So You Think You Want To Homeschool? What Now?
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For obvious reasons, a lot of parents who never even considered it before are suddenly considering the possibility of homeschooling their child. If you are one of those parents, you’re probably feeling like you’ve been thrown into a labyrinth with no map. I know, because that is how I felt five years ago! So I’m here today to provide you that map.
Step One: Let Go Of Myths About Homeschooling
One of the reasons that parents get nervous about homeschooling is that (especially if they don’t know anyone who homeschools) they tend to believe a lot of myths about it. So let’s talk about a few things that might be concerning you.
Myth: “Homeschooling takes a lot of parent time and effort.” This is one of the biggest misconceptions about homeschooling. People think that because their kids go to school a certain number of hours per day that is how many hours they need to spend educating their child. The reality is that a lot of the time that your child is out of the house “at school” is wasted time. It’s time spent transitioning 35 kids between activities, in gym class, in the lunch room, collecting and handing out papers, packing up at the end of the day, and so much more. Homeschooling removes all that extraneous stuff and so the efficiency of learning increases to where “school” can be done in much less time.
You’re probably thinking “but what about the time required to prepare lessons?” The time that is spent to prepare lessons is a lot up to the parent’s choice of how much they want to personally tailor a curriculum for their child. There are options available that require virtually no preparation, or you can decide to dive in and create a personalized curriculum from scratch that is especially tailored to your child’s needs and interests. It really is up to you how much time and effort you are able and willing to put into doing it. Because my daughter is special needs, I put in the time to design a curriculum especially tailored to her capabilities and challenges. But many kids thrive with a well-chosen “off the shelf” curriculum.
Myth: “Homeschooling is stressful.” Are you reluctant to take on the role of “teacher” with your child because you picture it meaning conflict? Are you imagining having to be the “bad guy” who is imposing hated school on your child, enforcing deadlines and fighting with them to do things they don’t want to? You may be especially nervous if you’ve experienced regular fights (or even tears) over homework. I can tell you from experience that homeschooling does not have to be that kind of experience for either you or your child. Homeschooling together can be a really enjoyable family experience if a child is properly supported with an educational plan that works for them, instead of trying to force them into a one-size-fits-all box like public schools have no choice but to do.
We used to absolutely dread homework time as a family when my daughter was in public school. Lots of tears, tantrums, and even an occasional thrown pencil. (And that was just from the grown-ups in the family.) But now the same child who hated doing her math homework worksheets will actually ask to do some if we decide to skip math for a day to do an extra big lesson in something else. And all of this is because we now have her set up with a program that she feels comfortable in and enjoys, while still challenging her.
Myth: “Homeschooled kids are anti-social and weird.” Every parent who homeschools can tell at least one story (usually more) about someone who objected to their homeschooling by saying “but what about socialization?” Of course right now the whole point of homeschooling for many parents is to avoid the contact that comes with that socialization. And even in normal times, homeschooling doesn’t mean isolation. Your homeschooled kids can still do activities with friends, join things like sports teams and Scouts, and take part in community activities. Many homeschooling parents also sign their children up for local homeschooling “co-ops”, where local parents join together to host educational and social activities for their students. While Covid-19 has of course put limits on the availability of certain activities, some are still available virtually. Some homeschooling families are also choosing to create their own social “bubble” with one or two other families who they trust.
Myth: “Homeschooling is expensive.” Of course, for younger children, homeschooling requires having someone at home with the children, and that is a luxury that many people unfortunately cannot afford. But many parents are also under the impression that homeschooling is expensive because of the materials they need to buy - especially if their initial research has been limited to browsing a few specialty shops that sell all-in-one curriculum packages. With a little effort and ingenuity, a homeschooling curriculum can be cobbled together from free or nearly free resources, and even things you are probably already paying for (like Amazon Prime and Netflix). While the library may not be as practical an option for free book access right now, local homeschool buy/sell/trade groups online can be a source of inexpensive materials - and a way to get some money back out of materials you’ve purchased and are done with!
Myth: Homeschooled kids can’t go to college. Many, many homeschooled kids go on to college in this country every year, including to elite colleges such as the Ivy League. But still the myth persists somehow that homeschooled kids can’t get into college! For a fabulous explanation of what kind of documentation that colleges would like to see from your homeschooled child, visit this article by the Homeschool Mom.
Step Two: Check Your State’s Requirements & Options
Before you start making plans for how to homeschool, you want to make sure what you do is legal where you live. You also want to make sure that you aren’t missing out on state options that might assist you like a public online school or a homeschool scholarship (like the special needs one that my daughter receives). Time4Learning, which is part of the curriculum that we use for my daughter, has a great online homeschooling guide that shows the rules and resources for each state that is a good place to start.
