This video popped up on Facebook a couple weeks ago, and it had me giggling all the way through. I give you Seven Lies about Homeschoolers.
Do you have preconceived ideas about homeschoolers? Don’t be shy, let’s hear ’em!
Have any of you homeschooling parents out there run face-first into these (or other) misconceptions?
Let’s dish!
Myndi Shafer 
I think parents who can homeschool their kids are great. One of my best friends homeschooled her kids. Now they do remind me of the geeky kid in the video…JUST KIDDING! They’re very normal kids…who are likely more intelligent than their public-schooled buddies.
LOL!
Oh, this was a riot! When he dressed up as the kid in the red vest I nearly lost it. Especially during the church scene.
I think I only have one preconceived notion – that if you’re home schooled, you’re incredibly smart. I know that isn’t necessarily true, but all of the friends that I have that were schooled at home are extremely intelligent. And it makes sense, doesn’t it? Who wouldn’t thrive on that kind of one-on-one attention.
Thanks for sharing, Myndi!
It’s funny, because when we were considering jumping into the homeschooling pool, this was my biggest concern, and my BIGGEST misconception! I was never afraid that they’d be socially awkward – the Hubster and I are both pretty outgoing, and figured that couldn’t help but be passed on to the kids. It was the notion that homeschoolers automatically have to become rocket scientists or brain surgeons. If they didn’t, I would have failed their *obvious* inherent genius. BLARG. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve locked myself in the bathroom crying because my youngest boy was struggling with math, or because my oldest couldn’t get the hang of latin (which I have since cut, on the wise advice from the hubster). I was terrified of failing them in some way. It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that, (a) they don’t need to be able to read the Illyad in it’s native language (yep, Greek was on my list of things to teach, too), and (b) that each kid is different.
I have to admit, I pretty much thought all of those things, except about the pajamas. I imagined homeschoolers wore those full body underwear things to school. Or over-alls. The guy in the vest is exactly the picture I’ve always had of homeschoolers. We didn’t really have any homeschoolers in the neighborhood where I grew up.
Oh my gosh, Emma, you have me giggling so hard! How about over-alls voer the full body underwear?? 🙂 My boys would be appalled at the thought of wearing overalls…
Okay, but confession time. I was the nerd in school who wore overalls. I thought I was oh-so-uber-very-artsy-fartsy. Geeze, I’m glad I’m not that insecure teenager anymore!
Freaking AWESOME!! He’s hilarious! That’s a great video to de-bunk those homeschooling rumors. I haven’t thought too much about homeschooling myself mostly because, I know there’s no way I’m cut out for it. I know full well, I’d be terrible as a homeschooling parent. I can barely do the housework and other parenting responsibilities as it is….which reminds me….I’m off to call a maid service……
Hahahaha! In homeschool we call housework HOME ECONOMICS. 🙂 I seriously haven’t pushed a vacuum in months. My boys’ future wives are gonna love me for teaching them how to clean! (‘Course, my boys might end up resenting me…it’s a chance I was willing to risk)
I love this! My best friend homeschools her three kids, so I’m going to send this to her. She’ll find it hilarious.
I used to wish growing up that my mom would homeschool us because I had a friend who was homeschooled and she loved it. Unfortunately, my mom had to work part-time to pay the bills so my brother and I went to regular school.
I’m so blessed to be able to stay home, for sure. Sometimes the sacrifices we make to do it suck, but I’m just so grateful that we have enough ‘fat’ to trim to be able to do it. 🙂
OMG LOVE it!!!!!!!!
Too frikkin funny! I know lots of kids who are homeschooled and while I could never do that with my kids (we’d be at Disneyland every single day, seriously), I admire those who can.
Both of my kids have gone to traditional and not so traditional schools – my daughter decided in 10th grade she was ‘over’ the drama and bullies in high school, so she did independent study, which is basically homeschooling, but she had to meet with an instructor twice a week. She did awesome! In fact, she graduated a year early and was top of her class. Hahaha, that was a joke because she was the only one in her class, get it? Oh, nevermind. By the way, the school she went to is the same one Shaun White, the awesome snowboarder, went to!
My son went to traditional school until 3rd grade when we switched him to an International Baccalaureate school. It’s still ‘traditional’, but more like Montessori – hands on, project based learning. Loved it! So for 6th & 7th grade he went to a charter IB school and we would’ve stayed there until he graduated high school, but the superintendent changed everything, basically making the school a money maker and not IB. He even took out Honors and AP classes in the high school. Really? What a turd.
So now my son’s at the traditional middle school and loving it.
We’ve always told our kids, you’ll get out of school what you put into it. Whether home, independent, charter, IB, or whatever kind of school. It’s how hard they work that matters in the long run.
If we lived near Disneyland, I would seriously find a way to do school FROM there. For reals. Just like when we lived in HI, I was fully willing to do whatever it took to homeschool from the beach. Those were the sacrifices I was willing to make. 🙂 🙂
I love hearing your kiddo’s education stories! You’re ABSOLUTELY right. Education is a big, big field that needs planted. How you work the soil, tend the seeds, etc, determines the harvest. (yee-haw, farm-girl analogy)
Ok, I about spit my waffles all over the computer…LMAO. I was home schooled all the way through, and it still makes me laugh when people ask if I had problems becoming social…that’s why I blog…because I hate interaction. You..yes you…stop looking at me!
