I always thought homeschooling was a crazy concept. I was sure it was only practiced by overprotective families who lived on a farm and partook in some extreme version of religion. But as we get closer to kindergarten, I’m surprised to learn that many families in our suburban area — which has top-rated schools — are choosing to homeschool.
The National Center For Education Statistics estimates that in the fall of 2016 there were 50.6 million U.S. students enrolled in public school and 1.7 million students (just over 3 percent) between the ages of 5 and 17 who were homeschooled. This is almost double the percentage of homeschooled students in 1999.
I’m seeing a few homeschoolers in my area hanging out at parks and libraries, looking tired but happy. I always joked that if my kid was homeschooled by me, he would undoubtedly be a C- student because I couldn’t teach him a thing. He won’t even put his shoes on with me around!
Then again, I’m discovering that homeschooling is less about grades and testing and more about giving your kids the tools and the freedom to learn in their own way. It sounds like I might have learned a lot more growing up that way. Instead, I felt restricted in a classroom, so I focused my attention on boys instead of what the teacher was saying!
Jenni Manhaz, who homeschools a 2-year-old and 4-year-old as well as a fostered teenager and is an homeschooling/unschooling consultant, says, “Not everyone homeschools for the same reasons, but the common thread amongst homeschooling families is that they are all trying to give their children something they believe the conventional system is lacking — autonomy, respect, access to the ‘real’ world,” safety, the ability to truly go at their own pace, challenge, time to develop intrinsic motivation, patience and physical play.”
Chicago Mom Arlene Soto also homeschools her kids aged 1, 3 and 4.
“Homeschooling is about making sure our kids are home for their most formative years, and that social interactions are varied in age groups, races, genders, etc., while avoiding unnecessary bullying and other negative encounters. I don’t need my kids learning how to do active shooter drills — especially not at 3 and 4,” she explains. “We initially chose to homeschool our kids because we want to educate our kids in the most well-rounded way we can.”
Maybe homeschooling isn’t such an insane idea after all. As kindergarten slowly approaches, I’m not sure my child is ready to sit and learn to read and write — all while being shuffled around through classes with 20 kids to a teacher and little free time to play outside. That doesn’t sound fun for me, a free-spirited mom, either! Also, school was where we had to deal with cliques, peer pressure, exclusion and even bullying — not that I need to protect my son from every challenge in life.
Soto adds, “We want them learning accurate facts and not information geared toward just passing tests. We go over things that they show an interest in and in an individualized manner (they learn in their own ways and being able to cater to that at home is important to us and to help them thrive).”
Soto also says she sees the behaviors her cousin’s kids have to deal with in schools. like fights and bullying, and doesn’t wish that on anyone.
She says, “At least with smaller groups with parents that are all on the same page about expectations my kids can socialize and I don’t have to worry about escalating issues. Small instances of being mean or miscommunication are quickly solved between the kids and rarely do we (parents) have to get involved. I think it really is just the large class sizes and limited proper socializing that make traditional school less functional.”
Mom Stephanie started homeschooling her son when he was 6 years old because he was overwhelmed by school, and she wanted to help him catch up. But she fell in love with the lifestyle and continued to homeschool him, and now he’s turning 11 years old.
But can I take on the huge task of homeschooling? Aside from it being hard enough to act as a teacher and a mother, how do I factor in breaks for myself too? If I don’t work out and have a little time to myself each day, I will for sure lose it and fail as a mommy, let alone a teacher!
To get a clearer look, I asked these homeschooling moms what a day in the life was like, and here’s what they said:
Every Day Is Different
Stephanie explains that her son’s days vary.
“Right now, he takes French twice a week from a Haitian man named Stevenson who we adore, and he just started Spanish once a week from a woman in Mexico named Ilse,” she says. “He also works on math every day, attends forest school twice a week and is in enrolled in a science class at our zoo. I work from home each day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., so he completes his work during that time and is sometimes at classes.”
Stephanie added that they often visit aquariums, museums, and travel frequently, both domestically and internationally.
Child Lead Learning
Manhaz sends her kids to an Agile Learning Center a few days a week, where the program allows kids to direct their own learning. On those days, her kids eat their lunch by 9 a.m. and eat whenever they want throughout the day.
“They navigate taking turns on pedal bikes, climb trees, paint, play in the mud kitchen, and do whatever else moves them,” she says.
Their home days are like most people’s weekend days. She adds, “And thrown in there on both days is digging for bugs, reading, dancing, pretend play, yoga, relationship building. Our days are full, but relaxed.”
Activities, Classes And Groups
A dad in our area and his wife homeschool their three children, and they both say that aside from working on lesson plans with their kids every day, they also go to museums and classes. They have even connected with other homeschoolers in the area and meet at least once a week for play dates.
This all sounds very interesting, but I can’t say homeschooling is for me yet. However, I don’t think it’s an outrageous idea anymore. In fact, it actually makes a lot of sense, especially for those free-spirits and self-directed types. This might be an option to further explore, as long as I can schedule in those much-needed mommy breaks too. Stay tuned!
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article stated that the number of homeschooled children in the U.S. in 2016 was 50.6 million, but it has since been corrected to say that the number of children enrolled in U.S. public school in 2016 was 50.6 million. The number of homeschooled children in the United States in 2016 was 1.7 million. Patch regrets the error.
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