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You are here: Home / Homeschool / 12 Things Homeschoolers Don’t Have to Do

12 Things Homeschoolers Don’t Have to Do

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August 30, 2017 By Jennifer Lambert 21 Comments

As I peruse social media, I always see lots of images and articles about school-related issues.

Since I homeschool our 4 kids and feel that school is not necessary at all, I thought about all the things we don’t have to do since the kids don’t attend school!

12 Things Homeschoolers Don’t Have to Do

  1. Get up Early

    I am so, so, so happy we don’t have to get up early to catch a bus or make it to school on time. If my kids went to school, there would be three different drop-offs: elementary, middle school, and high school! I can’t imagine the logistics. We can sleep in and do whatever we want in the mornings rather than inhaling a non-nutritious Pop-Tart and rushing to a school to sit all day and be brainwashed.

  2. Back to School

    I don’t have to worry about back to school lists. I can buy whatever supplies we need whenever we need them. We don’t have to buy uniforms or school clothes. While I do stock up on a few things during those BTS sales, like glue…we are not concerned with the stress of this time period. We school year-round. We can transition our curricula any time of year! We love to enjoy the end of summer and beginning of fall as natural transitions.

  3. School Picture Day

    Ah, the dreaded school pictures. I can remember when they were simple and it was expected that kids wore their Sunday best. But, those laser backgrounds? Maybe not the best choice. And my hair in 7th grade? I shudder. Now, it seems the picture companies are really into profits and the purchase packages are unbelievable. Who needs a pricey 16×24 stretched canvas or body pillow of their kid?

  4. Sit at a Desk all.day.long.

    We don’t sit around all day. I remember how exhausting it was to just sit all day long, under those fluorescent lights. We do what we want, when we want. We rush outside when it’s nice weather. We play games. We go to the library. We go hiking or on nature walks. We watch the birds. We garden. We read, watch Netflix, research. We have dance parties. We snuggle on the sofa for reading. We cook, clean, make arts and crafts. The girls love to knit and crochet and cross-stitch. We shoot a target in the backyard with a BB gun. We rarely sit at desks or tables. We don’t have to relinquish our creativity.

  5. Fundraisers

    How I hated selling cookie dough and wrapping paper. How I hate it when kids come to my house, hawking stuff I don’t want or need. How I hate the contests for kids and classes for pizza parties or a skate night or tickets to the water park. Maybe we should have a better system or allocate money where it’s needed better? If the school fundraiser sold whiskey, then maybe I’d consider buying.

  6. Teacher Appreciation Gifts

    I remember getting a few gifts when I taught school – the coffee mugs, stuffed animals, gift cards. Pinterest is full of creative and horrific teacher gifts. It’s obviously a competition to see who can outdo the other parents with the best or weirdest upcycled gift. Bribery much? Teachers just want more respect and fewer standardized tests. They really have a tough job. It’s a battle on all fronts.

  7. Follow a Schedule

    So much time is wasted at school on transition time. Line up to go to lunch. Line up to go to art, music, PE, library, computer lab. Line up for restroom and water break. We have no schedule, or at the least, a very rough schedule. We get up when we want. We eat when we’re hungry. We use the bathroom when the need arises. We go outside when we want. We play, read, create when we desire. Downtime is thinking time. We follow natural rhythms.

  8. Homework

    Homework is unnecessary. We complete lessons in only a few minutes. We don’t have to beat the dead horse with 40+ math problems unless they think math drills are fun. We don’t have to circle verbs in red and underline adjectives in blue in 20+ sentences ever. School kids attend classes 6+ hours every day and still have several hours of worthless homework? It’s ridiculous. We don’t do worksheets or extra work. We learn to mastery. We don’t even have to follow a curriculum! We can learn how we want!

  9. Grades

    We don’t do grades. We don’t do tests. We don’t encourage that kind of competition. It’s meaningless and creates such discontent. No one has ever asked me as an adult what I made in 11th grade algebra II or senior English or 3rd year Spanish. No one cares about my master’s Faulkner course. Extrinsic motivation doesn’t teach anything or ensure success. We learn for the sheer love of it.

