Homeschool Caregiver: A Much Needed Service to Homeschoolers

As homeschooling becomes more and more popular, and as working parents desire to homeschool as well, there is a new market for caregivers. A homeschool caregiver would be someone who cares for homeschooled kids during the day while their parents work. They may or may not help with curriculum and formal lessons, but focus more fully on making sure the kids are safe, eat well, and stay out of trouble while the parents work.

The reason the homeschool caregiver would most likely not actually teach the child is that once they become the teachers, the set up is more of a private school than a child care situation. Most homeshooling parents desire to control the educational process of the student and allow the child to move at their own pace. Therefore, once you have two children on one curriculum following the same lessons, you lose that dynamic. Instead, the homeschooling parent would teach the child in the evening and on weekends and assign "homework" that can be done when they are with the caregiver.

Homeschool caregivers are needed for children from preschool age to grade eight. For the most part, high school age children are able to be at home alone while the parents work, but sometimes it might be necessary for a 9th or 10 grader to need supervision during the day too. Currently, there is no care for daytime care that isn't school-based for anyone past age six. With the explosion of homeschooling, though, it is greatly needed.

Clients for a homeschool caregiver would most likely include families, where there is only 1 parent in the house who must work, or where both families work full time. A homeschool caregiver can take a handful of kids into her home as in a home-based daycare situation, or they can open a homeschool lounge or hangout (which would take an investment) for homeschoolers whose parents are not home during the day. In the best case scenario, they would start out small, and grow bigger.

Finding homeschoolers who need such a service would be quite easy. Just ask around. Personally, I know one family desperately seeking such a caregiver, and a few others who would gladly use them if they could find them. Once you find one family who needs such a service, the business would quickly grow by word of mouth.

So if you love kids, and interacting with them, and have some basic tutoring skills, and are pro-homeschooling, and are looking for work, you may want to look into starting a homeschool caregiver service.