5 signs you might be a homeschooling parent: the summer edition

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We weird, unsocialized homeschool families can be pretty easy to spot, what with our denim jumpers and Birkenstocks or our kids not having the faintest idea what grade they’re in. This time of year, though, there can be some glaring signs not readily apparent at other times of year indicating that you are, indeed, a homeschooling parent.

1. You are nesting.

If you’re doing things which, if there were a baby whose exodus from your uterus was imminent, would only be described as “nesting,” you might be a homeschooling mom.

Have you just completely rearranged and cleaned your entire school room? Have you cleaned out the school cabinet? Created neatly labeled folders and binders? Sharpened all the pencils? Printed, sorted, and labeled all your kids’ papers for the upcoming year?

Yep, you might be a homeschool mom – or dad, except, you know, if you’re a homeschool dad chances are you’ve never experienced a baby’s exodus from your uterus.

2. You’re as excited about the first day of school as you were about the last day just a few weeks ago.

Isn’t it funny how that works? At the end of one school year, you’re ready for a break. But after a few weeks, you’re ready to get back to a normal routine, for crying out loud.

If the first day of school is fast-approaching and you’re not excited, you may want to find out how homeschooling year round saved my sanity. A few years ago, I was right where you are now. I was dreading the first day of school and unsure how I was going to make it through another year. I’m not sure how I’d have made it if we hadn’t switched to year-round homeschooling.

3. You know when all the local schools start back.

Why is this important, you might ask. Because, that’s when all the parks, museums, and libraries will be empty again!

4. You’re whistling “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”

If you’re going around whistling “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” you may be a homeschooling parent. That’s because you know that it’s almost time for $0.25 spiral notebooks and $0.50 composition books!

5. You bring your pens and planner to the pool instead of the latest bestseller.

I mean, really, isn’t poolside a much better place to plan than the stuffy, old house?

From your experience, what are some other summertime signs that you might be a homeschooling parent?

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Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.

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16 Comments

  1. When Target transitions from summer furniture to school supplies, you’re the mom who’s filling up the cart with glee while all the other families are moaning “school just got out 2 weeks ago, why do they already have school stuff out?”

  2. I absolutely love this post! I’m all over the back to school sales, completely happy to be starting new curriculum, and pretty much all of the above. My favorite time is when WalMart pops up with $.25 boxes of crayons and lined paper packages and I get to gather as much as I want LOL … Oh and those Target dollar store bins at the onset of school are simply awesome!!

    1. You might should be glad there is an ocean between us because that’s just how my mind works. Kind of scary, isn’t it? 😉

  3. Chris – this is genius! We’re only just winding down in preparation for the summer break and I’m already nesting. I spent a happy 15 minutes sharpening pencils this afternoon. 😀 And I keep having “casual” conversations with my kids about what they might want to learn next year. Oh – and I am SO excited about having five whole weeks to read physics and chemistry books and dream up hands-on history projects!

  4. I find myself looking for all the “Homeschool Day” activities in Central Florida. Museums, Kennedy Space Center, the Orlando Science Center, Disney – all sorts of places – offer a special day for homeschoolers and you can bet I’ve got it on my Google calendar. 😉

  5. This made me smile! I am “guilty” of all of them except #4. We are in our last days of our short 4 week summer break. I was reminding the kids that we start back next Monday. I still need to finish purging one bookshelf in our “learning area” which I will do today.

    1. I’ve found that my enthusiasm has returned. I must have finally gone over the edge of crazy because I’m actually excited about having a high schooler and a middle schooler this year. Ask me how I feel about that around October or so. 😉

  6. You crack me up friend AND you are right on the money. Ha! I tried to get some homeschool planning done while getting a pedicure yesterday armed with my notebook and pen. The nail tech wouldn’t leave me alone. She kept asking questions about why I was writing and if I was a teacher…and on and on. My notebook and I must have stood out among the rest of the clientele. 🙂

  7. I always know that I have settled into summer when I start reading books on Schooling/Homeschooling. 🤣(I have done everything on your list too though and have been hardcore homeschool room nesting for about 10 days.) School starts next week and I’m on book number six. This summer it was The Brave Learner, Rethinking School, something by Sir Ken Robinson that was not as good as Rethinking School, Wild and Free (It was ok, but I enjoyed the Brave Learner more.), Dumbing us Down (A fantastic book from the retrospect of my own experience with public school.), and now In Vital Harmony. I enjoy marinating in ideas during the summer. And then seeing how it comes out in the school year. Just about ready to start Monday…

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