Frequently Asked Homeschool Questions

Homeschool F.A.Q.s

I am passionate about homeschooling my children. I love it. And probably because I love it so much I talk about it, a LOT. I get questions all the time from people who are thinking about homeschooling or just starting their homeschooling journey. And usually the questions they have are valid, and almost always, it is the same questions that I asked when I got started.

In no particular order:

How much money does it cost to homeschool?

This question I get all the time, and it is a tough one to answer. I guess technically the price would range from the cost of school supplies to as much money as you want to spend. Our first year we spent a TON of money. I bought a different curriculum for each subject and every school supply I could think of. I bought learning games and toys, a science kit, and every single educational aid that would have been in my son’s classroom had he gone to public school.  Our second and third year I spent about $30 on simple math books. We still had more than enough school supplies and I wrote all of our other curriculum. For the past two years we have used My Father’s World for our main curriculum, we also use MATH U SEE, Apologia Science Journals, Story of the World Activities, Writing Strands, and a few other odds and ends I have pieced together. I buy as much as I can used but still spend about $1000 dollars per school year for curriculum, science supplies, extras, field trips, and school supplies, zoo memberships, etc... There are people who spend much more, and there are people who spend much less. It all depends on your family, what you use, and how many children you are homeschooling.

Will my child be too sheltered?

Here is my answer to this: hopefully. I believe that as Christians we are the salt and the light of the world. We are meant to spread the gospel of Jesus everywhere, from our local Target to the ends of the earth. But my children aren’t salt yet, right now they are clay. They are being shaped and molded and those who we allow to have influence over our children will undoubtedly shape their worldview. This includes friends, teachers, friend’s parents, pastors, our family members. Anyone who you decide to let be a part of your child’s life will shape their personality. Now, that means that if a homeschool family exposes their child to the things of the world, their child will be worldly. I have met many homeschool children that are just as worldly as their public school counterparts. But I have not yet figured out how to protect a public schooled child from learning things and being exposed to things that we would not like them exposed to.

What about socialization?

Good question. When my husband originally brought up the idea of homeschooling when our boys were very little my response was that homeschool kids were weird. He was homeschooled for part of his education. J Here is what I have learned in my few years homeschooling though: homeschool children tend to have MUCH better social skills than public schooled children. They are not necessarily around as many people as if they were in public school but my children have not suffered from this. I have also seen a very clear trend. Homeschooled children tend to be better at socializing with a wider range of people. Many children who are public schooled only want to play with children that are both their age and their gender. My ten year old has friends that are 13 and friends that are 5. He has good friends that are girls and good friends that are boys. There are adults that he loves to hang out with. He has no clue that he is only supposed to have friends that are his age and boys. As adults, we certainly are not segregated like we are in public school. I have good friends that are 65 and good friends that are 19. Why wait until you are an adult to learn to get along well with a variety of different types of people.

Will my child have friends?

This question is a bit tricky because it really depends on the family. Public schooled children are exposed to a greater number of children (usually) but as many of us know, putting a child in a room with other children doesn’t necessarily mean they will make friends. As homeschoolers we just have to be more intentional about giving our children opportunities to interact with others. There are co-ops, homeschool groups, field trip outings, music classes, soccer camps, and everything else that you could possibly think of for homeschool students. There was a little boy in my co-op class last semester that took a fencing class for homeschool students. How cool is that. Each family must decide the best way for their children to be around other children and how often that needs to happen. But, I think that a great benefit of homeschooling is the opportunity it gives siblings to really learn how to be friends. My boys fight, like all brothers, but they are actually really close. Ezra wrote in his journal once that Elisha was his best friend. When Elisha said “I can’t be your best friends, I am you brother.” Ezra responded with this, “A best friend is the person that you would want to hang out with if you could hang out with anyone. You are my favorite person to hang out with, you are my best friend.”

How do you decide what extracurricular activities to do?

We have looked into several things each semester and tend to generally keep it simple. We have decided as a family that no more than one evening a week can be taken up by extracurricular activities. This helps me keep my sanity, and this helps keep our home peaceful. But, like so many things in homeschooling, you have to find what works for your family. Cost is also an issue, at least for us. There are a few things that I might have enrolled the boys in if we had extra resources, but we prioritize what is and isn’t important. We personally have a co-op  that meets 2-3 Fridays a month, a science class that meets twice a month, gymnastics that is once a month, a service project that is once a month, and try to go on three to four field trips a month. This keeps us busy enough to enjoy the times we are home but is calm enough that no one gets overwhelmed (especially me!).

How do you have time to do everything?

