Online Tutoring for Homeschooling: Is It Worth It?

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Have you ever hit a point in homeschooling where you think “I’m not cut out to teach this” or “There’s got to be someone that can better explain this”?

Maybe math lessons end up with you and you child frustrated? Maybe learning the parts of speech just isn’t sticking and you don’t know if your sanity can handle yet another review (been there, done that!). Maybe high school science feels (understandably) bigger than you expected?

You guys! This is exactly where online tutoring can help! If you’ve been following me for a minute, you know that I’m always an advocate for outsourcing whatever’s needed when homeschooling. Taking advantage of the skill, knowledge, and patience of an online tutor can really make a difference in the homeschool experience.

You may be saying to yourself “Um, Elizabeth…that’s easier said than done, girl!” and I get it! But, I’ve gone from having never used a tutor (online or in person) with my kids to singing the praises of including a tutor in our days. If I can figure this out, so can you…and you get the added benefit of learning from my experience!

That being said, my oldest has been taking online tutoring classes with a tutor through Wyzant. Let’s chat a bit about that, shall we? In this article, I’ll share about Wyzant, why you should consider including their tutoring lessons in your homeschool days, my son’s experiences with his Wyzant tutor, and how you can save some moolah on your first lesson.

What is Wyzant?

Back when I was in school, even when I was a teacher, if a parent wanted to hire a tutor for their kids, they had to rely on word-of-mouth…or maybe they’d happen to see one of those Microsoft Paint-made posters with the little phone number pull tabs on the grocery store bulletin boards. Remember that? Parents would be taking a gamble, trusting the competency on the tutor by a recommendation or two. They’d have to make a phone call, schedule a date, and physically drive their child to a local library or trust a stranger to come to their home.

Phone calls? Strangers? Microsoft Paint? Just the thought of it all makes me shudder.

Now, with it’s like we’re in the golden age of tutoring opportunities…especially when homeschooling parents are able to take advantage of the amazingness that is Wyzant.

What’s Wyzant, though? Well, I’m glad you asked! In a nutshell, they’re a tutoring service providing opportunities for in-person and online tutoring. Really, though – they’re so much more!

The Pronunciation

First off, it’s pronounced “wise – ant.” I also pronounce “aunt” the same way I pronounce “ant,” making the Wyzant name even more memorable. I happen to have two very wise aunts. I always go to them for advice and life lessons, much like the Wyzant tutors are able to impart such information to their students!

Now that we have that taken care of (seriously – it was one of the first things I questioned when I initially learned about the company!), let’s get into the details.

The Team & Their Capabilities

Wyzant is an online platform that makes it super simple for users to connect with expert tutors in over 300 subjects. Maybe your child wants to learn how to play the piano? Maybe they want to learn the language of their ancestors? Maybe they want to strengthen their writing skills in preparation for winning a Pulitzer Prize? Maybe…just maybe…your kid breaks out in hives just thinking about taking the SAT test and you believe some tutoring may help to ease their anxiety?

You name it, Wyzant has a team of over 80,000 highly qualified tutors standing by to help. And, because there are so many tutors, they’re bound to always have someone available to help, no matter the age, goal, learning style, or subject.

The Schedule

Wyzant makes it super easy for homeschooling families to add a tutoring session (or two) into their schedule. Even if your schedule changes often, the tutoring lessons are designed around your schedule, no subscription or regular commitments required. Perfect for busy homeschool families, right?!

They even have an “Instant Book Feature” that allows you to schedule an online tutoring session the tutor has already confirmed is available. This can really help to save time and get lessons booked ASAP.

Whether your child could benefit from a quick, one-time tutoring session on a specific content matter or you’re looking to sign them up for twice-weekly tutoring lessons for the entire school year, Wyzant has a tutor that can help!

@thathomeschoolfamily I have nothing but great things to say about our online tutoring experience with Wyzant. We're excited to include more tutoring lessons in the future! #wyzant #onlinetutor #homeschool #homeschoolmom #homeschoolersoftiktok ♬ original sound – Liz | That Homeschool Family

The Online Setting

Wyzant makes it super easy for an online tutoring lesson to happen by providing an online “meeting space” right on their platform. Even though I consider myself to be pretty good with technology, this perk really is appreciated! Instead of having to download & learn yet another app or platform…which can be super frustrating…the entire online tutoring lesson happens on the Wyzant website.

You won’t need to worry about searching down a specific encoded meeting link, digging through emails for a password that somehow ended up in your email’s “junk” section, or even updating an app that you swear you just spent 10 minutes updating last week.

Nope. With Wyzant, everything happens on the same website! Easy!

The Fees

I have, apparently, been living under a rock because I’ve always thought hiring a tutor would be super expensive. It seems like it should be, right? I mean, someone is taking time out of their schedule to help teach my child – that has to be pricey!

Nope. I was (incredibly) pleasantly surprised at the price point of the Wyzant tutors. While pricing does vary, lessons start from as little as $10/hour.

Your jaw just dropped, right? Mmhmm…when I found out about that pricing, my jaw did the same thing.

