Often when families begin homeschooling, it seems that is the mom to step up and do the majority of the teaching, researching, organizing, and planning. Often as the primary or the sole wage earner for the family, dads are considered the "principal" of the homeschool. However, this situation puts dads at a disadvantage. They come home at the end of the workday and don’t know what went on, how the children are performing in school or their strengths, weaknesses or interests academically. When children are in public school, they tend to come home with notes from the teacher, graded papers, and homework, all which helps to keep dads informed.
How do families change this pattern? Here are some tips to get dad involved in homeschooling!
Share Your Daily High and Low
Daily high and low is a conversation starter when the family shares parts of their day with each other. Pick a time that works for your family like dinner time, bed time, or sometime in the evening, let each family member share what the highlight of their day was and what the low point of the day was. Sometimes this may not be related to their homeschool day, but it is still a great way to share the happenings of the day and build family relationships.
Read Books
Reading aloud to children provides many benefits and is a great way to involve dad in the homeschooling day. If a child is an early reader, he or she can practice reading aloud to dad each evening. This simple activity provides lasting memories between father and children. It helps to instill traditions to pass down through the generation, and you can remember beloved characters from favorite books through the years.
Get more ideas about family reading time on sites like Pinterest.
Have a Homeschool Showcase
At the end of the week, have the children share a bit of their homeschool work. This does not have to be anything fancy, a child’s homeschool showcase can be a simple folder. Let your children pick 3-5 items to put into their folder. You could also go over the top and do something creative like a gameshow with dad as the host. This gives dad something to see from their week and also serves as a form of review for your children.
Take Field Trips
When planning field trips, choose days that dad can come along as well. In addition to keeping dad involved in the learning, mom gets the advantage of an extra adult on board to help out with driving and corralling the children. It is great family time and gives you the chance to hand over the reins to someone else and just be able to relax and have fun.
Grade Papers
If your kids are in older grades or have come from the public school graded work is sometimes necessary. Grades are necessary for high school for transcripts and some kids like seeing the grade as a sign of a job well done. Grading papers can become a routine spouses do together each evening or a task assigned to the "principal". Grading work lets fathers see the progress your kids are making and gives you the mom a nice break from doing it all yourself!
Let Dad be an Expert
Many dads specialize in certain areas such as carpentry, math, art, or mechanics. Life skills are a huge part of many homeschools, so Dad's teaching an area he excels in is a great way to enrich any child’s homeschool experience. With so many kids today not even knowing how to check the oil or tire pressure of their car life skills are more important than ever. So let dad teach auto shop, art, cooking or a home ec class.
When you start a homeschool journey share the load and don’t let one parent bear the sole burden of the homeschooling responsibility. Yes, dad may bring in financial support, but that does not mean they do not need to be involved in the education of their children. Try a few of these tips to get dad involved in homeschooling, and your family may be surprised by the results!
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