In 1989, the year I entered kindergarten as a homeschool student, there were approximately 1,385 homeschool households in my home state of North Carolina.
There are currently over 100,000 homeschool households in North Carolina, and the numbers continue to grow.
In fact, so many people tried to register their new homeschools in North Carolina in July 2020 that the DNPE website crashed!
North Carolina is not alone in this phenomenon. Across the country homeschooling has continued to grow at a rapid rate, although the explosion of new homeschools during the course of 2020 is certainly remarkable, if unsurprising.
Currently in the United States approximately 3 percent of all children are homeschooled.
When I was a child, the assertion “I’m homeschooled” often got a side-eye response. Now? Almost everyone I meet knows someone who has been homeschooled, even before virtual schooling made the term somewhat ambiguous.
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Looking back and looking forward across homeschool generations
Over the past several decades of my life I’ve lived in and among the homeschool community, first as a student and now as a homeschool parent.
I’ve seen the homeschool pioneers who often jumped into this adventure with little more than a library card and faith:
- Those brave moms and dads who homeschooled without the internet.
- Who faced endless questions about their credentials for teaching their children.
- They endlessly rebuffed concerns about socialization.
- Who, at times, faced legal battles to protect our right to educate our own children at home.
They have my undying respect!
I’ve seen the homeschool parents of today who, standing on the shoulders of giants, continue to pursue a robust, creative, beautiful education for their own children.
When I was young, there were a handful of homeschool publishers and curriculum providers who would sell to homeschool families.
Now, of course, there are more resources than we know what to do with! The internet overflows with ideas and suggestions and unique perspectives. No matter your unique homeschool niche, you can probably find an online homeschool community or resource that fits your need!
Over the years I’ve also definitely seen my share of homeschool flops and missteps. I’ve seen homeschool heroes who have proven to be no saviors at all, but wolves in sheep’s clothing. I’ve seen the homeschool community forced to face the fact that homeschooling won’t save our children, and that a home education is no guarantee of either their safety/holiness or ours.
I began to wonder: what could we all learn from one another?
If we explored the combined wisdom, experience, enthusiasm, and innovation from multiple generations of homeschoolers, what might we discover?
That is at the heart of this Homeschool Generations blog series.
I want you to imagine that we’re all gathered together in my living room with our favorite hot beverages and yummy baked treats… retired veteran mamas, 2nd-generation homeschoolers, and enthusiastic newbies.
We’re all so very different. Our stories vary, our family structures don’t look the same, our homeschools follow unique paths.
We do, however, share this beautiful, messy, exciting, terrifying homeschool adventure in common!
And perhaps the very things that make us different can help us see the things we share in fresh, new ways.
In my weekly “Homeschool Conversations with Humility and Doxology” podcast, I speak to a wide range of homeschool moms, dads, and other educators on all sorts of different topics that affect our lives as homeschoolers. Each week I’m inspired, encouraged, and challenged by the perspectives my guests bring.
I can’t hold a gigantic group podcast meeting with you all, but I can gather personal stories from a variety of homeschoolers and share them with you here!
What you can expect from this Homeschool Generations Series:
- In this introduction, I’ll share a little of my own story and perspective.
- For part 2, I’ll interview a few veteran homeschool parents and share the lessons they have learned.
- In part 3, I’ll ask several 2nd-generation homeschoolers to share their perspective.
- Finally in part 4, we’ll reflect on what we’ve learned and we’ll look forward to the future generations of homeschoolers.
My 2nd-generation homeschool story
I was homeschooled all the way through high school graduation alongside my younger brother. Our family was imperfect, sinful, and had our own brand of crazy (don’t we all?). But, by God’s grace, I came away with a very positive homeschool experience.
I think, especially, my parents’ passionate enthusiasm for learning, for history, and for seeing how all subjects are intertwined has had a tremendous impact on the way I homeschool my own children.
My husband was also homeschooled through the 7th grade. Even before we were married, we discussed homeschooling our own children. We were excited for the academic flexibility homeschooling offers, the family relationships that could flourish, and the ability to integrate our faith in every aspect of our children’s education.
(John once actually allowed me to interview him for a He Said/ She Said post exploring our similar-but-different reasons for homeschooling, and you can read more of his perspective there.)
