Are You Like - One Of Those Homeschooled Kids?

Earlier today while my children were playing at the park, a little girl asked our daughter "H", "Are you like - one of those homeschooled kids?" "H" busted out in laughter, and said, "I'm not like one of them, I am one of them!" The little girl was obviously satistfied with "H's" answer and they ran off to play together. She asked "H" this question because we were at the park around lunch time - and so was she. She told "H" that she was allowed to stay home from school and asked "H" if she was also staying home from school. Thus, the question.

As I watched "H" and this young lady play, it made me wonder what had the little girl heard about homeschoolers? If it was anything like the things I heard about homeschoolers growing up, it sure was not anything good. I began to let my mind wander about the stigmas I had grown up with that represented homeschoolers. Thinking back to a conversation I had with my mother, I specifically remember her telling me that homeschooled children were "strange" and "usually pretty smart." I began to laugh out loud as many more thoughts were racing through my mind. Are my children strange? Are they pretty smart? They seem to fit into any situation they are put into - even all the way around the world in Germany - a country that we are foreigners in.

Then it all hit me, my mom, like most people are very misinformed when it comes to what homeschooling is. Actually, most people who have children in their homes that they care for, are homeschooling them to some degree. If you teach your children how to make their beds, how to use their manners, help them with their math, sing to them, read them books, show them how to cook, go for a walk, or any number of other things, YOU ARE homeschooling your children. So what our "homeschooling" family does is not much different than what most parents do - we teach our children about life through experiential learning guided by curriculum - but more importantly in an atmosphere full of love. I guess the main difference is that we do it "full time." Either way, homeschooling is something that is widely misunderstood and part of the purpose of this blog is to clarify the misconceptions :)

Thank you for allowing me to share a piece of our homeschool life with you today! What stigmas do you have about homeschoolers? Leave a comment and let us know :)