Can you believe it? It is November! You have been homeschooling for a while now and are finding your groove. You also have likely discovered that there are pivots, U-turns, and adjustments in some areas. That is normal. When you decided to homeschool you added a lot of responsibility to your plate. We see how hard you are working alongside your child, and we are proud of you! We hope that you feel proud of yourself.
Over the next few weeks, you will receive emails and see posts on social media with vendors advertising their programs because, believe it or not, registration for the second semester is beginning. Our Boost! program will begin registration for the Spring semester this week and R.I.S.E will begin theirs soon. These classes are terrific opportunities to support your homeschool journey and allow you to outsource. Additionally, you will receive your second allotment of student funding on December 1st, so now is a great time to budget those funds for the remainder of the school year.
What is outsourcing? What does it have to do with homeschooling?
Simply put, outsourcing is when you hire a person to provide a service that you had previously done yourself. As it relates to homeschooling, outsourcing usually means hiring someone to teach your child a certain subject (but you could also outsource for someone to do other tasks like help with grading, prepping materials, or even planning lessons).
Outsourcing as it relates to homeschool, allows you to fill gaps or allow someone else to teach your child a certain subject. This can be enrichment, core-subject learning, or a specific area of interest. The Cottonwood School has a number of great Community Partners!
Why should homeschoolers outsource?
Let’s face it. We all have limitations. Sometimes those are limitations of resources, time, ability, or even interest. There are a multitude of reasons to outsource. Here are just a few examples.
- Perhaps you work from home and it would be helpful for your child to take classes online or at a location outside of the home so you can attend meetings or just catch up.
- Maybe science isn’t an area of interest for you or you simply don’t feel comfortable teaching it. That is ok! There are people who do!
- Maybe your child and you butt heads every time you do math! That is ok, too. There are a ton of options for your child to learn with other people and in different ways.
- Gathering supplies for certain subjects can be more costly, messy, time-intensive, and daunting than signing up for a class, and there are classes available. Some things are so much more fun when learned among peers and in a collaborative environment.
- Or maybe you just need some time to think, breathe, exercise, journal… you are human! That is normal and understandable. There are ways to create space for that.
So, take a moment to think about areas that might be fun, meaningful, or useful to outsource and explore the multitude of options both virtually and in person. We have an extensive list of community partners, BOOST!, R.I.S.E, Mindset Mondays, and so much more. Take advantage of your flexibility and feel free to utilize funding for as many of these opportunities as are beneficial to you and your family. Remember that you aren’t alone and you are doing a great job!