  10. So Much Sickness

    A friend of mine had to send her special needs son to school because it’s German law. She complained that in the first month, he came home with diarrhea, Fifth’s disease, a cold, and more. He’d never been sick before. Schools are little breeding grounds for illness. Ew. I know teachers and students get sick so frequently, especially after summer and winter breaks. It’s not that we never get sick, but we seldom do. The kids play in the dirt, eat well, get plenty of rest, and have healthy immune systems.

  11. Keeping up with Fads

    My kids don’t even know what’s popular except when their public schoolteacher aunt asks if they’re into Rainbow Loom or something that her public-schooled children and students are into. My kids don’t care about popularity, fashion, fads, or anything like that. We’re not exposed to advertisements or competition with other kids.

  12. Rules

    My kids know how to stand in line. If they’re ever in a classroom environment, they know to raise their hand before speaking. They are polite and courteous. They don’t need arbitrary rules to control them, to make them behave or obey. We’ve encountered some strange rules at different organizations we’ve attended for music lessons or field trips. While I understand there is sometimes a need to protect others and property, it’s disheartening to see my homeschooled kids treated like criminals. Automatically guilty. Children are naturally empathetic and desire to please. Too many rules are just a setup rebellion.

    When rules and discipline are not evenly and fairly applied, students will believe that the system is rigged and unfair.

We appreciate the freedoms that homeschooling offers our family!

We homeschool so we can have freedoms that schools stifle.


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INTJ. Only child. Military Wife. Homeschool Mom. Geek. Naturalist. Traveler. Questioning authority since 1976.

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Comments

  1. Carol says

    September 18, 2017 at 11:54 pm

    ‘m sorry that, for you, school was the awful experience you paint here. I am blessed to teach in a private Christian school, but even when I taught public school – well, some of your generalizations don’t quite match with my experience and reality. Homeschool can be awesome, and I’m thrilled that you are able to do that with your kids! God bless your amazing school and may He continue to guide you as you seek His will in raising great kids to serve Him! That’s also my prayer each day as I drive to school (into the sunrise – I wish I could get up later each day). I pray that I can spend the day showing Christ’s love to other people’s kids as well! :)

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      September 19, 2017 at 7:32 pm

      I taught at a private Christian school and it wasn’t a great place. It was attached to a very clique-ish non-denominational church that was only concerned about money. The rich parents had way too much control over administrators and teachers and policy. The curriculum was watered-down vanilla garbage. Many of the students who attended were only there because they’d been expelled from every public school in the district. I’m sure there are some private schools who do it better. I’m sure some public schools do ok.
      Many experience the “generalizations” I mention in western schools. School is unnecessary. It’s just glorified babysitting and indoctrination into being complacent, unquestioning worker bees.

      An interesting perspective on private Christian school: http://equippinggodlywomen.com/parenting/the-hidden-danger-of-sending-your-children-to-private-christian-school/

      Reply
  2. Donna Reidland says

    September 19, 2017 at 6:04 pm

    What a great list of things. I loved the photos of the kids with the “wind up keys.” And I know there are so many other reasons.

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      September 19, 2017 at 7:14 pm

      Thanks! I thought the images were very appropriate.

      Reply
  3. sue says

    September 19, 2017 at 6:17 pm

    If I had started at the beginning, it may have worked — well, it would’ve worked because God would be leading/providing. I love the idea of it but also love the work of salt and light that we are called to be in the world. Still, sleeping in sounds divine!

