Yes, you will ask your elder homeschool students to help their younger siblings with some learning. No, it doesn’t mean that you want your elder kids to teach the younger kids, while you take the morning off. Mentoring can have benefits for all your homeschool students and not just for the one being mentored.
Sharing Knowledge Helps Both Grow
The younger homeschool student will learn something new. The elder homeschool student will get to revise something they already knew. It’s often when you revise something that doubts actually surface. By going over the entire material with a view to explain it to their younger sibling the homeschool student will be analyzing the best way to handle the topic. They will end up doing a very through revision.
Being Accountable for Another
A sense of responsibility grows as the homeschool student begins to mentor younger siblings. Not only does he feel accomplished at having finished his own school work quickly, he also feels a sense of pride at being able to help out the younger homeschool students. There is a sense of accountability for ensuring that the lesson they teach is well understood.
Building Stronger Bonds and Relationships
It adds an additional layer to the family bond. When an elder sibling mentors the younger one, there is a better building up of rapport between them. They are forced in a way to get along so that they can finish the lesson. This helps them both learn how to handle somewhat challenging relationships. After all dealing with your siblings is always a challenge.
Someone Always Available to Counsel and Advice
Even when the homeschool parent is unavailable, the homeschool students have an elder to turn to. They may have simple doubts in their math work, or issues that are bothering them. It helps to have an additional person to talk with. Sometimes it is even better that the person is not a parent or an authority figure in the life of the child. Being a child themselves the elder sibling can better understand the issues being described. It provides a stronger support system.