You are QUITE the anti-social troll, Miss Paige!! 🙂
Homeschooling is a decision I’ll have to make in the coming years with California education being so far down the crapper. I don’t have any of those myths in my head, I just worry about whether I’m cut out for it. Talk about hard…
Totally understand. We first started thinking about it while we were living in Hawaii. REALLY bad public schools out there, and private education was just out of reach. When we moved to KS we had more options, and our oldest ended up going to private one year, public the next, but we decided to give homeschool a chance for a year. So far it’s stuck. I think, though, that we’ll be bringing it to a close either this year or the next. The oldest is longing for a classroom situation, and his little bro is never far behind. If you ever want someone to talk to about it, Jenny, I’m here for you!! I DEFINITELY don’t have all the answers, but I know how scary a decision it can be!
Homeschooling in the pajamas! HECK YES, IT ROCKED! I homeschooled from halfway through 4th grade through 8th grade. It seriously rocked! I could often get all my work done for the day in an hour or two then have the rest of the day to do whatever I wanted! Ah, those lovely, carefree days.
Hey Em! Was it hard for you to adjust to going to high school? I’m curious what your take is…
Hilarious, Myndi. I haven’t ran across it on Facebook so thanks for sharing it here.
I don’t think I could homeschool, I’m just not made for it. And, I’m sure, my kids appreciate me not trying 🙂
Trust me, I have my days where I want to throw in the towel. 🙂 It’s definitely been a lesson in personal limits/boundaries!
Oh, Myndi, the video is priceless. LOL! I know several women who have homeschooled their children, and I know several children who have been homeschooled. I think they’re not only awesome, but it’s admirable!
I think it depends on the child–some kids thrive with one on one attention. We came really close to homeschooling my daughter, because she has auditory processing issues and needs one on one. But then again her personality thrives in groups, so I worried about not being able to find enough homeschooling activities with other kids.
Parenting is hard, right? lol Good thing they come out so yummy and cute!!
I home schooled my kids for years- it was so interesting to see people’s reactions. i actually belonged to a non-secular group- the others in town you have to sign a covenant of faith and not being Christian I couldn’t do that. So I belong to the tree hugging hippie home schooling group- but I got adds for books on how to teach your daughter to be a proper Christian wife. My hubby said he was going to order it- I would be a divorced woman right now if he had.
LMAO!!! Alica, that is just too hilarious. I graduated from a pretty strict Christian private school that had a mandatory class for senior girls called ‘Home and Family’. Basically a prep for us to become uber fabulous conservative wives. I passed, but with a D-. TOTALLY blew my average. My parents kept the report card and showed the Hubster when he came to ask for my dad’s permission to marry me. It didn’t scare him off. 🙂 🙂 🙂 I love me my Jesus, but I’ve always felt more at home in the tree-hugging-hippie groups than the others.
How old were your kiddos when you started/stopped homeschooling? Very curious, as we’re trying to figure out when a good time to transition is…
I love that your parents kept your D from good wife class LOL!
When my son was 14 he said he wanted to go to Annapolis for college- and I was doing laid back hippie homeschooling as I bought The Well Trained Mind, then $200 worth of books and made a color coded schedule and could not get his ass out of bed. At that time I was working so I had from 9am-3pm off to work with him and he wouldn’t get up then sat and pouted and wouldn’t work. So in a fit a fury I called a charter school and signed him up- he wound up getting into a private school the next year- than goodness for scholarships!
My daughter went to school the next year at 10 because my work was so overwhelming that half the time I just wanted to sleep while I was off and I wasn’t giving her what she needed but next year we’re going back to homeschooling because all the middle schools around here suck.
I am jealous of homeschoolers. I would have loved to do this with my daughter, she is very very smart and I don`t think school is challenging enough for her.
But she and I are like oil and water. She has never from a year old, liked to have me tell her what to do. So, I thought it best she go learn from someone else sadly.
Lol, that’s awesome. I was homeschooled junior high through high school, and I may have done it in my pajamas a few times, but that made me feel lazy. I’d get all my work done early and wait for the neighbor kids to come home so we could hang out. I’m sure their mother hated me. 😛
But I am very thankful I was kept away from the drugs, sex, and violence at public schools. Socially awkward? Maybe sometimes. But I’ll take emotionally healthy any day.
Love this!!!! I’ve homeschooled my kids (now 10 and 8) from the beginning, and we love it and, yes, the best is the School In Your Pajamas thing. I wish my kids would get up at 6 to finish school and then go build a tire swing, but alas, our yard has no trees (new suburb) and my kids are not early risers.
We’re fortunate to live in an area w/o too many preconceived notions about HS’ers, probably b/c there are a gobzillion of us in the community (central Texas)
Favorite line: You spend 8 hours a day in the same classroom and *I’m* the one with no life??? (SNORT!)
🙂 My kids aren’t early risers, either, which suits me just fine.
We live in SC Kansas, so there are a lot of homeschoolers here, too, but the stereotype is still strong, nonetheless. 🙂