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      September 19, 2017 at 7:22 pm

      Here’s a great article about that:
      https://redheadmom8.wordpress.com/2016/08/23/3-reasons-i-dont-send-my-kids-to-school-to-be-salt-and-light/

      Reply
  4. Julie says

    September 19, 2017 at 8:59 pm

    I miss my days of homeschooling, but yet, my kids are enjoying being in school! I think there are pros and cons to both!
    Visiting from #TeaAndWord

    Reply
  5. Sarah | Digital Motherhood says

    September 19, 2017 at 10:55 pm

    An interesting post and it would be nice not to have to stress about the school run etc. However, I’m not sure that school is unnecessary but we all do what we believe is right for our kids #TwinklyTuesday

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      September 20, 2017 at 2:02 am

      Here are some thoughts on why school is unnecessary: http://happinessishereblog.com/2016/08/school-is-unnecessary/

      Reply
  6. Amy Greene says

    September 20, 2017 at 10:29 pm

    I could not have agreed more with everything you listed regarding why homeschooling is so awesome! For a short while I DID do the 3 drop offs – elementary, middle and high. It was a nightmare. We had issues with bullying, where the school would not step in, and when we did, our child got in trouble (go figure!). The costs – pictures, field trips. lunches (if you don’t pack), high school monthly fees (at our school)…. the list goes on. All in all, homeschooling (at least in my opinion) is the way to go. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, and wish we would have never tried school for any length of time (we had one who wanted to go and regretted it immediately so we pulled them out again). I know one person commented there are pros and cons to public school – but for me, I only see cons to it, and love everything about homeschool. Thanks for a great post!

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      September 22, 2017 at 3:07 pm

      Sorry to hear about your public school experiences. Homeschooling is the BEST!

      Reply
  7. angie says

    September 21, 2017 at 3:59 pm

    sounds like some great reasoning to me but the schedule part is something I still do here at home other wise things would be a bit crazy
    come see us at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

    Reply
  8. Mother of 3 says

    September 21, 2017 at 10:47 pm

    YES! YES! YES! These are all reasons why we love homeschooling. My husband just remarked last night that as he sat with our youngest to read (who STRUGGLED to learn that skill) that he had finally picked it up without stress, extra classes, boring drills or making him feel dumb. He’s now happily reading chapter books and I honestly don’t know what would have happened if he had started out in public school. I love the freedom and the closeness we all share and enjoy.

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      September 22, 2017 at 3:07 pm

      I LOVE success stories like this!

      Reply
  9. Barbie says

    September 22, 2017 at 4:22 pm

    I have kids in both public school and homeschooling and I see the pros and cons of both. As a full time working mom outside the home, it’s a challenge to homeschool my child (who is now doing independent study through a homeschool charter). I wish the opportunity had presented itself when they were younger. I’ve already graduated 2, one from public and one HS, and I’ve got 2 more to go (one public, one HS/independent study).

    Reply
  10. Sherry says

    September 22, 2017 at 5:42 pm

    I see many advantages to homeschool. These are all excellent examples. Thanks for hosting!

    Reply
  11. Rosanna@ExtraordinaryEverydayMom says

    September 22, 2017 at 11:04 pm

    Interesting post. For the record, I homeschool my kids and I love it. That being said: #1: My kids get up early and it’s not because I wake them. It’s just the way they are wired. #2: We do a back to school day because we love having the summer off. #3: We also don’t sit a desk all day because really it just doesn’t take that long. #4: I’m so glad to not have to do fundraisers. I HATED them when I had to do them.#5: We follow a schedule or routine because it works best for our family. #6: My kids know how to stand in line because we do field trips. #7: My kids don’t seem to get sick as much as their schooled counter-parts. I’m glad.

    Reply
  12. Kelly Howard says

    September 23, 2017 at 6:02 pm

    Hey Jennifer! As a homeschool mama of 20+ years, your list is spot on! The more we let go of mainstream ideas the more we began to truly enjoy our HSing freedoms! It was the absolute best choice for our family and I highly recommend it to everyone I meet. Until someone has successfully come away from the school system they will never have the opportunity to truly see education for what it is supposed to be. Abba bless and keep you, dear!

    Reply
  13. Gretchen Fleming says

    September 25, 2017 at 8:37 pm

    So glad you all enjoy homeschool like you do. Thanks for all your perspective.

    Reply
  14. Deb Wolf says

    September 26, 2017 at 8:31 pm

    I wish I had homeschooled our children. We didn’t know about it when we raised them. I like your list and the freedom you are able to enjoy as you educate your kiddos. Blessings!!

    Reply

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