Regardless of whether or not they consider themselves the teacher, homeschool dads play a variety of important roles in their families. The level of involvement varies, but not the level of importance. Dads have a great deal of influence in their children’s lives and, as homeschoolers, we understand that home education is an extension of parenting. Here’s to the dads, inside the home and out, working hard to support homeschooling for their children.
The Primary Educator Dad
When people think about homeschool families, they think about the mother staying home to educate the children. Though that is the most common family scenario, it is not always the case. There are times when the father is the primary educator in the family.
The Single Dad
There are family makeups in that, for whatever reason, the dad is the only full-time parent. That can make the idea of homeschooling seem unattainable, but it doesn’t have to be. There are some single fathers who utilize the opportunity to work from home or do shift work in order to homeschool their children.
The Teacher Dad
Education is a career field that both men and women pursue. In some families, the father is a trained teacher who is passionate about education. For some in this situation, they decide to transition to being the primary educator of their own children at home while the mother pursues a career outside of the home.
Even if the father is a professional educator still working within the system, he may take more of a leadership role in the home education even without being there all day. Whether that looks like helping in planning our resources and topics to cover, teaching some subjects when he gets home in the afternoon, or just overseeing the education as a whole, there are many ways to be involved.
Jared Fraser, Christian school principal and homeschool dad, says, “Beyond the day-to-day, your family needs you to cast a vision. Casting a vision does not need to be ethereal and weird. It is simply repeating the why. Your wife needs this, your children need this and you need this.”
The Supportive Dad
The more traditional homeschool family, with the mom being the primary educator while the father works outside the home, doesn’t mean the father has no importance to the homeschool.
There are many ways a dad can be supportive in the family’s homeschooling lifestyle, not the least of which is being financially supportive. In many family scenarios, without the father working to make an income for the family, the mother wouldn’t be able to stay home and educate the children.
Some other ways that supportive dads can positively impact their children’s home education are:
- Showing an interest in what their children are learning;
- Helping out when they are available with subjects or projects they enjoy;
- Reading to the children at bedtime or after supper;
- Being a sounding board for their wife to help problem solve struggles within the home education;
- Encouraging their children to honour and obey their mother.
Dads can use their available time to teach their children things like basic carpentry, mechanics, landscaping etc just by allowing their children to accompany and help them with these tasks. Over the years, as the child grows older, he or she can begin to take over more of the task. And before anyone thinks that this is not considered ‘school’, remember that there are courses offered in Home Economics and Shop in our public schools as well.
Dads bring so much to their families homeschool and have the potential to be extremely influential in their children’s lives. Thanks dads, for all you do!