I honestly still haven’t figured this one out. The way I see it, I have three full time jobs. I watch two little ones Monday – Thursday. I care for my elderly grandmother who lives with us. And I am a homeschool mom. I am also a wife, maid, chef, chauffer, a blogger, I assist my husband with his small business, I have THREE DOGS (because I am dumb), I take care of our families finances and much to my family’s surprise, I actually have my own distinct interests and hobbies. Just like money, you have to have priorities. I always have a list of things that need to get done and I almost NEVER cross everything off that list. It is more of a running list. My floors are not always clean, I am years behind in scrapbooking, and I daily have to make decisions about what is important at this moment. Sometimes I make the wrong decisions, and sometimes I make decisions that everyone else would assume is wrong. Is it more important to do the phonics lesson or go the park? It depends on the day. Can the laundry wait? Usually, is there at least one pair of underwear in everyone’s drawers? I have also had to learn to prioritize what I think is important. Learn to tell people no, even people that you feel like you shouldn’t. There have been opportunities that I have really wanted to take advantage of but I just couldn’t because I knew I already had enough on my plate.

Another thing that has help me significantly is setting alarms. Often times I know that if I am not finished with whatever I am doing by a certain time or in 30 minutes or something like that then I will set a timer. I clean on most days for 30 minutes. What I accomplish in 30 minutes is all that gets done. I am really bad about being aware of the time. My internal clock ran out of batteries a long time ago. Because of this I will often think it has been an hour and it turns out it has been three. This is where my alarms come in. In theory I shouldn’t need an alarm to remember to make my children lunch, but this is real life y’all.

Do you ever get sick of your children?

Yes and no. I often think that I am tired of my children, but what I am really tired of is being stressed out. Don’t put too much pressure one yourself! Usually when I feel like I need a break my boys and I retreat to the water park or the nature center or the park for the day. Time with them, outside of “school” and the pressures of the house is usually what I need to recharge my spirit. But, alone time is important, and so is girl time. Make time in your schedule, set an alarm if you have to, and take time to just be alone with yourself. If I don’t get up early in the morning then I know that I am going to have no time to myself and that doesn’t always make for the best days.

Will my child get the same education as if they were in public school?

Heck no! And this is why we are homeschooling. Our first year doing homeschool I just imitated the public school classroom at home. This was a mistake. There is so much freedom in homeschooling and you can tailor it to your child’s specific needs. This means that the areas my boys are strong in I can challenge them, and the areas that my boys are struggling in we can spend extra time and attention to figure out what the issue is. This also means that we can base their education on and around how children really learn and develop, not around standardized testing, state standards, and what the government believes is best for ALL children. Homeschooling also looks different than public school for a lot of families. I have some public school advocates who love to compare their little pupil to my boys. The way I see, I have until they are 17 or 18 to get them all the crucial information that they need to be productive members of society.  Just because we don’t learn things on someone else’s time tables doesn’t mean they aren’t getting a good education.

Am I smart enough to homeschool my child?

This is actually one of the most common questions I get. My answer is always this: probably, but the question is are you disciplined enough to homeschool your child. There are teacher’s manuels, online math curriculums, and unlimited resources for parents. If you got a good education, great, you know what to do, and if you didn’t get a good education at all, well you know what not to do. Either way, I have never met anyone who isn’t intelligent enough to homeschool. If God trusted you with these children then I am sure that He trusts you to educate them.

What about their future?

My children are only seven and ten. And already we are looking into the educational choices they will have later in life considering they did not get a public school education. So far, I have not come across any studies or information that would indicate that homeschool students don’t do well in college settings. Actually, statistically homeschool students tend to do as well or better than their public schooled counterparts. I am concerned about their lifelong learning process and I truly believe that homeschooling is the best thing I can do to create people who have a general love of learning and great foundation to stand on.

Where do I start?

I get this question all the time. If you are just starting homeschooling then I would recommend spending the first year really getting to know your child or children. I mean, we all know our children but how do they learn best. Are they auditory, visual, or kinetic learners? Do they need a mastery or a spiral math curriculum? Are more geared towards history or literature? Do they work will with fill in the blank type of curriculum or amore hands on approach? There isn’t one right answer and no two children are exactly the same. What works for one might not work for another. I know that my first year I spent way too much money on curriculum that didn’t actually work for my son. So take some time, like a year, to get to know how your child learns best. Work with several different types of curriculum before you commit to something. And then once you commit to something, be willing to change it if needs be. Homeschool can be perfectly suited to YOUR child, so don’t stick with something that isn’t working. There are so many great resources out there for anyone to hold on to something that isn’t work.