These abilities are listed in no particular order. Some are funnier than others, but all are skills I now possess as a homeschooling mom.

1. Read backwards. I’m a little out of practice, but when my kids were learning to read, this was a useful skill. It allowed me to move more freely while one of my sons read aloud. There’s a lot of motivation to hone this skill when it means you can move more than two feet away from your child while reading.

2. Write backwards. Just like number one. It helps to have good penmanship by writing in the normal way and then work on writing letters backwards. I have only mastered printing. Cursive would be a challenge, but I know some moms who can do it.

3. Solve math problems while running on a treadmill. This one requires some practice. Much depends on the word problem: algebra and fractions present some obstacles. For me, the better conditioned I am, the smoother my breathing, the better my son can understand what I’m saying.

4. Develop theories for the mysteries of history. “Mom, why did Alexander the Great want to rule the world?” or “Mom, what really happened to the Roanoke colony?” Of course some mysteries will always be mysteries, I’m not convinced that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.

5. Do math problems at the supermarket. This is the equivalent of doing two math problems at once, since most homeschoolers I know (including myself) are on a tight budget. Oh yeah, and ignoring all the stars from people who don’t understand what you’re doing or who think your kids should be in school, which is a whole different set of skills (those skills are beyond the scope of this post ) .

6. Teaching more than one subject at the same time. There have been times when I started to spell a word for one child, helped another find the square root of a number, and then finished spelling the word for the first child. Add a third child with a different theme and you’re in for a peak performance.

7. Have a conversation with someone (usually a spouse) and solve word problems. The degree of difficulty depends on the topic of conversation. Talking about a budget is similar to number five in that you are doing two or more math problems at once.

8. Googling! Because no one knows everything! The faster you can type, the faster this skill will develop.

9. Become knowledgeable about the curriculum. I’ve never met a homeschooling mom who doesn’t have a collection. Not all of the curriculum works for all grade levels and/or all children.

10. Teaching with a baby attached to the hip. I’m out of practice on this one too. But it takes skill to keep a baby or toddler busy when you’re trying to teach your child about “The Declaration of Independence.”

How of these skills do you have? Do you have any “homeschooling mom” skills?