5 Things I Wish People Knew about Homeschoolers
Eventually, we all meet people who ask us “No school today?” Inevitably on Mondays when we are at the grocery store in the middle of the day or on a Friday when we go on a fun field trip. They are wondering why our kids are out and about on a “school” day when everyone else is in school. There are many misconceptions about homeschoolers. Feel free to repost this for all your non-homeschool friends and family who may not quite understand what you “do.”
1. It doesn’t take us 180 days, 7 hours a day to complete our studies. It requires much less time when you do not have to let 24 kids respond to 1 question, stand in line, raise their hand to answer, teach a concept until most students get it; the list can go on and on. So, you may see us during the “school” day getting errands done, going to co-op, grocery shopping, playing at the park, or on a field trip, etc.
2. Our children are, typically, socialized. Not everyone, but most homeschoolers I meet are quite socially adjusted. Between soccer practice, ballet rehearsals, church, monthly field trips, and co-op we keep ourselves quite busy with other kids; some even fall into the same trap as the rest of society and do “too much.” Our students tend to converse with those of all ages because they are not age-segregated all day long. Meaning – they might get along with their siblings, talk with grandparents without being embarrassed, and enjoy time spent with kids their age as well.
3. We are all about being ourselves, rather than everyone else. You may think it is odd that a 4th grader likes to play chess, a teenager likes to read, or a kindergarten boy likes to wear pink socks, but that’s how we roll. There is not a lot of peer pressure to look like everyone else, and we are okay with that. In a typical school setting, kids might get made fun of for these odd things, but these are the things we love, and they make our children and us who we truly are.
4. We really do love to be home with our kids, most of the time. However, we get worn down and exhausted just like every mom and dad with children. Overall, we chose this path because we want to be with our kids as much as possible and have a say in their education. Will we accept a day off here and there? Absolutely. Want to babysit tonight?
5. Most states do not require us to pick a particular curriculum nor do they help fund the curriculum we choose. We may select a literature based curriculum, a biblical curriculum, a secular curriculum, an all-in-one boxed curriculum, or we may school online. Regardless of what we choose for our family, we pay for it ourselves. Homeschooling can be expensive, but we still decide to do it! We enjoy our freedom to pick and choose what math, science, social studies, and language arts we use!
Grace Greenwell is a homeschool mom of 2 silly girls. She also runs a small home based licensed daycare taking care of infants and preschoolers. Her husband, Ben, is a public school teacher by day and youth pastor by night. They all live happily together in the Annapolis area of Maryland.
