What You Need To Know Before Homeschooling

The decision to homeschool can feel like a mammoth resolution. Believe me, I know. I am not so far removed to forget, but looking back on our homeschool journey I can hardly believe we are nearing our seventh year! How is this possible? I don’t know, but I do know this. This has been one of THE BEST decisions I have ever made. This said, I do not feel it is my job to convince anyone to make the choices I have made for the reasons I have made them. I do, however, know and have benefited from the helpful testimonies and shared experiences of other moms, their motives, preferences, and resources. Therefore, here I am going to share some of my journey and what I think are the most important things to know before homeschooling as you navigate this decision.

Education is WORK.

Firstly, let me explain briefly why I do not think homeschool moms need extra accolades, nor do I enjoy the fostering of comparison between home educators and parents choosing to public or privately educate their children. In short, an involved parent that is concerned about their children's education is going to put in the work. Parenting is work. Teaching is work! It is unfair for stereotypical comparisons to be the narrative at which either is judged or interpreted. I can say this quite confidently from my own diverse experiences as I was publicly educated, became a college grad, and then a private tutor / part-time private school educator. As a parent, I began our kids education in public school and become a full-time home educator about 6 years ago. Needless to say, I’ve viewed this journey from several perspectives.

The work that it takes to educate a child, whether in-home or in an educational institution, is substantial. While there are differences between home-education and public education, I can attest from experience that I worked as tirelessly as a public school mom as I often do with five students as a home-educator. It is WORK. I did not trade less work for more work, or more work for less. What I did exchange was a lifestyle of busy and bustle to a lifestyle of our own intentions and purposes with a more peaceful pace.

Education takes PURPOSE. (Let it be joy!)

I know it isn't a secret that many choose to home-educate their children due to the “evils” or perceived faults of public education, and while I do not judge nor necessarily agree or disagree with all points made, I would caution pursuing a life change out of fear or pure judgement. Instead, I would encourage you to choose home-education (or any choice for that matter) out of the pursuit of JOY and PURPOSE. This ability to joyfully and intentionally pace our lifestyle around our purposes, passions, and priorities was our primary reason to ultimately choose home-education. And as I said, it has been one of the BEST decisions we have made. Truly. I do not say this to convince you to do the same. I tell you this to share the joy I have in making a decision that supported the purpose of creating a life that fit who we are. (Now, I know that many of you are looking into this potential option out of necessity rather than lifestyle due to covid19. You may feel stuck or weary - maybe even backed into a corner. Even so, keep reading. This is still for you!)

Education takes students AND teachers.

Hmm, isn’t that stating the obvious? This is what I mean. I think most parents believe that to be a home-educator they must be the perfect teacher, but in reality, they need to be a willing student. Learning alongside your child is of the utmost in home-education. In doing so, you will help accomplish one of, if not the greatest aspects of education: lighting the fire and LOVE of learning.

I love this ancient wisdom from Socrates, “Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel,” and this reiteration from William Butler Yeats “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

You cannot and will not know everything about every subject, and guess what - neither do teachers! Did you know it’s not uncommon for teachers to find themselves teaching subjects that have nothing to do with their degree? When this happens, they engage and learn alongside their students in discovery. Therefore, if you want to be an awesome teacher, be a curious, exploratory, willing student! Light the flame of discovery within yourself and your students!

Education takes TIME.

I will never regret the investment of time and energy it has taken to educate my children. Nor will I look back and say, “that was a waste of time!” I will, however, with my glass of wine in hand, make a toast to all the hours of prepping, LEARNING, worrying, reading, researching, submission form filling-outing (not a word, I know), writing, describing, working, decision making, creating, laughing, talking, AND teaching! (Just a little reminder that this is also true of public-educators and parents.) We’ve created so many incredible memories with the time we have spent together and the time we have prioritized as a family educational enterprise full of travel, experiences, and adventures as well as hardships, conundrums, and hurdles. We did not arrive where we are in this experience over night. Along the way, we have evolved, grown, and adapted according to our children’s and family’s needs while pursuing our joint purposes and encouraging our personal ones as well. Everything takes time, and you cannot build a bridge nor an education in a day, because…

EDUCATION IS A JOURNEY.

