I remember growing up and meeting the very rare homeschooler, but never really thinking that there might be a method to that madness. I just didn’t know people who did it.
“Homeschooler” kinda sounds like a bad word, like “repeat-offender” or something. How did they come to this insane decision to school their own children?
Well, since joining the mom club, I have met numerous homeschool families, all with their own methods and their own madness. And happily, I have joined their ranks!
After our first child was born, we moved to Indiana, and I found myself surrounded by a lot of women who homeschooled. By the time our firstborn was ready for kindergarten, I was so impressed by the women and kids around me that I thought, just maybe, I could do this too!
While I had a teaching degree (high school English), none of the women I’d met had education degrees. Some might think that gives me an advantage, but I have to say, I’m so impressed with every mom who takes on this challenge, that I don’t think the degree matters at all! Since moving to Texas three years ago, I have met another 70+ moms who are on this homeschool joyride, and I still haven’t met another “education degree” in the bunch!
I have met countless women on this journey.
I read somewhere that in Texas alone, there are over 400,000 students homeschooling! I met two moms in my area who have used Texas Virtual Academy and have enjoyed it, but I don’t even know if that counts as homeschooling, since there is online attendance, an assigned teacher, and it is run by the state. I have learned in the past three years that Texas is a great state to be a home-school family. There are many more resources available to homeschoolers now, as well as support groups and co-ops that share teaching responsibilities.
I thought I would give you 5 Pros and Cons to homeschooling (and I polled several ladies in my homeschool group to help):
Pros (Our Top 5 Reasons for Homeschooling)
- Freedom (a common theme with almost every mom I asked!)
- Flexibility
- Family identity (keeping our family close)
- Money savings
- My personal favorite—Homeschool Group Fieldtrip Coordinator!
Cons (Some of the Challenging Parts of Homeschooling)
- My home is never truly clean!
- We are still paying taxes, but we have to cover our own educational expenses.
- Having energy at the end of the day for hubby’s return
- UPS afternoon deliveries may find us still in our pjs! (Oh wait, we like doing school in our jammies!)
- This is a dusk til’ dawn job!
I think the recurring theme among homeschooling moms is FREEDOM! We love having the freedom to choose our curriculum, teaching methods, important themes, and being able to focus on what is important to us.
We also love the FLEXIBILITY to have sick days without doctor visits, chase rabbit trails all day, schedule art and music lessons during the school day, or pick up and take a trip with daddy just because we can!
FAMILY IDENTITY is such a big one with homeschooling families. It’s more than just wanting to be with our kids. We want to be the primary influence in our children’s lives. We want to stress our family motto (Ours: People are always more important than things.), and days spent baking or planning nutritious family meals are all part of that identity.
One of the neatest things I have found here in Texas is an abundance of homeschool book sales! The MONEY SAVINGS for our family has been huge. Most of the time, I find textbooks at used sales for a couple bucks. Then I go to Mardel’s and purchase the accompanying workbooks during their Back to School 20% off sale. This year, we are using an online math curriculum called Aleks that we just LOVE! We are currently doing the 2-month free trial. So, most of the time, we are schooling our children for under $100 for the year! And, we don’t have to buy school uniforms, school-specific supplies (like 4 boxes of Kleenex and 2 tubs of Clorox wipes)!
But my MOST favorite thing about homeschooling is our home-school group’s FIELD TRIP COORDINATOR. She plans our field trips for the year, works with the locations to give us outstanding homeschool rates, and the kids have a blast going in a big group to wherever! Last year’s all-time favorite trip was to Legoland!
There is really no reason to expound on the CONS, because obviously they weren’t insurmountable enough to abandon the idea of homeschooling!
Lisa Pfeifer is a mom of 4 blessings. She is passionate about her faith in Christ, cooking good, healthy food and having lots of fun with her friends and family. She loves homeschooling and is more than happy to answer your questions about it.
My biggest worry at the thought of homeschooling my own son is the lack of socialization. Have you found that to be a problem?
