How To Be Your Kid’s Guidance Counselor — 5 Tips for Homeschool Parents

The lack of a school guidance counselor is arguably one of the biggest concerns related to homeschooling. It’s also one that places a lot of responsibility on parents, too, as it inevitably falls on them to try and fulfill the role. 

This can be a pretty steep learning curve, though.

So if you’re struggling with what, why, and how to become a homeschool guidance counselor, we’re here to help.

What does a school guidance counselor actually do?

In a nutshell, the job of a school guidance counselor is to guide, support, and assist students with their academic and social development.

In elementary and middle school, this usually takes the form of helping students feel confident, well-adjusted, and prepared for high school, while support in the later years tends to take a more goal-oriented turn.

High school guidance counselors, for example, will support students with college admissions, work placements, and other forms of professional and academic development in preparation for the future.

As you might imagine, this is a very important role that no child should go without.

But don’t panic.

Homeschooling your child doesn’t mean that they have to miss out on the support of a guidance counselor — not if you follow our top tips and tackle the role yourself, or get some help to fill the gaps.

How to become a homeschool guidance counselor — our top five tips 

1.  Make a plan and work backward

Guidance counseling is all about putting a plan in place and helping your child follow it. But coming up with a plan of action for your child’s future isn’t always going to be easy — that’s why it’s a great idea to work backward.

Talk to your child about what, at least at this stage, they want from their future.

Do they want to go to college?

What career do they dream of?

Or what hobbies might they want to turn into something more?

Start with an end-goal, and work towards it.

If your child wants to go to college, talk to them about what subject they might want to study, and research what the requirements are for that specific course in colleges around the country (or world!). This gives you a great foundation to help your child work towards particular goals.

And if college isn’t on the cards, that’s fine — it won’t be for everyone. But it’s worth being aware of that sooner rather than later so that you can support your child in finding an alternative route.

2.  Stay as organized as you can

Although admin can be a little tiresome at times, keeping on top of it is an absolute must when it comes to being your child’s guidance counselor.

To effectively guide your child, you’ve got to be able to support them through exams, college admissions, work applications, and so much more. And to do all of that as efficiently as you can, organization is key.

From GPAs and attendance records, to photo ID and personal references — make it your mission to keep all of this documentation securely stored and filed away, ready for when it’s needed.

It’s also worth keeping a calendar of important dates, too. This will remind you of application deadlines, work placement dates, and other important milestones your child doesn’t want to miss.

3.  Be careful not to overwhelm your child (or yourself!)

There’s a delicate balance to be found in guidance counseling. Inspiration is good; too much pressure is not.

Sure, you want there to be a plan in place. But do you want to force them into picking a path that isn’t what they want? No.

Equally, it’s worth reassuring your child that the decisions they make now don’t have to be permanent in the future.

There can sometimes be a feeling among kids that their lives are suddenly set in stone based on choices made in high school. And while there’s an element of truth in that — the actions we take in school will impact our futures — very few of these actions are irreversible.

Make this clear to your child, and keep it in mind yourself, too.

4.  Keep track of your child’s progress

To guide your child the best you can, it’s important to constantly monitor and keep track of their progress.

If your child is falling behind in a subject — especially one that’s relevant to their future — then you’re going to want to know. Armed with this insight, you can put the right measures in place to bring them up to speed.

Check out our guide on writing detailed homeschool progress reports, and you needn’t worry about a thing.

5.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help

As we’ve covered, there’s a lot to tackle in your role as homeschool guidance counselor.

But remember: it takes a village to raise a child.

And that couldn’t be truer when it comes to preparing them for their future.

Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to ask for help when you need it. In fact, reaching out for some extra support is probably the right and sensible thing to do.

Get in touch with college admission teams for application guidance, speak to your local high school for career advice, and, if things get particularly tricky, bringing in a private guidance counselor might be a good idea, too.

Whatever you do, just make sure that you’re not handling too much at once. That’ll be counterproductive for you and your child.

And now, it’s time to get guiding… 

At the end of the day, us parents and guardians are supposed to lead by example. So don’t put too much pressure on yourself and remember that working towards your child’s future is going to take a little bit of time.

By all means, work towards a goal. But don’t force things if they’re not yet ready to fall in place.

Follow these top tips, and we’re sure you’ll be the best homeschool guidance counselor your kids have ever seen!