Education is a journey not a destination. Here's why that matters. You need a compass. It doesn't matter if you have directions to a destination if you are unaware of North (or which end is up, essentially). I am sure you are surprised that what curriculum to buy, where to buy it, how to perfectly structure your days, and the plethora of specific questions you may have were not included. We are receiving these questions daily, and we hear you! (Tune into our live Homeschool Q & A; details below for more insight!) These questions are valid, and the information for such is helpful, but they are NOT the most important questions to ask or information to have in making this decision. Here’s your compass. These are the questions you need to ask right now (download the printable version below):

Rather than asking am I a teacher, ask… am I willing student? Do I enjoy learning?
Am I willing to put in the work and accept the learning curve that educating my children will take?
What is my purpose in pursuing home education? (Can it be joy? Who do we want to be as a family and how do we want to feel in these experiences as we pursue our priorities?)
Am I ready to give of my time and make time for home-education? How do I want to structure my days, and what do I want our daily routine to look like?
Do I view education as a journey or a destination? How might this affect my perception and abilities to educate my children?

This said, I understand, you may feel you still have so many unanswered questions. This post and these questions above are truly your compass, but we are not going to leave you high and dry on your specific inquiries. Be looking for our upcoming themed HIVEhomeschool bundle sent to our email subscribers (subscribe here, if you haven't already), and our helpful upcoming Homeschool Q and A this Sunday (details below!)

Education is not a perfect journey.

I am most often asked: How do you keep your children from having gaps if you are not specialized in each subject that you teach, and how do you know your kids are learning enough? First of all, regardless of where your student receives their education, they are going to have gaps. I had gaps. You had gaps. We all had (or more accurately: have) gaps in our education for various reasons. This is inevitable. We cannot give our children the perfect education, but we can give them the ability to turn their gaps into gains by seeing opportunity for growth they find themselves in a personal learning curve, rather than finding someone or something to blame. Second of all, you may freak out for the first few months (or however long you allow yourself to do so) if you are worried about your children learning just enough. I did, and here’s why: I didn’t know ALL the things I just told you!

Learning just enough to pass that test, get that grade, or make that specific gpa is in fact NOT enough. I cannot tell you how many articles I've read, professionals I've heard quote, and tech strategists + business forecasters I have heard say that the most needed quality our upcoming generation will need is IMAGINATION and CREATIVE thinking! Do you know what's so essential about these two things? The ability to fail and see it as part of the learning experience. I cannot stress this enough. This means our upcoming world changers need to have the skills to look past simply knowing the right answer to understanding that the exploration of learning is as important as the outcome. How does the decision of home-education fit in this narrative? Am I saying you need to fail, therefore, to become a home-educator? No, but I am saying you will have to accept inevitable failures on any educational journey. What's important is developing character and skills in the midst of that imperfect journey to creatively adjust, adapt, and evolve while loving the ability to do so in the first place, because...

Education is a GIFT

For much of history and even still in many parts of the world, education is a privilege. I think it is important to say that growing up I loved my public school education. I am not a home-educator out of distaste for my educational upbringing. My education and the mentorship I received by amazing teachers was certainly a gift to me. My teachers were caring hard workers who poured into me and my peers tirelessly. The same is true of many who taught my children when they were attending public school. As a home-educator, I also find it an extreme gift to take part in my children’s daily discoveries and learning. Whenever I find myself wavering or weary of doing good in this portion of our life, I remind myself what a gift this experience has been and the very privilege education, particularly home-education, has been to us.

Therefore, whatever choice you make, be grateful for the very ability to do so, and regardless of why or how you have come to this decision, you are the best person to make this choice for your children. No one knows your child better, and even though you have as much to learn as they do, you have the ability to be their primary educational guide with and within the choices you make. While the gift of education does come with an immense responsibility, the mistake of not opening this gift up and experiencing it for all it is worth would be the real tragedy. I pray you can make this decision with confidence, and I'm grateful you have allowed us to be a small part of your journey thus far, even if only in the decision making process. Good luck, and you know where to find me @HIVE_home if you have more questions, and join us live for our upcoming HIVEhomeschool Q and A coming up this Sunday. Hope to see you there!