Homeschool Facts Archives - Happy Homeskool

Since the pandemic began, many parents have been trying to manage their children’s schooling from home. Our family has received comments such as “I don’t know how you enjoy homeschooling, it’s so hard!” or “I can’t believe you like homeschooling, I can’t wait until the kids go back to school.”

Let me declare loudly, pandemic schooling is NOT homeschooling. Homeschooling is a conscious choice that families have made. Pandemic schooling is hard. Pandemic schooling was forced upon families in the middle of a global crisis with no warning, preparation or resources.

Here are three (3) major ways that ‘schooling from home’ during a pandemic differs from homeschooling:

Parent Work Schedules

Many parents that are attempting to manage their children’s schooling from home during the pandemic, also have full-time jobs. If you, and any co-parents, have full-time jobs, it is very difficult to manage your children’s online schooling program from home at the same time.

Most homeschoolers have at least one guardian that isn’t working or they have parents with flexible work schedules. For example, I work from home and I reduced my work schedule to about 20 hours per week when I started homeschooling, so I have plenty of time manage our day. Our family had the opportunity, in advance, to plan how homeschooling would work.

2. Curriculum and Scheduling

Most pandemic schooling parents are following a curriculum and schedule that have been provided by their school. This means families have little or no input on the flow of their day or what their children are learning.

Homeschoolers have the freedom to decide whether or not to use a curriculum (FYI, our family doesn’t follow a curriculum). If a homeschool family decides to use a curriculum, they select which one, and how much of it to follow. Homeschool parents also get to decide which days and times they will homeschool. If we want to start learning at 6:00 am, we can. Start at 10:00 am? Yes! If we want to skip a day of school altogether, no problem! This is much less stressful than following a curriculum and schedule that’s been forced upon us by the government during a pandemic.

3. Stress and Mental Health

Many families are feeling the stress of the pandemic. Perhaps you’ve lost your job or you’ve lost a loved one. Maybe quarantining or ‘stay at home’ orders are taking a toll on your family’s mental health. This makes managing ‘school from home’ very hard.

Normally, homeschooling families decide under positive circumstances to keep their kids home with them. Furthermore, there are normally many weekday homeschool programs and events that homeschool families attend. Many of these are currently closed due to the pandemic; however; homeschoolers know that when this is all over, these wonderful events and programs will re-open.

If you’re feeling stressed, you aren’t alone. Many people are feeling this way. We find that daily exercise goes a long way towards helping with mental (and physical!) health. In our area, public parks are open, and we visit them often for exercise, fresh air and a change of scenery (see a list here). Try ditching school for a few days, get outdoors and have fun – your kids will love it, and they will easily catch up on school later, we promise!

We’re All in This Together

If anyone is struggling with pandemic schooling, don’t go it alone. Reach out to us at hello@happyhomeskool.com for support or join the Facebook parent groups that we’ve listed here at the bottom of the page. One of the parent groups is specifically focused on COVID schooling in Canada.

If you’re looking for fun ways to spend family time at home, check out our post about Family Theme Nights. If you’re looking for more tips on surviving pandemic schooling, read our prior post here.

Overall, be kind to yourself – pandemic schooling is hard and it’s definitely not the same as homeschooling. Just do the best you can. If coming out of this with your sanity is all that your family can manage, then that’s an amazing achievement in itself.

We’ve shared this quote in past, and we love it so much that we’re sharing it again:

Quote of the Day:

“Dear Parents, Don’t stress about schoolwork. When school resumes I will get your children back on track. I am a teacher and that’s my superpower. What I can’t fix is social-emotional trauma that prevents the brain from learning. So right now, I just need you to share your calm, share your strength, and share your laughter with your children. No kids are ahead. No kids are behind. Your children are exactly where they need to be.”
― WITH LOVE, TEACHERS EVERYWHERE

Happy Homeskooling!

Lisa & Mara

The most common concern I receive about our decision to homeschool is “How is Mara socialized?” As annoying as this question may be, I would have asked something similar before we started researching the benefits of homeschooling. Homeschooling and socialization is a topic that’s frequently discussed.

I could quote study after study demonstrating that homeschooled children are often better socialized than children in school. Instead, let’s start by discussing the two main definitions of socialization:

The activity of mixing socially with others.
The process of learning to behave in a way that is acceptable to society.

Let’s start with the first definition, “the activity of mixing socially with others”. A homeschooler interacts with their parents, siblings, extended family, friends of the family and their children, neighbours, fellow homeschoolers, clergy members, community members and others. Most homeschooled children mix socially as much as children registered in school.

Happy Homeskool - Mara and friends on a hike — Mara and friends on a hike

As for the second definition, “the process of learning to behave in a way that is acceptable to society”, I would argue that homeschoolers are better socialized in this manner than children attending school. Children at school are surrounded by peers of their own age that may be bullies or may not share your family’s values.

When I attended public school, many kids engaged in bullying behaviour, swore, had temper tantrums when they didn’t get their way and much more. By high school, many kids smoked, consumed drugs, vandalized buildings and more. Nowadays, you can add the issues of addiction to devices, video games and social media to this list as well.

Some peers are positive role models, but if you think back, you probably remember the bullies. When children are at school, they’re exposed to these negative behaviours. At home, you can build up their self-worth. You can model kindness, generosity and love.

Happy Homeskool Blog - Mara having lunch with her Great Grandmother — Mara having lunch with her Great Grandmother

Furthermore, what does “acceptable to society” actually mean? We want our children to be kind, but what about social activism? What if you teach your child to: march in the streets to support climate change efforts, fight against an unfair law, stand up for a marginalized community, question their boss when he or she does something unethical, question religious doctrine if it doesn’t feel right, or to accept themselves and come out as gay or trans? I ask you; are these behaviours “acceptable to society”?

Behaving in a socially acceptable manner isn’t always the right thing to do, often it’s just what’s comfortable. Through homeschooling, we are socializing Mara not to accept the world for what it is, but to imagine and stand up for what it could be. We teach her to create her own path instead of following in society’s footsteps. If this means that Mara isn’t properly socialized, then so be it – we’re anti-social and proud!

Happy Homeskool - Mara at basketball practice — Mara at basketball practice

If you’d like to learn more about homeschooling and socialization, check out the studies at this link:
https://ontariohomeschool.org/about-homeschooling/socialization/

Quote of the Day:

The idea that children need to be around many other youngsters in order to be “socialized” is perhaps the most dangerous and extravagant myth in education and child rearing today.”
― Dr. Raymond Moore – Educator, Researcher and Homeschool Advocate

Happy Homeskooling!

Lisa & Mara

Pandemic Schooling is Hard – Be Kind to Yourself!

Homeschooling and Socialization

Homeschool Facts

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