When we first began homeschooling, we met some pushback. Granted this was long before homeschooling became en vogue and the explosion occurred, but the one thing that seemed to ‘calm’ the fears other people were having was that we were (per their assumption) going to send the kids to public high school. (No, it was never my intention to send them back to school unless it became clear to us, mom and dad, that it was a necessary change, but why pick a fight years before you have to?)
Fast forward nearly fifteen years and we’ve experienced an explosion of the homeschooling community like no one could have predicted (thank you, covid). We still got asked occasionally if they kids were going to high school, but simply said they were flourishing at home. One son did do dual enrollment, and that was the right fit for him. Another did votech classes at the local community college – again the right fit – but both boys also took several classes at home as well.
A lot of folks seem to be intimidated by the idea of homeschooling their teens through high school and graduation. They don’t think they can do the academics. They don’t think they have the patience to be around their teens that much. Yet there are so many FANTASTIC reasons to love homeschooling your teens!!!
Kids learn to work independently. Some of the most important things for our kids to learn are work ethic, how to learn, how to ask for help, and independence. (I realize the last two seem counter to each other, but each is important.) With these, a person can go much further than someone who has memorized a lot of academic facts without mastering these four skills. As teens, our kids are learning to step away from the nest, take responsibility for their learning, and find their own groove. This will help them as they move to college or career, since mom and dad aren’t going to be there at every step to ensure they wake up, get to places on time, and do whatever they’ve been assigned. Instilling these four life skills will help them, regardless of the post-graduation path.
Kids are exposed to less peer pressure. True, there will still be times they are exposed to peer pressure through extracurricular activities, events, and other classes (like dual enrollment). But much like a plant that is allowed to grow indoor for a bit before being hardened off in the spring, the longer we are able to protect that innocence in our kids, the more they will have a chance to learn who they are (and be comfortable enough to express that individuality) and what they believe before facing this tough world.
Rest and health are prioritized. Most teens in public schools are not getting enough sleep. Circadian rhythms aren’t really a priority for school systems, who have to juggle running the busses and employing teachers that have students of their own in the system. However, homeschooled teens have the chance to sleep late, getting the rest they need as their bodies undergo this rapid period of growth and change. They can work within their natural rhythms, being the early birds or night owls they were born to be!
Parents can still help mold character. I can remember being out and about and always being told how well-behaved my children were…and thinking, don’t all children act this way? Sadly, the answer to that question is no, they don’t. It’s not something we saw on a regular basis, however, and those bad character habits weren’t impressed upon our kids. (This is not to say that all kids who go to school have poor character, so don’t read that into it.) As parents, we were able to help guide and shape behaviors based on being there regularly to provide consistent feedback.
Family time and togetherness are a regular thing. While it’s true that we are occasionally all running in opposite directions as the kids have gotten older, we are all home and together during the day and ‘school time.’ This includes breakfast, morning meeting (yes, it’s even a thing at this age), and reading time. Mom has breakfast earlier and we still read books together, aloud, as a family during breakfast time. After breakfast, everyone cleans the kitchen (and if needs be, the house) together and we have a morning meeting to go over what’s happening during the day. Siblings get to be silly together, and pester each other, and there is a genuine feeling of doing life together.
There is time to read for enjoyment. True, there is also required reading for history, science, language arts, and other subjects, but there is also time to read for fun. I started reading to the kids when they were babies, and have been reading aloud to them ever since. (See the above point on family time and togetherness.) We’ve acted out so many different stories! Today, they are also big readers themselves, choosing a ‘fun book’ to read at night, on the weekends, on rainy days, and just whenever they feel like a school break. Fiction, non-fiction, mystery, history…a little bit of everything dots their reading lists.
Conversations, both deep and superficial, are ongoing. As I write this, I’ve just hung up the phone with my oldest, at college, who called because he has something weighing heavily on his mind and wanted to ‘talk a bit while he had time.’ During the teen years, there are so many swirling thoughts as they undergo physical and psychological changes, begin seeing some of the not-so-pretty stuff the world has to offer, and try to navigate their own way through all of these things. Having a parent available, and feeling comfortable enough to have those conversation with them, are not luxuries every kid has, but I like to think that homeschoolers have a leg up here, since we spend so much more time during these formative years travelling alongside them…through the little things and into the big things.
There is time to explore special interests. Whether it’s a musical instrument, a potential career path, or an extracurricular, homeschooled teens tend to have a little more wiggle room in their school day to fit in special interest activities. That might look like a part-time job, an internship or volunteer position, more practice time for athletics or music, or (in the case of one of our teens) time to spend in the shop combining his loves of history and tools.
Check out this unique special interest from one homeschooled teen!
Both breaks and spontaneity are factored into the week. Taking field trips and spontaneous fun aren’t just limited to the elementary school years. Middle and high school kids love getting outdoors, going to the park or field, and enjoying the day, too! Sometimes, granted, this also looks like putting school aside to do chores as a family (splitting wood in winter, cleaning house in spring, raking leaves in fall, etc), but it’s a break from the routine. If they want to take a break and work on special interests, there’s time for that, too. And when dad was travelling quite a bit, we were able to work homeschooling around that to spend all of that time exploring the world together as a family.
Interested in roadschooling? Find out how easy it is to get started (even part-time)!
Finally, as the homeschooling mom, my hands-down favorite part about homeschooling teens is those private, quiet moments. Hugs throughout the day. That kind gesture when they bring me the coffee I sat down and forgot. Sitting together on the front porch swing and having a one-on-one discussion after lunch…just because. These intimate moments are possible because of the relaxed nature of our days, which homeschooling allows us, and it’s absolutely the best.
