“You homeschool?” “Is that legal?” “What does that look like?”
As a homeschooling mother, I’ve been asked all these questions and many more.
Often people simply have no clue what homeschooling is all about, what it looks like and why anyone would choose to do such a thing (after all, what’s so bad with the public schools?).
Recently, I was asked five specific questions that were so succinct I thought I would answer them all here for everyone’s benefit. I cannot answer these questions for the entire homeschooling community, only our family. Whether you’re considering homeschooling or just want a little peek into the mind and life of a homeschooler, here you are:
1) Why do you homeschool?
Before I answer why we homeschool, you should know that every year we evaluate if we should homeschool.
For some people homeschooling is a no brainer, and as much as I love homeschooling, I’d be lying if I didn’t mention that we consider enrolling our children in school each year. There are a couple reasons for that.
1) Educating your children at home is not just a commitment (it’s a huge commitment), it’s also a lifestyle choice. When you choose to homeschool, you are deciding that your children’s education and upbringing is more important than pursuing a full-time career and in most cases a second income. The vast majority of homeschooling families are single-income families. Thankfully, we have been privileged enough to live with my parents as a multi-generational household of nine! This decision has taken loads of pressure off of us and has been very helpful in allowing us to homeschool.
2) I rather like our public schools and would be happy to be more involved in the community by having our children attend them. My husband and I both unofficially assume that we won’t homeschool forever. Then again, we may! We’ll see.
When we evaluate each year if we should homeschool we compare public (or private) school against a home education because those are the only options. However, a home education is altogether a different experience then that of public school. Homeschooling is not trying to be public school at home, nor should it. And schools, by design are nothing like a home education. They are both such different experiences from each other that to compare all options as if they were trying to offer the same educational experiences doesn’t do either justice. In some cases, the comparison is easy and one option is clearly preferable over the other. In other cases, the evaluation is not simply a matter of which is better, because both options offer different good qualities.
I personally believe that an education at home has tremendous potential to be a superior educational experience then that of the public schools. Unfortunately, something having potential to be superior doesn’t always mean it will be. This is why I say that each year we evaluate our abilities and the needs of our children with the experience we’d like our children to have.
So why do we homeschool?
We choose to homeschool for many reasons, here’s just a few. Our faith is very central to who we are as a family. Homeschooling allows us the flexibility to incorporate our faith into our children’s daily education. Our faith also impacts the way we structure our day and nurture character development.
We homeschool because we see great value in being our child’s teacher. As parents, we know our children best. With that knowledge, we can guide them, challenge them, and lead them with love and insight.
We homeschool because we want our children to experience learning in a variety of ways. I like my children to ask questions and be able to explore the answers on their own initiative. I want them to have the opportunity for extra activities that they wouldn’t otherwise have time for. I love that they can interact more fully with the concepts they are learning about, and explore topics just for fun.
2) What are the things you love about homeschooling? What are the challenges?
I love the flexibility we have over what we learn, how we learn, where we learn, when we learn and who we learn from or with! “The world is our classroom” is a popular homeschooling quote and it’s true. We create our own playtimes, field trips, and locations for learning.
Recently, my children met with a friend from France. Over cookies and milk the kids asked question after question for about an hour until they were satisfied.
I also love the opportunity homeschooling provides for me to see, experience and engage in all the little beautiful moments throughout the day; spending time with them, being creative together, watching them learn a new concept, learning alongside them, painting together and on and on.
I love being a part of all the little moments that happen throughout the day!
It’s not uncommon for me to exclaim to my husband some interesting fact we learned earlier that day. He has often chuckled and said, “did you never learn that when you were a kid?” To which I reply, “I didn’t pay much attention the first time around!” It often feels like I’m discovering the world for the first time myself. (Really, it’s sad how much one forgets…)
Now the hard stuff. In the same way that small moments are uplifting, small moments can also pull me down. It is often the many “small” things that happen in the day that can leave me feeling drained or discouraged. Too much arguing or complaining, spills, meltdowns, laundry that never got folded, a slow cooker dinner that I forgot to put in, a nap time that didn’t last as long as usual, a sick child. You get the idea. The little things can pile up and leave me exhausted.
The bigger challenges are the periodic and unavoidable doubts like: Is my child doing ‘well enough?’ Am I sure I can do this? What if I just got a job and sent my kids to school like everybody else? In essence, they are the same questions all people ask about life, especially those who have chosen to walk the road less traveled: Am I doing the right thing? Is there something we are missing out on? Should we change this or that?
3) Are you a part of a homeschooling co-op?
Homeschooling co-ops are very popular and exist officially or unofficially everywhere families are homeschooling. Co-ops are great for a number of reasons. They provide the opportunity for group activities and group learning. They also give your child the opportunity to learn from someone else and stretch their ability. We have been a part of co-ops, formal and informal and they have provided great relationships, educational experiences, field trips, and fun!
One thing that many homeschoolers love is flexibility. Since most co-ops take up an entire school day, it is hard to commit to one if it only benefits a couple family members. In this season, being a part of a co-op it is not beneficial to us for a number of reasons: the age of my children, what we are learning at home and our schedule. Each year I evaluate whether or not we should join… so maybe next year.
That said, we get together with other families for various learning activities regularly on our own initiative and find that to be very enriching.
4) Do you use a formal curriculum?
Yes. Presently, we use a “complete curriculum.” This means that all or most of the subjects are included in the curriculum and they typically relate to each other. For example, this past year, our Social Studies lessons took us “around the world.” We learned about different countries and cultures. To compliment that, our science lessons covered different ecosystems around the world. Additionally, literature had us reading biographies about people who have lived in a variety of countries throughout the world. Get the idea?
Not everyone uses a complete curriculum let alone a formal curriculum. There are a myriad of ways children learn, so some families find it very limiting to stick to a single curriculum or a textbook for the entire year.
5) How do you find balance between having time for yourself and being with your children all the time?
This is a great question! And without breaking down what my 24 hour day looks like, I can simply and confidently say this: my husband is amazing!
Homeschooling is not a job for Mom or Dad only. It is definitely a partnership and I highly recommend both husband and wife be in agreement on their decision to homeschool. I could not be a happy and healthy individual if my husband left me to do everything in the home on my own. Thankfully, he sees great value in giving me time and space to relax or have fun.
So… If you know a single mom or a military wife who home-schools, be a life-saver and give her some time to herself weekly!
I cannot say if homeschooling is right for your family. Homeschooling is not for everyone, but I do believe that anyone can homeschool. These days there are a plethora of resources and other mothers just like you who have chosen to take on the brave task of educating their children at home. Then again, every family is different, so for your family, putting your children in school may be the brave thing to do!
If you have any personal questions I’d be happy to chat via FB, Insta or email. I hope this was a helpful look into the mind and life of a homeschooling family. May God direct your journey!
