4 Ways to Prepare Your Homeschooler for a Trade Career

Does your homeschooler have an interest in the trades? Or perhaps they’re just struggling to choose a career path in general. Well, David and I recently spoke to Gina Millard, who is the Office Manager for NH School of Mechanical Trades. Her educational background is in art, so she works on ads and website design for the school, as well as many other important duties for the school. 

Ms Millard’s father started the business with a good friend. They previously worked as oil heat technicians and decided to switch to teaching as they both grew closer to retirement age. The school has three locations (Manchester, Seacoast, and Lakes Region). The school offers an oil heating program, an air conditioning technician program, an HVAC equipment installer program, an HVAC service technician program, a Plumbing 101 program, and an Electrical 101 program. 

During the interview, Ms. Millard explained four tips on how to prepare your homeschooler for a trade school and for a future trade career. 

• Teach your homeschooler how to engage and show interest.
• Teach your homeschooler how to problem-solve.
• Teach your homeschooler how to learn with hands-on methods.
• Teach your homeschooler how to learn about trade schools. 

Engage in the Trades

First of all, you must teach your homeschooler how to engage and show interest. Whether they want to study on their own or study with you, they need to show interest in the topic at hand. Specifically, Ms. Millard explained that the students who show interest and pay attention progress well in the trade school environment. 

Next, give your homeschooler a problem and let them solve it. If they need help, assist, but encourage them to work on their own. Perhaps they could set up a science project or write a paper by themselves. 

Next, show them how to work/learn with their hands. Include hands-on projects within your homeschool program. Ask them to build or assemble projects. Show them that learning comes from books and hands-on activities. 

Finally, take your homeschooler to trade school open houses, tours, or shows. Encourage them to study trades on YouTube or pick up some resources from the library. If they show an interest in the trades, encourage them by supplying fun resources, like books or videos. 

Personally, I took a tour of a trade school in high school. I didn’t end up in the trades, but the tour still sticks with me because it was fascinating, and I learned that the trades weren’t right for me because I don’t learn well with my hands. It also gave me great respect for tradespeople because they are creative and amazing visual learners. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, trade jobs can open up a wide array of opportunities for your homeschooler. If you start now by encouraging them to learn more about the trades and use habits, it creates a wonderful start. By enrolling in a trade school and a trade career, your homeschooler can develop their mental and physical health for the rest of their lives. The trades are vital to the survival of our society, so you’re not just raising homeschoolers, you’re raising game changers. 

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- NxtEra

Written by Bethany (@thebookwormgirl_bethany)