The World is Our Classroom!

During the exponential growth of homeschooling in 2020 and 2021, I noticed a couple of interesting trends:

• Some families simply did the “school at home” that their local school offered, or used one of the public school online options such as K12. With only a few exceptions, these experiences were not overwhelmingly positive. Most found that their children were sitting in front of computers for hours a day, tied to logging on at certain times and following rigid schedules. It did not help that the normal activities enjoyed by homeschoolers were not available (co-ops, field trips, park dates, even family vacations, etc.). Understandably, their impression of “homeschooling” did not improve, and they were eager to get back to the classroom. 

• Other families, who may have begun reluctantly, found themselves pleasantly surprised at how much they enjoyed the freedom they had to tailor their children’s education to their own needs as they eschewed the public school system. In some cases, parents were startled at the gaps they were seeing in their children’s knowledge. Other times I fielded questions regarding accommodating learning styles, or what curriculum simply might be more enjoyable. Many were elated to find out that they were “allowed” to let their children pursue their individual passions in learning. I watched these families go from asking, “Can I really do this?” to enthusiastically declaring, “I can really do this!” These families slowly but surely blossomed into “homeschooling as a lifestyle” — not just “school at home.” 

HSLDA recently released a wonderful little video entitled “Make the World Your Classroom.” If you’re still not convinced that homeschooling is right for your family, take just a few minutes to watch and be inspired. https://hslda.org/get-started/discover-homeschooling/