Homeschooling families come in all sorts of varieties, but in most families the task of homeschooling falls to the mom. The dad may be involved from a distance – perhaps no more involved that he would be if the kids were in regular school. He gets to hear about their day when he gets home from work and maybe help with an occasionally project. Even if he can’t be involved in all things homeschool, there are ways we can invite them to be more involved in the homeschool journey. Homeschool is a full-time job – and then some! Having an involved spouse helps share the responsibility, spreads the workload a bit, can even add a layer of fun exploration. Here are some ways to get homeschool dads more involved in the homeschool journey.
Getting Homeschool Dads Involved in Traditional Subjects
Read-Aloud Books and Readers
Using a literature rich homeschool curriculum has been a priority in our homeschool from the beginning. I want my kids to be surrounded by fantastic books instead of getting the bulk of their education from a computer screen. We use BookShark for history and science. The material is covered in three categories of books – spines, read-alouds, and readers. This really adds depth to the material. My kids have always insisted on having their own books, so we don’t combine them even though they’re close enough in age.
This has given us a great opportunity to have my husband more involved in our homeschool. These books can be read anytime throughout the day, so it’s easy to save the read-aloud book for the evenings when he’s home and can read to them after dinner. Our girls also enjoy reading to him from their readers.
Don’t worry if he’s not available consistently enough to read or listen to the whole book over a week or two. These breaks serve as natural opportunities for kids to practice their narration skills. They’ll be eager to fill him in on the parts of the story that he’s missed.
Saving some of these books for him to read in the evening is also a great way to reduce T.V. or electronics time after dinner. One book can quickly lead to another and before you know it, your evenings may be filled with sharing books instead of zoning out in front of screens.
Related post – Homeschooling Multiple Kids with BookShark
Science Experiments
We love science experiments in our house! We also love using a curriculum that has experiments organized in a way that is truly open-and-go. This makes it super easy for Dad to step in on the weekends and take over science. We call it Science Saturdays! I write down the reading assignment on post-it notes in the books and set aside the science supply kit. He handles the rest. I often use this time to run errands or work in the garden.
Related Post – Winning with BookShark Science
My husband helping the kids with a BookShark 4 science experiment. His career ties in with the unit on electricity, so he enjoys getting out his tools during these experiments.
Getting Homeschool Dads Involved with Extras
Dad’s Own interests
Look at his interests to see if there’s anything that he may excel at that can be passed onto the kids. It doesn’t even have to be a traditional school subject. It can be something that ties into their profession or a hobby. Think of life skills that your kids still need to learn. Budgeting? Changing a tire? Cooking? Put him to work tackling these topics.
Games
Games are a fantastic way to reinforce traditional school subjects, and develop logic and strategy skills. Some homeschoolers actually use games as a primary teaching tool, but you don’t have to go full speed ahead down the road of Gameschooling to benefit from educational games. A weekly family game night is a great way to bring everyone together for some fun. Most educational games are so engaging that your kids may not even know they’re practicing math, history, geography, spelling, or critical thinking skills.
Scheduling Events that Dads can Attend
Nature has been a huge part of our homeschool journey from the beginning, but we always go out with our homeschool friends during the week when my husband is working. Planning something on the weekends is a great way to get the dads involved. What would your homeschool community look like if you organized a regular weekend family hike with your homeschool friends once a month or once a quarter? Perhaps you’re not the nature type, but your partner wants to make it their priority? You can find easy tips to get you started down the nature road right here.
Most field trips are usually during the weekdays. Those schedules are dictated by the hosting business or organization. However, not all dads work a traditional 9-5 type job. Has your homeschool group made it known that dads are welcome to join in on these fun outings? We get so used to being around just moms and kids that it may seem awkward to include the dads, but we can always change the dynamic by inviting them to events. A field trip may be even be worth using a vacation day. He can spend the day with the family with a field trip thrown into the mix!
Getting Homeschool Dads Involved in the Planning
Homeschool Planning
Planning out our homeschool year and doing periodic check-ups on our progress throughout the year can be time consuming tasks. Sometimes we neglect to take the time and energy to do a complete job of it. We try to fit in pieces here and there in between other life commitments instead of giving planning our full attention. This is the behind the scenes work that guides our homeschool experience. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you’re feeling behind with planning. Even an occasional full Saturday by yourself while he’s out with the kids can help you tackle your to-do list.
Even if your husband isn’t an active participant the homeschool environment, he should still play an active role in the vision of your homeschool. We may have our own priorities for our kids’ education, but have you asked your husband what’s important to him? Homeschooling SHOULD be a joint effort and vision for both parents, but it’s often not.
Once the planning is done, don’t be afraid to put them to work assembling and organizing curriculum. Even if they’re not as familiar with the curriculum as you are, they can still print out documents, assemble binders, prepare parts for curriculum, and organize bookshelves. Since we use BookShark, much of the planning is done for me. So, I have my husband help with organization.
Related Post – How to Organize BookShark Materials
Break Time for Mom
How many of us are too controlling that the thought of having our husbands prep and organize curriculum gives us a panic attack? A few of us, I’m sure! Break time for me is one of my favorite ways to involve my husband in our homeschool routine, and you don’t have to give up control. I take 4 Teacher In-Service days per year to treat myself to a dinner out followed by a leisurely stroll through a bookstore. My husband stays home with the kids and takes care of their dinner and evening activities. I take one of these days right before we start our school year and at the end of the year. I also treat myself around the 12 week and 24 week points during the year.
Related Post – Back to School Traditions for Homeschool Moms
Even though homeschooling usually becomes the mom’s job, it’s important to involve our husbands in this unique adventure we’re taking with our kids. Yes, it is hard work, but it’s amazing to watch our kids learn and grow right in front of us. Getting the homeschool dads more involved in this process allows them to be a part of the magic too.
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