Shira, That is a common fear! But that’s because we have been told that “socialization” is so important! Ask yourself: do I want my child socialized to 25 other kindergartners, or to me, my family, my neighbors, my community? Firstborns especially are tuned in more to their parents peers, and I think that is a huge plus. As a family, we are able to spend time with older folks, look for community activities that give us a chance to “give back” and enjoy homeschool group activities with other children. I think we give our children a more broad socialization spectrum to draw from, and I have had many adults compliment my kids on their manners or behavior. (Not sayin’ that we never have the meltdown in Walmart 😉 I think your most important advantage as a parent is being deliberate. Decide what kind of child you want to raise, and then gather your resources, parenting books, and go for it! A personal favorite of mine in terms of resources, is a little easy to read book called To Train Up A Child, by Michael and Debi Pearl. They also have a website that includes many great articles on child training, homeschooling, gardening tips and herbal remedies. http://www.nogreaterjoy.org
My youngest son had a roommate in college who was home schooled. The lack of broader social experience with peers was a definite negative and this kid dropped out after the first semester. It’s a big adjustment for everyone when they go to college and others who were not home schooled are challenged. For this kid, it was a double whammy. I’ve met people who home school collectively with other parents so the kids have more exposure to peers. I think neglecting the need for peer socialization is a big mistake. Mom and Dad live in the past; all kids need awareness of current cultural norms that they gain from peers. I’ve seen people home school and provide this through programs and joint efforts but if it is ignored you do place your child at a disadvantage. It can be dealt with but denial is not the answer
I am also a homeschooling mom, and completely second what you said in the comment above on socializing! It is a common myth that homeschoolers have a lack of socialization. Ok, there ARE some of THOSE types of homeschoolers out there, but for the most part… homeschooled children get as much, if not MORE, socializing than kids in public schools. There are homeschool groups, church activities and groups, sports, clubs, organizations of all kinds out there to make sure that your kid is involved if you want to take advantage of them! Homeschooling rocks!
Everyone says there are homeschool groups for social experiences but WRONG . Can’t find any in Dallas. Sighned up to be a member on some with no response or activity postings. I think it is clickish
Thanks Jade! I agree that homeschooling rocks! We have so many options! And I came across a great example yesterday of why I am so happy to be home training my own children. My 8 year old
** sorry about the split, my 14 month old is tall enough to grab my keyboard! As I was saying, my 8 year old was coming out a door, and took the time to notice a high school girl on her way out. So Alicia stopped and held her door. The young lady breezed on by her, opened the next set of doors and kept on walking. She never said “Thank You”, made eye contact, or held the next door for Alicia. When Alicia got to the car, all smiles, I asked her if the young lady said anything to her, and the answer was “nope, but that’s okay mom.”
Ok, I have to agree with most of your home schooling pros and cons list! My favorite, of course, is the freedom. We homeschool in Louisiana, and it is quite easy to homeschool here, but even if it was more difficult I would still do it. I never intended to homeschool, but now I can’t imagine any other way! Oh, and for us it is not UPS afternoon deliveries in pj’s…it is making sure we are dressed by the time the lawn guy comes to cut the grass 🙂
Just found your blog! We are homeschooling in Ohio…my husband is interested in a job change to Texas…so, I’ve been researching what homeschooling laws are there…and am very happily pleasantly surprised at the amount of freedom you all have from government regulations. It’s almost unbelievable. Hubby was born a Texan , but we have lived in Ohio the rest of our lives. Thanks for blogging!
My question is regarding schooling after homeschool graduation. As a Notre Dame alumni, I’m aware that my grades and involvement in my high school were pertinent in being accepted into Notre Dame and being awarded scholarships. Do you not worry that homeschooling your child limits them to college acceptance? I have considered homeschooling my 6 yr old son, however the idea of getting into a good college with a homeschool degree gives me hesitation.
Hi Amy, We are new to homeschooling, but I’ve read a lot about it in the last couple of years as we were making our decision and getting prepared to start. While college is still a long way off for us, it’s an important issue as well. I think this article answers a lot your of questions: http://www.onlinecollege.org/2011/09/13/15-key-facts-about-homeschooled-kids-in-college/
Hope that helps!
Looking at sending my child to a local Baptist school that works with ace program. she will be going into the 9th grade. your thoughts about her being able to go to a college.
I love this post! I live in DFW and we will be homeschooling for the first time this Fall after my girls were in public school for 2 years. Can you recommend any homeschool groups or co-ops in Denton?
Thank you!
Rachael from http://www.lifeoutsidetheshell.com
Hi! Thanks for your blog! I am brand-new to homeschooling my two boys, 9 and 7, and am looking for a great group to join like the one you talk about! I live in Allen, texas so if you know of something please let me know! Thanks so mickv.
We recently moved to the North Oak Cliff area of Dallas and I’m considering homeschooling for the first time. I actually am an English teacher and school counselor at the high school level but am unskilled at teaching younger students the basics and foundations, especially in math. What I am looking for is a program where my kids go 2 or 3 days a week to a school and I supplement and facilitate the other days at home. Does this exist in my area? I saw one in Keller that may be something like I’ve described, but that is too far from us. Thanks in advance for suggestions.
Hi Amy,
We are about to move to Dallas from NC, and are considering the Oak Cliff area, I homeschool my 3 kids, grades K, 2, and 4. I see this post is from a long time ago, but if you’re still in the area, I could use some help figuring out where to land 🙂 Also, did you end up homeschooling and/or finding what you were looking for, thats what I would love too! thanks Jenn