I am not a teacher, I suck at Maths, and I don’t think I am capable of teaching my kids… sound familiar?

I see this particular topic come up a lot in our Facebook homeschooling group (Homeschooling New Zealand Facebook Group) It’s time to address it! Let’s put your mind at ease while we are at it. 

 

First off I want to say that if you are feeling this way (way in over your head and not experienced enough) you are not alone and the majority of (especially new) homeschoolers feel this doubt creep in at some point or another.

 

Let’s get to it… NO you do NOT need to be a teacher. You do not need to be experienced, you do not need any qualifications (not in New Zealand anyway). 

 

It’s not easy to homeschool by any means but all you really need is the willingness to learn yourself, I personally struggled a lot with Maths growing up. I was very reluctant to teach my own children Maths but I knew that I wanted to homeschool so I had to put aside my own issues with Maths and figure out how I was going to tackle this problem.

 

I have found that it is so much easier to learn now as an adult than when I was trying to do Maths as a kid, I don’t have any issue doing Maths problems now, and I cannot explain how freeing that new confidence feels. I learnt Maths skills alongside my son, if we didn’t understand something we googled it or searched Youtube for an explanation, (you may be surprised at how many tutorials are on Youtube) and you can even use ChatGPT for certain things.

 

Honestly the whole ‘you need to be a teacher’ thing is a very outdated view, we have the internet now!

 

I mean you can literally type a Math equation in to Google and bam you have the answer, and if for some reason you need a second opinion we have thriving Facebook groups to ask questions in.

 

You can ask ChatGPT what is the easiest way to divide and it will tell you in a matter of seconds, you can also ask it the square root of pi (see below) … as you can see I am enjoying playing around with ChatGPT haha!

 

 

Okay so moving forward you can also just use the local library or a bookstore if you wish to avoid the internet and technology a bit more, I know that technology is a useful tool but I also understand the wish to minimise its use at times.

 

I also always recommend reaching out and finding yourself a local homeschooler (or even an online one) that has some experience behind them, there is a lot more groups around now and there is always homeschoolers willing to help and encourage each other too.

 

The beginning years are the easiest when it comes to homeschooling, I had the privilege of being homeschooled myself and then going on to homeschool my own kids from the very beginning. It is easy to start at the beginning and learn alongside your kids, but wherever your kids may be at in their education journey there is access to help out there.

 

You can use resources such as Khan Academy which is totally free and there is even full video tutorials to teach you step-by-step Maths which is amazing (especially for me).

 

You can hire a tutor online or in person, you can buy workbooks from shops like Whitcoulls, and you can find educational books in the library. The list goes on and on of the different resources and materials you will be able to access and use as a homeschooler. There is even specific homeschool events, activities, and groups that run all around the country…

 

 

The options are endless really and I believe that we need to embrace the fact that we know our kids best, so why can’t we teach them? We can, we have just been so used to being ‘taught’ in a school environment ourselves by a ‘teacher’ that we doubt ourselves, this is okay but it’s not true that we need to be a teacher to teach.

 

Honestly it’s crazy to me to even think that some other person is more equipped than me, their mother to teach them!

 

Listen there is absolutely nothing like being able to sit down and learn alongside your own kids, and no school out there can compare to that one-on-one relationship you will develop with your kids.

 

I myself have doubts all the time, am I doing enough? am I doing too much? it’s all normal and actually healthy too. You care about your kids and their future! So of course you doubt yourself.

 

I believe if you put your mind to it, and if you spend some time doing some research, and reaching out to get some support from other homeschoolers you WILL find your feet. Will you struggle? Yes! But it’s all worth it in the end.

 

No day is the same and kids don’t just learn from ‘school’, you don’t need to be in a classroom to learn things, you can (and will) learn everywhere you go! 

 

The access to homeschooling resources and thriving communities is far superior to what it use to be! It is no longer a crazy idea to homeschool your own children (mostly anyway)

 

I hope that this article has helped ease your mind a little, if you haven’t already I suggest checking out my step by step FREE guide to homeschooling in New Zealand and also join my growing homeschool community group at Homeschooling New Zealand Facebook Group

 

please feel free to introduce yourself and ask any further questions in the group.

Happy Homeschooling!