One of the most common things homeschool parents hear from non-homeschooling peers is, “I could never homeschool—I don’t have the patience.” Sometimes it’s put, “I could never homeschool because I am not organized.” The general idea is that these parents believe themselves somehow ill-equipped to teach their own children.
Obviously, there are plenty of homeschooling parents who would not describe themselves as particularly patient or organized. And, of course, many parents have no desire to homeschool but find offering statements like this a bit more polite. The thing is, though, that the difference between “parenting” and “homeschooling” is not that significant. You might say homeschool is just parenting-plus.
From the moment a child is born, parents play the role of their teacher. Whether they intentionally taught them something specific, modeled skills or behaviors, or inadvertently provided the conditions for their learning, as they grow, parents teach them all along.
Every parent starts out the journey taking full responsibility for the learning and development of their children. Even unintentionally, loving parents can’t help but teach their children and facilitate their learning. They guide them to learn how to eat, get dressed, walk, talk, the difference between right and wrong and, often, even to count and learn their letters. Some even teach their children to read before they reach “school age.”
Over time, parents teach their children about the values they deem important, the places they visit together, and the amazing things they can see, do, learn, and create—all outside of any system of formal education.
It’s rather mind-blowing the volume of learning that occurs in those first years of a child’s life.
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Once children turn five, however, it’s assumed that the only way they can be educated is in a school setting by a professional teacher, and that going to school is the best course of action for a child’s social development.
Increasingly, parents are coming to question such assumptions and choosing instead to continue as they were, teaching their children as homeschoolers.
As summer winds down and a new school year approaches, if you’re feeling pulled to homeschool your children but believe you don’t have what it takes—the organizational skills, the patience, the ability to socialize your children—consider where your notions about school come from and how effective you’ve already been as your child’s teacher.
The truth is, homeschooling is simply engaged parenting. You don’t need teacher training to provide your child with opportunities and resources to learn everything they can and should learn, to pursue their interests, and to develop their talents. You don’t need a school to gather with other children or other people of a variety of ages throughout their childhood and beyond. You don’t need to stay home to homeschool, and you can use outside lessons, clubs, camps, and schools as resources in your homeschool.
Every parent has what they need to homeschool their children, and to some extent, they’ve already done so. When considering such a choice, you should know that you’ve already got what it takes.