Step Three: Explore Possible Resources
As homeschooling has exploded in popularity, the universe of resources available for doing it has expanded greatly as well. This means that whatever your budget or your child’s learning style, you can find something that will work for your family.
Here are some of our favorite resources.
Bookstores. Especially for K-8, bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Amazon have a great selection of workbooks and textbooks. In Amazon’s textbook section for kids, you’ll find over 5000 results alone for workbooks!
Time4Learning: This very affordable online curriculum starts at $19.95/mo for the first K-8 child ($14.95 for each additional child) and $30/mo for high school. Kids can work at their own pace through a variety of subjects, and a language course add-on is even available. Unlike some other similar programs, the program has grade level customization, so a child who excels in one subject can move ahead in that subject and remain challenged while remaining at a different level in other subjects. (Or lag behind to master a subject they are struggling in.) My daughter enjoys the interface, and the fact that it allows her to go back and “correct” questions that she gets wrong.
Khan Academy: This amazing FREE site runs on donations. Although it has math and language arts for K-8, most of its extensive class offerings focus on middle school and high school aged kids. Khan offers an extensive library of AP classes in math, economics, science, computer science, and history. Their class offerings also include topics neglected by most other mainstream curriculums, like personal finance and art history.
Teachers Pay Teachers: Think of this site as Etsy for digital schooling materials. Here, you can buy materials from shop owners, mostly teachers, who are selling worksheets, tests, digital slide shows, and other materials they’ve developed to use with their students. Buy an entire year curriculum, or just a worksheet to go with a video that you want to use. The options are almost endless! And since the materials are designed by teachers for their own use, you’ll find plenty of materials on state history and geography that are missing from nationally targeted curriculums, and that adhere to state standards in each state. Many store owners offer FREE sample downloads so you can try out their offerings, too!
Open Yale Courses: Through OYC, Yale University offers free, no-credit introductory courses that are recorded by actual Yale professors. Advanced high school students looking to get a jump on college learning might appreciate using these to dip their toe in college waters even though no credit is given.
YouTube: You may think of YouTube as someplace purely for entertainment, but there’s loads of educational content hiding on the site. In addition to the many educational channels that are native to YouTube (like Crash Course), most of the major educational cable TV channels offer clips of old programming (and even entire shows) via YouTube. Most major museums also offer educational content via YouTube. Video can be a very engaging instructional tool for kids - take advantage of it!
Here’s just a sampling of some of the great educational content available:
Amazon Prime: You probably already subscribe to Amazon, but have you dug into the free book and video offerings on Amazon Prime? Many of the free Prime book offerings are classics that are perfect for educational use. And the Prime video library is full of documentaries on art, history, science, and other educational topics. (To read my multi-part series on teaching art history using videos that are included with Amazon Prime, click here.) In addition to documentaries, biographical and historical feature movies and TV shows can be used to teach literature, biography, and history.
Netflix: Netflix and…homeschool? Yes, really! Like Amazon, the Netflix library contains both documentary content and feature films that relate to literature, history, science, and other educational topics. Even travel shows can complement a world geography lesson!
Step Four: De-School
De-what? Deschooling is the term used in the homeschool community for making the mental adjustment away from the thinking that school has to be done and structured in a certain way. It’s the process of giving yourself the space to breathe in your homeschooling, and not just trying to replicate the brick-and-mortar public school experience at home. It’s recognizing that the experience a child has in a school building is not necessarily optimal for teaching that particular child. Instead, it is designed for a single teacher to teach a large number of children of different abilities and learning styles on a set schedule while cramming a set minimum amount of information into them.
Deschooling is the process of recognizing that when just your child (or children) are your concern to teach, school doesn’t have to start at a certain time or end at a certain time. It doesn’t have to take place at a desk. It doesn’t have to be five days a week (unless your state requires it). It’s realizing that you can teach fractions with blocks, cooking measurements, pie, whatever the heck works for your kid. Even a garden can be an educational experience if framed correctly! It is, in essence, the process of realizing the you can have freedom in creating your child’s educational experience and they will still learn.
Step Five: Try, And Try Again!
The thing about having freedom is…you will make mistakes when let outside the box. Even if you think you have a pretty good grasp of how your child learns, they will surprise you. My own daughter, who absolutely hated worksheets when she was attending the local schools, now adores using them because they are well-selected to suit her and she no longer feels pressured and confused like she did in a regular classroom.
I recommend when starting out trying out some different types of learning materials to see what works. Throw a bunch of things at the wall and see what sticks, basically. What works in one subject, might not work in another. But the magic of homeschooling is that our child isn’t stuck in an unchangeable system for a whole year. WE are the teacher, and we have the power to change things for them, to present material in a way that they can grasp it.
We have loved our homeschooling experience as a family, and it has been excellent for our daughter. We are looking forward to embarking on another year soon, and it’s exciting that so many people will be joining us for the first time!
