10 Strategies to Confidently Teach Your Child

Commit to homeschooling your child
 Saying you're going to do something isn't enough, especially when it comes to homeschooling. Devoting your time and attention to this decision will pay off every lesson, every day, and throughout your learner's experience.
 

Create a functional learning space
 You wouldn't cook in the restroom or wash dishes in your bed, so designing a space for learning is critical for productivity and focus during instruction. Even if this area has a small table, learning materials, and a chair, designating an area for schoolwork will help reinforce the anticipated activities that will go on there.
 

Set expectations
 Similarly, by setting and talking about desired outcomes for the time and routine set for homeschool, your learner is able to meet a target. Write or draw a representation of the expectations and review them to help strengthen the underlying importance of the guidelines in order for learning to happen.
 

Discuss learning goals
 Before getting started, it is also important to establish goals for learning. What does your child hope to gain during instruction? What skills is your learner looking forward to strengthening? Create goals and actionable steps for meeting them together.
 

Create a routine for instruction
 Even if your school time fluctuates from day-to-day, establishing a routine helps to maintain structure and uphold a similar outline of what your learner expects. Begin with similar activities and discussions, deliver information and practices in a manner that engages your learner, and end lessons with a review. These few pieces alone help to shape procedures that will soon become automatic and effortless.
 

Be flexible
 Life happens, feelings and motivation shift, or sometimes it just isn't our day. That's okay! One major pro to homeschooling is having the ability to adjust and plug in missing pieces as needed. If my son wakes up and is ready to learn, some days we will be finished with instruction by 9 a.m. Other days, we will wrap things up right before taking a bath and getting in bed.
 By letting my learner feel that he is in charge of his learning, it is easier to tell the control freak in myself to relax to allow him more opportunity to be self-aware.
 

Understand your learner
 We all comprehend information at different rates and process new ideas in varying ways. Although one of your children may be a math whiz, the other could struggle counting sheep. You may have a learner who could spell onomatopoeia without hesitation, while another finds it difficult to recognize letter sounds.
 Observing and monitoring your child will provide such useful information about how to support them.
 

Don't sweat the small stuff
 I accidentally skipped an entire phonics lesson and the next day my son and I were both confused as to how we got from point A to point C. Let's just say my mom brain was still hitting the snooze button and my 5-year old figured it out before I truly did.
 Did I want to smack myself in the forehead? Yes. Did I let it get to me? Not for long because we were going to learn regardless and my child was still being supported.
 It's fine! Shake it off and get used to fixing mess-ups, not wallowing in them, which sets an example for your little to do the same when they encounter issues.
 

Plan for celebration in learning
 You are definitely going to praise your child along their educational journey and you will want to make it a big deal! Cheer them on and give yourself a hug too.
 

Enjoy the learning curve
 There will be a time of rearranging and calibration to perfecting a routine, learning about your child's style of education, and settling in to your teaching groove. Embrace the changes and use them as stepping stones. You will proudly look back on the begin and recognize the progress you both have made.