5 Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe (and the Truth Behind Them)
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There’s a special kind of guilt that comes with being a homeschooling mom. It’s mom-guilt squared. As if we don’t worry about our kids enough already, we go and make the choice to be their full-time teacher and only advocate too.
Yeah. That’s a good idea. Ha!
All the regular homeschool mom worries aside, there are a lot of lies homeschooling moms believe that make our job so much harder.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve questioned our decision over the years. At this point, I’m past that though. (Thank God!) We’ve got one grad down and one to go. He wants to stay the course, so I think we’re riding it out to the finish line with him too. Pray for me.
At least I know I’ve let go of these five lies homeschooling moms believe! Maybe you can too?
#1. You need a teaching degree to be a successful homeschooling parent.
I used to be so insecure about my own lack of education when I started homeschooling. I worried I didn’t have the experience or training I needed to teach my own kids. Looking back now it seems so silly to have worried so much about having a piece a paper that says I have classroom management skills.
Truth:
You don’t have to be a teacher to parent your kids. Homeschooling is really just parenting. With books.
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#2. Your child’s struggles are the result of your decision to homeschool.
When you’re homeschooling through a hard time, it’s easy to blame homeschooling for all your problems.
Maybe we shouldn’t have chosen this path?
This was a mistake.
He’d be happier in public school.
Sound familiar?
When your homeschooled kid is struggling, remember: his problems aren’t going to magically disappear if you put him in public school. In fact, change of any kind during a rough patch is usually a bad idea. Especially for kids with any kind of special needs or circumstances.
Truth:
Your children will have struggles in life no matter where they go to school.
If anything, homeschooling has made my children’s struggles more bearable. I’m thankful for the flexibility and cushion homeschooling provided during some of the hard times we’ve had as a family.
#3. You won’t get burned out.
What kind of mother gets tired of her own children?
A homeschooling mom, that’s what kind.
Nobody admits these things! I think a lot of homeschooling moms are ashamed when they feel burned out. We chose this path, didn’t we? Aren’t we passionate about our families and being home with all the rainbows and sunshine? It’s hard to admit when we just want to run away.
Truth:
Homeschooling is an unforgiving 24/7 job. If you don’t make time for yourself I can guarantee you will be one miserable homeschool mom.
I think it’s harder to recognize and compartmentalize your “work stress” when you work at home and your work is family.
It’s important to be diligent in making sure you have time carved out for YOU. Not lesson planning or reading the next book you plan to assign your kid. I’m talking 100% YOU. What does that look like in your home? Figure it out! Talk to your spouse and your kids (if they’re older) and work out a plan for mom sanity.
#4. Your kids need be enrolled in a co-op.
Ahhh…Homeschool co-op: the perfect rebuttal to all socialization questions.
Right?
“Oh! We go to a co-op. They get plenty of interaction with peers.”
Admit it. The co-op rebuttal has helped get a few annoying inquiries off your back, no?
I’m all for finding a homeschool group you love. We’ve had our seasons of doing the co-op thing, but I think those seasons have passed. Right now we don’t go anywhere during the week and it’s actually kind of awesome. We needed this year to adjust to change within our home and family. We have one in college full-time now and on his way to a university in the fall and our youngest is in 7th grade adjusting to being thirteen.
When my son was younger he loved going, but as he got older he showed less interest. This year I decided I wasn’t forcing anything and co-op got the boot. I didn’t realize how much work participating in a co-op actually was until we weren’t going anymore.
Truth:
Being a part of a homeschool co-op is a big commitment and it’s nice not having that on our plate right now.
#5. Other homeschool moms have it all together.
I wish there was a Pinterest board for pictures of homeschooled kids laying around playing video games and watching Kelly and Ryan because my board would be blowing up!
Seriously. Homeschooling looks a lot different than I thought it would. My kids never loved nature walks or begged for science experiments. I forced them to go on most of our field trips and we stopped doing crafts when it got too stressful.
Don’t let the internet fool you.
Truth:
Other homeschool moms do NOT have it all together. Our kids hate math, we argue about writing lessons, and behind our recent IG post is a huge pile of dirty of laundry.
What other lies that homeschooling moms believe have you found yourself listening to?
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Adrienne Bolton is a freelance writer and veteran homeschool mom. She began homeschooling in 2009 to meet the needs of her oldest son who struggled with the public school setting. Her boys have had different experiences with homeschooling, but both have thrived in spite of her. Her oldest son transitioned from public school after fourth grade and her youngest is 100% homegrown, having never stepped foot in a traditional classroom. Now with one son in college and one working his way through high school, she is proof anyone can do this. She writes with humor and heart, peppered with occasional snark and sarcasm. When she is not writing or working you can find her with a good book in hand, snuggling her massive Pitbull fur baby, or making something yummy in the kitchen. She loves to cook, bake, and be outdoors in the sunshine. The beach is her happy place and she's a true flip-flop wearing Florida girl. Connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.
#5 made me tear up, literally, because that’s us in a nutshell. It’s definitely the lie I identify with most…thank you for bringing me back to reality. 🙂
Thanks!