Homeschooling like a Superhero (in 30 days)

Can I Help You?

Over the last week, I’ve received dozens of calls from friends who are now struggling to “figure out” how to school their kids at home. And I’ve got news for you, schooling a child at home is NOTHING LIKE teaching a child in a school. So, the advice you might be receiving from well-meaning friends, family, or teachers who have NOT homeschooled is, well, uh… useless.

So here is what I propose.

I’ll offer training on “Homeschooling Basics” to whomever is interested. I’ll discuss how to structure the day, motivate kids, and implement Superhero-like-homeschooling. This will be based on my experience and on the experience of hundreds of other parents who homeschool full time or during summer break. If you are interested, here’s what I can promise you:

1. That it won’t be easy.
2. That it will be worth it.

For “Reluctant Homeschoolers” (like me)

Last week, millions of parents suddenly became Homeschoolers overnight. For many, the very idea of being a “homeschooler” is too hard to fathom. They think to themselves, “Now that we school our kids at home, do we have to start sewing our own clothes, too? Can we still use electricity? Will our kids become socially awkward?”

Well, I’ve got news for you:

1. If you are socially awkward, odds are that your kids are going to be too. (Sorry. But this blog is committed to honesty.)
2. Regarding the use of electricity and sewing your own clothes, both are optional provisions in the official Homeschooler’s handbook. (No, there is no such thing… and would you really want it if there was?!!) And, by the way, I’m typing this on a Macbook, surrounded by more electrical gadgets than I can count… so, yeah, I’m sticking with electricity.
3. After 30 days of Homeschooling, you and your child will be transformed. No joke. I predict that, after one month, 1) your child will become more independent in their learning, 2) that they will read more than in the last three months, and, 3) that your child will develop habits that will make him/her a FAR better student when classes resume.

Here’s a personal story that — hopefully — will encourage you.

Thrown into Homeschooling

Thirteen-years ago, when my son was about to start Kindergarten, the school’s principal was in the news. (Spoiler alert: Principals are never in the news for the many good things that they do.) I’ll spare you the gory details but, because of the behavior of the principal, the school community was fractured and at each other’s throats. In a parent meeting held on the Friday before classes started, the bitterness, distrust, and anger in the school community boiled over.

The night before school was scheduled to begin, my wife and I decided that we couldn’t enroll our son into that environment. So, because we had no other options — this was the night before school was to start, remember — we became what I call “Reluctant Homeschoolers.” Like you, overnight, we had to adjust to a completely different way of educating our kids.

Fortunately, things worked out… but not without lots of difficulty… and lots of unexpected benefits. I’m hoping to save you from the difficulties and get you straight to the benefits!

Homeschooling Changes You

Later, when our kids were back in school, we realized that the skills we learned while homeschooling were critical to developing highly competitive students. We used these newly developed skills when our kids were home for the summer, on holiday breaks, and even on weekends. I didn’t realize it at the time, but each year, there are 185 days of non-school days — days where your child will not step foot into a traditional school. Now, because of our homeschooling experience, we were able to prepare our kids in ways I could have never imagined:

1. Our kids learned how to be independent learners. (That means that we didn’t need to look over their shoulder — or yell, scream, threaten, etc — to get them to do their work.)
2. Our home structure became a place where learning was normal… we had developed a “Culture of Learning” in our home! Here’s an OpEd that I wrote a few years ago: OpEd on the Homeschooler’s Mindset
3. Our kids began to rocket past their peers in school. This was because our kids were learning every day of the year — and not just when school was in session.

You CAN do this!!

Let me be the first to encourage you. You’ve got this! And, if you need some help, complete the survey below for classes on how to Homeschool like a Superhero (a REAL superhero… like Superman. Batman is just a guy in a bat suit).

More to come…