That’s not to say that all of the tutors are $10/hour, but I certainly appreciate Wyzant offering reasonable pricing making tutoring accessible to families with a variety of income levels.

The Good Fit Guarantee

Hiring an online tutor is an investment and it’s important our investments are protected, right? Wyzant’s Good Fit Guarantee is sort of like insurance for your child’s online tutoring lesson. Your child’s first hour with any tutor is protected by this guarantee – if you’re unhappy with the tutor after the first hour, Wyzant will take care of it. They’ll either refund your purchase or help you find another tutor at no additional cost – your choice!

Our Wyzant Online Tutoring Experience

Since my 14-year-old son is about to start high school (time flies!), I wanted to get a head start on SAT prep. Yes, I know I’m likely putting the cart way before the horse, but I want to do whatever I can to help him prepare for a successful future. Instead of signing him up for a general SAT tutoring session, I asked him what he wanted to improve. After thinking for a bit, he told me he could use some help with reading comprehension.

You guys – can I just say how proud I am of my self-aware teen?!

Of course, I was more than happy to use Wyzant to find an online tutor to help him with just that. Not only is reading comprehension important for completing a standard K-12 education, it also comes into play in real-life situations like:

• understanding contracts, leases, & important legal documents
• following instructions correctly
• understanding job applications & workplace training materials
• avoiding scams & misleading information online
• understanding news articles & current events
• following recipes, manuals, and tutorials
• distinguishing facts from opinions
• understanding workplace emails and expectations
• being able to research topics effectively…and so much more. I could go on and on!

Selecting a Tutor

Anyways, I went right ahead finding an online tutor for him. Once on the Wyzant website, I was able to easily search through their tutor database. I first searched for “reading comprehension” and then focused the results even more by selecting the hourly rate to be between $10 and $40 per hour. From there, I looked through the tutor profiles and reviews. After some time, I decided to book a tutoring lesson with Peter B.

After deciding on the tutor, I sent him a quick message explaining our content area requests and to make sure he’d be a good fit for our need. He responded back within an hour (yay for an attentive tutor!). After confirming that our requested time was available (y’know, because we’re homeschoolers that somehow seem to spend more time outside of the home instead of inside!), I asked if my son needed to do anything to prepare for his online tutoring lesson. His tutor suggested having a notebook and pen or pencil nearby for notes and to test the microphones, speakers, and webcam on Wyzant ahead of time. That was no problem at all!

In addition to sharing the helpful preparation tips, the tutor also shared his plans for my son’s first tutoring lesson based on our requests.

Online Tutoring Lesson

You guys – the tutoring lesson went so well! Since this was a new experience for my son (and me!), I stayed nearby so I could keep an eye/ear on what was going on and so I could help him if he needed something.

The tutor first spent some time getting to know my son, establishing a rapport over shared interests and such. He explained, step by step, what they’d be doing during the lesson and then they got right to it. My son was able to take his time answering the questions. He wasn’t rushed and was encouraged throughout the entire tutoring lesson. He learned new-to-him vocabulary words and learned the meaning behind various prefixes and word history. He smiled! He laughed!

My favorite part? It was clicking for my son. He was engaged throughout the lesson and my typically shy boy was opening up and speaking confidently.

You know what? If I had spent an hour teaching my son the same exact content…I can be you he wouldn’t have been so engaged. While he has learned a lot from me, it is important to give him opportunities to learn from someone other than his mom. Why?

• sometimes one person’s explanation “clicks” when another didn’t
• kids learn flexibility by adapting to different teaching styles
• different teachers bring different strengths, experiences, and perspectives
• kids can learn communication skills by interacting with other instructors
• it prevents learning from becoming stagnant or repetitive

After the hour-long tutoring lesson was complete, I asked my son a few questions (his answers are italicized)

• How did it go? Good
• Did you learn a lot? Yep!
• Would you like to do this again? Sure

Just in case you’re new to “conversations with teenagers,” I’d say that the Wyzant online tutoring lesson had gone well!

The Follow Up

After the first tutoring lesson, I didn’t really know what to expect. I imagined we’d rebook for another session (we did!), but didn’t really expect much past that. Instead of being left in the dark, the tutor followed up through the Wyzant messaging system. He let me know he enjoyed working with my son and asked if we’d like to continue lessons in the future, providing his availability and regards.

Schedule an Online Tutoring Lesson

If you’d like to include a Wyzant tutoring lesson in your child’s homeschool activities, make sure to take advantage of their special offer of $15 off your first lesson! To claim this special offer, first click on the button below. Then, click “claim coupon.” You’ll be prompted to create an account. Once you’ve added a payment method, you should see the $15 credit in your user dashboard. Then, go ahead and start your tutor search!

All in all, I’d say our experience with Wyzant, and our tutor, was pretty successful! The entire experience was low-stress and exceeded my expectations. I definitely plan on including Wyzant tutors in our homeschool days going forward.

What do you think? Have you hired a tutor in the past? Has it gone well? Are there any other questions or concerns I can help with regarding Wyzant or homeschooling in general? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time, stay safe, & enjoy quality time with your family,