From Student to Parent: A Second-Generation Homeschooling Experience

Second-generation homeschooling is no longer the exception. More and more parents who were homeschooled themselves are now choosing to homeschool their own children, bringing a unique homeschooling experience shaped by firsthand knowledge. Having lived it themselves, they understand both the challenges and the blessings that come with building a homeschool lifestyle centered on family, learning, and freedom. 

In this interview, Amanda, a second-generation homeschooler, mom of four boys, author of Overwhelmed, and Confident Homeschool Moms CEO, shares her perspective on growing up homeschooled and why she has chosen this path for her own family. From her own homeschooling experience as a second-generation homeschooler to raising and teaching her four boys today, Amanda shares honest insight into what worked, what didn’t, and how her family found a more peaceful rhythm of learning. Through stories of freedom, foundational learning, and building strong family connections, she offers encouragement for families seeking a homeschool lifestyle centered on relationships, simplicity, and long-term impact. 

Please share about your own homeschool journey.
I was homeschooled from kindergarten to  8th grade before transitioning to public high school. I had what I would call a dreamy homeschooling experience—spending long hours outside, riding horses, learning to read, practicing math, and even competing in sports, which led to sponsorships and travel opportunities. My parents began as structured unschoolers, giving me a strong foundation with the basics while encouraging exploration. Later, as their relationship struggled, our homeschool drifted into a more radical unschooling approach.

Do you know why your parents decided to homeschool you?
It was originally my dad’s idea. In the early ’90s, he saw schools already moving away from the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and believed he could provide something better. He is completely deaf and taught me to read by lip reading—an experience that still amazes me today. At first my mom wasn’t sure about homeschooling, but once she saw what my dad saw, she came fully on board.

How did your own homeschool experience prepare you for homeschooling your children?
At first, it didn’t help me at all! I had been in public high school and college for about five years, so I had forgotten how homeschooling worked. I made all the same mistakes most first-generation homeschool moms make—overloading our days with too much curriculum and too many activities. After two years of exhaustion, I realized that wasn’t the homeschool experience I wanted to give my boys.

That’s when I shifted to a free-flowing structure I now call The Core 4. It’s not a brand-new concept, but it’s a framework that helps moms take the pressure off while still focusing on what matters most: math, language arts, science, and social studies. Once I moved away from big-box curriculums and jam-packed schedules, we finally found the rhythm I had experienced growing up—learning in community, focusing on the basics, and pursuing passions in our free time.

Why did you decide to homeschool your children?
When I entered public high school as a freshman, I was terrified I wouldn’t be able to keep up. As someone who had been mostly unschooled, I worried about gaps in math, writing, science, and history. I felt certain I would fall behind.

But when teachers posted grades that first quarter, I was stunned. I wasn’t behind at all—I was near the top of every class. I remember thinking, “If I could spend my days outside playing and still do better than students who had spent years chained to a desk, there must be a better way to learn.” In that moment, at 15 years old, I knew I wanted to homeschool my future children.

How many years were you homeschooled? How many years have you been homeschooling your children?
I was homeschooled for nine years, and I’ve been homeschooling my own children for about eleven years.

What is one piece of advice you would share with a new homeschooling family?
Homeschool is about the home first—it’s not about bringing “school” into your living room. Start simply with math and language arts, read together often, explore outside, and build rhythms of connection. Enjoy one another first, then gradually add more structured subjects. But never forget the home comes first in homeschool.

Do you have any favorite homeschool resources (Scripture, curriculum, websites, etc.)? Have you used any homeschool resources with your own children that your parents used with you?

The strategy I developed, The Core 4, has truly transformed our homeschool. The second-most impactful resource for us has been an open-and-go reading curriculum for those early years. 

What is the best thing about being a second-generation homeschooler?
I love showing families that they don’t have to fit into the mold of traditional schooling. Homeschooling has the power to bring families closer together while nurturing each child’s God-given genius. My story as a second-generation homeschooler, combined with my ongoing experience with my own children, demonstrates the incredible potential homeschooling has to transform both learning and family life.

Learn more about Amanda Schenkenbergerat at confidenthomeschoolmoms.com. Follow her on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@ConfidentHomeschoolMoms. 

Interested in learning about more second-generation homeschoolers? 

• Listen to the Hey, Mama Homeschool Show: Episode 88: Second Generation Homeschooling
• Read The Homeschool Minute: Second Generation Homeschooling
• Read an interview at HomeschoolingFinds.com: Second-Generation Homeschooling

Bio 
This interview was conducted by Kristen Heider. She is the Director of Marketing for The Old Schoolhouse®. She shares more about her family’s homeschooling journey at A Mom’s Quest Teach.