There are so many homeschooling myths out there. It takes so much time you won’t have any left for yourself. It’s way too expensive. And the most infamous being that the kids will be socially awkward.
Homeschooling Myths: It takes too much time
Even with multiple kids, working one on one with them if they are very young, you can finish up all your lessons for the day before lunch!
Let’s look at the schedule of a family getting ready for a day at public school.
Kids wake up around 7 a.m. They get ready, brush their teeth, eat their breakfast (if they have time), make their lunches and by 7:30 a.m. at the latest, they are in the car being rushed off to school.
You make it back home by 8:30 a.m., run some errands and maybe, finally, take a breath for the morning. 1 p.m. rolls around and now you need to hop back into the car and start picking up your kids. If you’ve got kids in elementary, middle, and high school, you can expect to spend most of your day driving them to and from school, and extra curriculars. Or you could skip all that driving and use the bus.
What about the child though? What does the stress of being rushed every morning do to them? Not having the chance to eat a healthy and filling breakfast? By ten o’clock she’s hungry and tired, but if she rests her head on the table she’s a poor student? Then lunch time finally comes and for the first time that day she’s able to socialize, fill her belly and feel a little more alive. Then a quick twenty minute recess and it’s back to hours of sitting in a chair.
How long will it take for you child to go from loving to learn to hating everything about school and learning?
Now, your child is home. It’s time for dinner but she’s cranky, exhausted, and just wants to relax and unwind for the day. But…. she’s got a backpack full of homework due tomorrow.
Let’s look at what a day might be for a homeschooling family.
Your kids wake up around 7 a.m. They get ready for the day, play for a little bit, and help you cook breakfast. Learning not just academics but valuable life skills. They eat for however long they would like, being able to go back for seconds. You can sit with them and hear them talk about whatever silly nonsense little kids come up with.
Ten o’clock rolls around, a great time for young babies to take their first nap of the day. The baby is down and now you can work one on one with your older children. For a 5-6 year old you might spend 30 minutes with them on a lesson, teaching them over time to be able to follow lesson instructions on their own. With a 3-4 year old you might spend 20 minutes, not wanting to overwhelm them and make schooling a source of frustration for you both. For a 2 year old you might spend 10-15 minutes going over letters, numbers, and basic tracing skills. Toddlers love scribbling on a piece of paper 🙂
If you have three kids around those age ranges , you are spending at most, an hour and five minutes per day on school. All you need is to be consistent with that small amount of time and your children will learn at an astonishing rate. For example, by spending 30 minutes/day 4 days/week for a year, my 5 year old is reading on a second grade level. And, I don’t have to fight him to do his lessons!
Older kids will be able to do a lot more self led lessons, meaning that over time your job goes from actively teaching to only reviewing their work and making corrections/adjustments over time. Your teenagers will be able to take responsibility for their own education. They will also be freed up to use their ample amount of free time to start participating in the real world economy. They will be able to learn how to work, volunteer and participate in their local communities in a way public schooled kids wouldn’t have the time or chance to.
Taking time for yourself
Another one of the homeschooling myths is that you won’t have any time for yourself ever. Yes, you will be with your kids all day.
That doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to have some time every day for yourself. Make quiet time a daily part of your routine. Or, if that doesn’t work for your situation, have a set bedtime that might be a little earlier then the kids would like, but still perfectly reasonable.
Your kids will also benefit greatly by spending some one on one time with their father. So, over the weekends when he is home, have the kids spend more time with him so that you can spend a couple hours to do the things you’d been putting off through the week.
Experiment with different time management plans. You will find something that works for your family. Taking time for yourself, even just a few minutes a day, will greatly benefit your ability to show up for your kids with patience and grace.
If you are struggling with the demands of motherhood and can’t quite figure out how to be productive these posts might be able to help.
Embracing motherhood, finding peace and joy as a mother
How to be a productive homemaker
Homeschooling Myths: It’s too expensive
Let’s look at some numbers…
The average family spends $536 per child for back to school shopping.
That’s interesting… Isn’t public school supposed to be free? Weren’t all those taxes you’re paying supposed to pay for that?
Okay, then. What does the average homeschool family pay each school year?
On average families spend $700 – $1800 per child per year.
Now, I’ll make the argument that you can spend way less than that every year. For example, our curriculum costs this year for our three school aged kids came to under $400. On occasion we will buy paper, pencils, and watercolors. For us, we are spending somewhere close to $700 for all of our school aged kids combined every year.
The curriculum you choose can also greatly affect your yearly costs. The Good and the Beautiful is our favorite curriculum so far and it’s very affordable. A lot of their resources are free and can be downloaded in PDF form and printed where you are and as needed.
Homeschooling your kids can be as simple or fancy as you want. You can buy all the implements, gadgets and computer programs you feel your child needs.
Or, with a bit of creativity you can use more of the resources already around you to teach your children.
Homeschooling Myths: Homeschooled kids are socially awkward
We hear this a lot, in fact this is probably the most common of all homeschooling myths. Homeschool kids are weird, so what are you going to do to make sure your kids have plenty of socialization?
Here’s the thing, who is more likely to be prepared for the real world?
The kids who go to school eight hours a day, never really being able to delve deeper into the topics that spark their interests. Kids who are told they can’t speak to one another except during the five minutes between classes, and twenty minutes at lunch? The kids who get in trouble when they help another student understand a concept the teacher has already moved on from?
Or, the kids who choose for themselves what skills they are going to learn. Who go out into the world seeking out mentorship in that skill? Who can ask questions without fear of detentions or being embarrassed in front of his class?
Now, a lot of socialization depends on the student and their parents. Shy kids will always struggle more to speak up than an extroverted kid. So, if you are genuinely concerned about your kids socialization, then consistently put them in situations where they have to “fend for themselves”.
Teach your kids to be independent
Teach young kids to speak to grocery store or restaurant employees if they have a question. Instruct them to say thank you and look people in the eye when they are speaking. Teach them how to shake hands and introduce themselves. They will pick up a lot of this through your example, but by giving your child these opportunities to communicate in the real world, you will help boost their confidence.
As your kids get older they can begin working or even start their own microbusinesses. Nothing incentivizes a kid or teenager more than making their own money. So, if you have shy kids encourage them to create something they can sell at craft fairs or farmers markers. Or, encourage them to get a job. (I’m speaking from experience here. Working helped me overcome many social anxieties.)
Bullying will affect your kids ability to socialize properly
Another thing to consider is bullying in public schools. About 19% of students are being bullied. If your child is being bullied they will not have the opportunity to learn proper social skills in school. You cannot control the actions of others, but you can control the environment you put your children into. If your child is in that situation, pulling them out of school will greatly improve their ability to socialize and their mental health.
As the parent you can decide who your child will spend his time with and how. It’s important to vet the influences coming into your child’s life, but that’s practically impossible when you send your kid off to school every day. You have no clue what kinds of ideas, images, or videos your child is coming in contact with.
From my own experience, being taken out of public school was life saving. It taught me to communicate and trust others. It gave me the confidence to go out into the world without overwhelming fear.
Bottom line, you don’t need to worry about your kids socialization. The fact that you care shows that you will do whatever it takes to make sure your child is raised to be a healthy, productive member of society.
Homeschooling is a gift for your family and can be a great tool for teaching your children to be responsible, well adjusted adults. Hopefully this post has allayed some of your concerns about the most common homeschooling myths.
It will take work from you, but if you won’t sacrifice for your kids then for whom?
Any questions or concerns are always welcome, I’d love to hear it in the comments.
Also, for you more seasoned homeschooling families, what have been some of your greatest homeschooling wins?
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