Getting Dad Involved Part 1
Haven’t we all experienced this before? We want our husband to be more involved in home schooling our children. But the more we push, the more we seem to push him away.
I personally can find at least one reason this happens in my house. My husband suffers from a severe case of being home school hearing impaired. He has heard me share my testimony about how we came to home schooling, talk scared parents cautiously through the process of withdrawing their children from public school, and calm a new home schooling family through the common panicked feelings that sometimes follow the first few months of home schooling. He has even sat room side through many groups of veteran home school moms as they voice their concerns, share their fears, and even complain about their husbands. I am shocked sometimes when he bares with me through the long speeches about my most recent new findings that support home schools, reject home schools, and anything else that might have a minuscule amount of information regarding home schooling.
Having a husband who is, “HSHI”, is common among homes schooling dads. But maybe you have a husband who works long hours and just isn’t capable of getting involved in your home school. And you are not alone if you have a husband that just isn’t interested and leaves homes schooling in your hands. So what is a great home school mom to do? There are many ways to get your husband involved without being dishonest and manipulative.
1.) Tell him!
Don’t expect your husband to read your mind or be that sensitive guy that knows what you want. Say something simple like, “Honey, I was thinking how much I would love it if you helped home school the kids. What do you think?” If he doesn’t jump for joy, don’t get frustrated with him. Love him where he is.
2.) Do a Unit Study that is in his area of expertise.
My husband is a computer guy, so when my children did a unit study on basic computer skills he practically took over because he couldn’t help correcting or over explaining more efficiently than I could. It doesn’t have to be his paying job he teaches; it could just be his favorite hobby.
Example;
My neighbor is a waiter; he was just visiting with us on the porch and ended up giving my children a Q and A about his job. He was thrilled to have someone ask and be interested. I would have never thought to teach them about that profession.