via email that includes recommendations, lesson ideas, scheduling tips, coping strategies, exclusive resources, and much more. Learn more about the Crush Home School membership.