By Jill McDonough
You can literally make money teaching your own children. Teaching at a homeschool co-op is another way homeschooling moms can make money teaching what they know.
How did I start this lucrative side hustle?
As a former high school French teacher, I knew I would be teaching my middle school son French this year.
In a Facebook group, someone asked where in the area their daughter could learn French. I posted that I tutor in French.
After chatting with the mom, we came up with the idea of not just tutoring, but rather seeing if there were other kids interested in an in-person class. I said I would do it for my typical tutoring fee and I wanted my son to be a part of it for no cost to us.
Other kids joined the class and then I was literally getting paid to teach my own son in a middle-school French co-op class. It is now the start of multiple streams of income!
I will keep saying it…a perfect side hustle for homeschool moms is to find a way to get paid to teach.
We all know something that could translate into a homeschool co-op course. What did you do in your life before kids? Even if you didn’t have a career before them, what skills are you good at? Homeschool co-ops even offer life skill classes such as home economics, budgeting, sewing, etc.
Are there any ways that you can combine something you were already going to do with your children, but you can turn it into a homeschool co-op class? Do you enjoy doing science experiments with your kids? Do you create art projects with your kids? Are you passionate about writing?
You can turn any of your hands-on teaching moments into a class. Also, you don’t need to create your own curriculum. I haven’t created a French curriculum. I just created a homework schedule and added some worksheets here and there.
Why not make money for something I was already going to do?
What are the pros of this side hustle?
- Good money! I love that we can actually make money teaching our own children. Charge a materials fee to cover any printing costs.
- Your kids benefit from having classmates and “positive peer pressure” to complete homework and do a good job.
- I have to create two weeks of homework for the students. This keeps me on top of teaching my subject instead of skipping days.
- It has rekindled my love of teaching.
- By the end of the year, I had a full French I curriculum ready to be used again and again.
- Now that the word is out, I have a consistent side income of teaching every year.
- I can, and will, sell my homework packet passively online. This turns one class into a multi-income stream.
I realize that your subject may be different, but I can show you what I use.
I needed a curriculum that had great “learn-at-home features” since the homeschool co-op class would only meet every other week for one hour. The French curriculum I used as a teacher was too dated to consider. I did a lot of research to find an appropriate curriculum. Some foreign language curricula are VERY expensive.
Since price was a concern and because I knew I would be supplementing, I chose a solid but no frills curriculum that has phenomenal audio CDs and online vocabulary games. I am very impressed with the French curriculum called Living Language.
I still can’t believe how inexpensive it is. It will cover 3 – 4 years of French and for all of the books and CDs it is only around $30!
So, if there’s a topic you used to teach or you would like to teach at a homeschool co-op, here are some steps for you to follow:
- Research! Act like a homeschool mom trying to find this course for your children. What books and resources are they using? Can you find a syllabus or structure to the course? What is the cost?
- Get connected with a homeschool co-op. More than ever, parents are leaning on co-ops or pods for supplementing their children’s homeschool education. Search on Facebook in your area for homeschool co-ops. Also, just simply post on a homeschool Facebook group, “Anyone interested in a class on XYZ?”
- Get organized. Once you have your textbook, start working on your syllabus and structure of the course. Start macro and work your way to micro.
- Find ways to include your children. Bounce ideas off of them. Have them test out a game or experiment you created.
- Try to turn all of this work at the beginning to an ongoing source of income. Is this something you can teach again and again? Can you sell your worksheets? Can you turn your course into an online course or a hybrid course on Outschool?
- Advertise. Watch Homeschool Facebook groups for anyone looking for the course you offer. Don’t spam, but chime in and offer your services.
Supplement Your Course
Since my chosen curriculum doesn’t have any French culture in it, it was necessary to supplement. One of the moms from my course volunteered to add in cultural projects, three per year. She found three great projects through Teachers Pay Teachers. This is a great site filled with wonderful supplementary materials from teachers.
I also had many French workbooks from which I photocopied various sheets. Each week my students get a printed list of the next two weeks’ homework as well as any worksheets I added. We printed the extra cultural projects on separate, colored sheets.
If you need any extra worksheets, I would recommend looking on Teachers Pay Teachers, Amazon, Evan-Moor, or Carson Dellosa. If you need art or preschool supplies, check out the great selection at Discount School Supply.
Lastly, would your class benefit from video clips? Then, you will want to check out the “Netflix of Documentaries”, Curiosity Stream. If your class covers history, science, technology or nature, you will add a lot to your classes with showing short clips from their extensive library.
Remember, we are all passionate about something. Which of your passions can you turn into a homeschool co-op course? And remember, they don’t have to be “typical” courses you would find in schools.
Here are a few ideas that aren’t your typical classes:
Home Economics Topics – Cooking, Baking, Money Management, Sewing
Writing Specific Courses – Master the 5 Paragraph Essay, Write a Screenplay, Character Development
Literature Specific – Chronicles of Narnia Course, Understanding Shakespeare, Little House Books
Science Topics – Rocks & Minerals, Dinosaurs, Culinary Chemistry, Robotics
Life Skill Topics – Automotive Skills, Stock Market Simulations, Chess
Are the creative juices flowing? Isn’t it exciting that you can make money teaching your own children?
Are you excited to get working on a class? If you need any help, reach out to me!
Read how Arlena created a curriculum and franchise business from teaching kids to cook. She created a delicious way to make money teaching her own children!
Lastly, learn about more ways to make money teaching and various side hustles perfect for a homeschool mom.
