Homeschool Mentoring Moms

photo courtesy of photo xpress

Recently, one of our local homeschool moms had the fantastic idea to pair up veteran homeschooling moms with new homeschooling moms in mentoring relationships.  It’s one of those things I wish I’d thought of.  When we began homeschooling, I had one friend who had homeschooled her kids for several years.  She was the only local homeschool mom that I knew personally, and I am eternally grateful that she was there for me that first year or two.

I think, if you’ve homeschooled for three or four years (or more), you owe it to the homeschooling community to give back by being willing to mentor a new homeschool mom. At a recent support group meeting, a mom I had never met before showed up to offer her support to new homeschooling moms.  Her children were all in their mid- to late-twenties and her homeschooling days were over.  However, she said that she was one of those pioneer moms who had been charged with continuing to be involved in the homeschooling community so that homeschooling families would not take lightly this freedom we enjoy.

So, how can you mentor a new homeschooling family?

Come alongside them. Simply be there to offer support, encouragement, or a listening ear.  Be willing to share tips you’ve learned along the way or let a new mom stop by and browse your curriculum or even observe to see what a typical homeschool day can look like.

Match up moms. You could do what the mom in our area is doing and match up veterans and newbies based on homeschooling style, area in the community, or ages of children.

Offer your time. Offer to meet a new homeschooling mom for coffee and spend some time just answering questions — you remember what it was like to have a million of them and no one to ask.

Pick up the phone. Sometimes, on a bad day, all we need is an encouraging word, a sympathetic ear, or just the knowledge that someone else has been there, done that, and lived to tell about it.  Or maybe it’s been a great day and it’d just be nice to share the excitement with someone who truly understands.

What tips do you have for mentoring a new homeschooling mom?

Kris is the sweet-tea-drinking, classically eclectic, slightly Charlotte Mason mom to her three Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers and the woman who refused to be Eclipsed by obesity any longer.

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Tagged as: adjusting, written by Kris