The back-to-school season always reminds me why I love homeschooling my kids so much

When I think back to before we started homeschooling, I am filled with anxiety at recalling the stacks of paperwork and long lists of and tell them I don’t think I could have been a homeschool mom when my kids were younger. Preschoolers are exhausting, and early elementary-aged kids need structure. I doubt we’d have had as much success with homeschooling had my kids not been 10 and 12 when we started.

Though I found the back-to-school grind stressful as a young mom, I also relied on public school to teach my kids independence in their early years. I’m grateful we put in some years of organized schooling, and I wouldn’t change it, even though things like shopping for school supplies and filling out endless paperwork filled me with dread each year.

Homeschooling has given my family so much

Each year, as I plan out our homeschool curriculum, I ask both of my kids if they want to keep homeschooling or return to public school. What we’re doing works great for me, but it’d be selfish to keep them from an experience they wanted to have just to keep my anxiety levels lower. So far, my kids have said they love homeschooling and the opportunities it’s provided them, so we press on with in-home education.

There’s a misconception that homeschooled kids miss out on things like after-school activities and rites of passage like prom. That’s simply not true. Within our homeschool community, my kids have attended special dances, acted in musicals, taken art classes, and tried their hand at sports. Other than paperwork and stress, I don’t feel we’ve lost much by homeschooling.

What we’ve gained by homeschooling, however, has been invaluable to my family. Because we homeschool, we have more time to travel together as a family, and my kids have the unique opportunity to get laser-focused on things they’re passionate about while putting aside non-required school subjects they aren’t keen on. Our lives are more stress-free as a homeschool family, and I feel closer to my kids after spending so much time with them over the last few years.