These are some of the most common questions we get from people curious about our homeschool lifestyle.

---

When we share that we homeschool, most of the time it’s met with at least a few questions, since it isn’t the typical choice for many families (though growing in popularity). Here are some of the most common questions we get and the answers we have for them.

“Aren’t you worried about socializing?”

Viv’s social calendar is way busier than mine. She has weekly play dates with her friends and we go to tons of places and do activities where she is surrounded by kids her own age. I’m not worried at all about her socializing or not learning how to play and get along with other kids.

She’s also pretty settled into a dance studio and continues to make new friends through her dance activities there. Extra curriculars are great ways for homeschooled kids to socialize too, on top of normal daily life.

“I could never do it.”

Though not technically a question, I get this comment a lot.

Homeschooling sounds hard and like a lot of work because it’s outside most people’s comfort zones. Unless you have a teaching a background, it feels like you’re entering a new career with zero experience.

But here’s the thing, you don’t need a teaching background. A little background and some resources go a long way.

And in my experience, the homeschooling community is very helpful to anyone looking for information. People are always sharing resources, how they got started, tips and tricks, and what they’ve learned along the way with their experience.

If you want to do it, and are able to do it, but have imposter syndrome, feel free to borrow my belief in you that you can do it. You just need to arm yourself with some more information and probably some planning and then you really just…start.

“Don’t you get tired of spending all that time together?”

We need breaks from each other sometimes, sure. When we do, Viv goes and does an activity by herself and I do one by myself. Some days are tougher than others. Just like spending a lot of time with any one person, I think.

A lot of it mindset too. If I were to think that spending all this time with her was such a chore, I likely wouldn’t be homeschooling in the first place. But I don’t view it that way. I look at it as a huge gift. And especially on the tough days, I remind myself that I get to have this time with her, which includes the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I also really treasure this time with her. It’s one of the big pros for us to homeschool. We get to spend more time together as a family. Just like normal families, we have days where we are at each others’ throats. But mostly we all like hanging out together. And there is not one mom I’ve talked to that hasn’t said “time goes so fast, enjoy every minute.” So we are 🙂

“How do you know she’s on track for her age?”

A valid question, but the nice thing with homeschool is that we get to go at our own pace. It’s not uncommon for homeschooled kids to be reading two or three grade levels ahead of them, or in second grade but doing third grade math.

It can also swing the other direction. If she isn’t understanding something, we get to spend more time mastering a subject or concept because we have the time to do it.

In traditional schools, most of the time if a kiddo isn’t understanding something, they either get them a little extra help for awhile and then move on subjects, because they have to for the rest of the kids who are understanding it. Unfortunately, even if the majority of them aren’t understanding, at some point they do have to move on because teachers have to cover certain criteria each school year at each grade level.

This can create some big learning gaps because if they’re behind, it can feel like they’re being dragged along and have a hard time keeping up with additional concepts.

On the flip side, if a kiddo is getting things super quick and are no longer being challenged, they’ve got to wait for the rest of the class to catch up or for their teacher to move on. Boredom in school can make kids act out, distract other kids, or check out altogether.

With homeschool, we’re able to go at her pace in each subject area.

There is also mandatory state testing in Minnesota starting at age 7 (second grade) that we have to administer so the state sees she’s keeping up with the required academic concepts.

So, there are checks and balances. But a lot of it is self paced.

“Does Viv like being homeschooled? Would she rather be at a normal school?”

It took some getting used to for Viv, mostly because we had been talking about her going to a building without mom and dad as we prepared to send her to preschool. She also felt like she was missing out because her friends were going to a building and she wasn’t.

Here’s where we stand on that: She’s too young to make that choice. Big decisions are made by adults.

When we chose to give this a shot, she was four years old. In no world, this one or another, would I let my four year old make that kind of huge decision when she has no idea what school really even is at this point. I’m still cutting up grapes for her so she doesn’t choke and I’m supposed to let her decide what’s best for her and our family? Does-not-compute.

They might be mad at you for awhile. Viv was mad at us for not letting her go to preschool at the time and even asked for months after when she could go to a building. We always answered with the same answer (again, she was only 4 years old): Some kids go to a school in a building, some kids do school at home, and we do school at home.

You may be in a situation where your kids are older and you’re considering homeschool for them. I guess my stance on that is to have an open and honest discussion with them about it. If they feel very strongly against it, seek to understand why and go from there.

Most kids are jealous when they find out that Viv is homeschooled, including my nephews. And I would wager that some homeschool kids would rather be in a traditional school setting. Kids just want what they don’t have sometimes. Most of the time it’s their curiosity getting the best of them.

But if your kids are really not for it, and you’re considering pulling them out of public school, I think it’s important to validate their feelings while also listening to their thoughts on it. But also make the decision as the parent. You know your child best.

These are just some of the most common questions we get and not a full, extensive list of everything everyone has ever asked us. For example, very few people ask me (maybe one or two ever) about how we make it work on one household income.

Because I think it’s such an important topic, I did share Homeschooling: The Financial Impact, where I talk about the costs of homeschool as well as how to consider two incomes becoming one and if it’s a possibility for your family or not.

If there are questions you have that I can help answer, get a hold of me through email or social media. I’m happy to share any and all of our experience so far.

Until next time,