Of course, coming into homeschooling as a young mom? I was going to replicate all the good things my parents did, avoid all their mistakes, and be a perfect homeschool mom. {{Ahem}}
Yep, you can go ahead and laugh!
God loved me enough to humble me and remind me that my identity is found in the work of Christ on my behalf, not my ability to be a perfect homeschool mom.
(If you want to hear more of my own 2nd-generation homeschool mom story, listen to my chat with Misty Bailey here.)
What I love about being a 2nd-generation homeschooler
Something I love about being a 2nd-generation homeschooler? I love that thinking outside the box is as natural to me as breathing!
I’ve always been a rebel. I’ve never done anything the expected or usual way! In fact, if “everyone is doing it,” I have an instinctual impulse to run the other way.
So when it comes to educating my own children? Deschooling has never been an issue! I don’t feel the need for my kids or our homeschool program to fit inside anyone else’s box.
I have the confidence to make my own academic choices; to educate my children in creative, textbook-free ways; and to relish the full flexibility that homeschooling affords me.
I’ve seen homeschooling work. I’ve seen the good and I’ve seen some of the bad. But I know it’s worth it.
I often say that homeschooling is the best hard thing I do.
Reflecting on my homeschool heritage
I’ve written more about the most important lessons I’ve learned from both my homeschooling mom and mother-in-law in a “Thanks, Moms” post I wrote a few years ago. You can read the full thing here, but I think it is fitting to close this Homeschool Generations introductory post with this excerpt:
“Neither of these lovely ladies is perfect, and their homeschools certainly weren’t either. But isn’t that the gospel, after all? Our gracious God takes bent twigs and flickering wicks, using them for His glory and His children’s good! My moms are beautiful “plantings of the Lord for the display of his splendor” (Is 61:3). This is of such profound encouragement to me as I remain deep in the trenches! God is taking all our unique abilities and failures as homeschool moms and forming a beautiful tapestry to display His splendor, not our own.
By God’s grace, John and I have taken these lessons and many others from our moms. We’ve created a funky collage with elements from our homes of origin, new homeschool mentors, and our own quirky perspectives on life.
Our homeschool doesn’t look exactly like either of the homeschools from which we came. I am not exactly like my mom or my mom-in-law in personality or educational style, and our day-to-day education reflects these differences.
But I am ever more convinced each year that most things that arise organically within our education, or bring joy and peace to our homeschool, owe so much to these two women: my moms and my mentors.”
I can’t wait to share the rest of this blog series with you! Look for Part 2 here on The Curriculum Choice in May.
In the meantime, I’d love to connect with you over at HumilityandDoxology.com, on Facebook, or on Instagram.
And, of course, you can hear more homeschooling stories and encouragement each week on my Homeschool Conversations podcast.
Comment below and share your own homeschool story!
I’d love to know: When and why did you start homeschooling? Have your motivations changed over time?
We started homeschooling because we wanted our oldest to start school earlier than her birthday would allow, but after we got into it we realized that there were so many more important things and ultimately opted for a slow childhood which is pretty funny. I love what you wrote and look forward to reading the rest.
That’s such a good reminder and encouragement, too. How we think about homeschooling when we start doesn’t have to be the same way we think about it forever. ❤ Homeschooling grows us as parents just as much as our kids!
I am also a 2nd Generation homeschool mom. Although I started in the public school system my mom took me out in the 8th grade and I homeschooled from then through highschool. My husband and I decided that because of the schools that were in our area we would homeschool. Our decision was to take it one year at a time and then each year evaluate where we are and whether we should continue or look into other options. That was in 2005 and here I am in my 16th year. My oldest two have graduated from homeschool and are in college and my youngest is in her junior year and we are still homeschooling. I give God all the glory for our success.
Wow! I am only a 1st generation homeschooler, and I wonder what my kids will choose. I definitely agree that homeschooling brings out the child’s unique qualities giving them the confidence to think outside the box.
My daughter and I were just going over the Science Fair projects she did throughout the years. We only did them the years when there was a topic she genuinely wanted to pursue, and skipped it when she found nothing close to her heart. She also steered away from the list provided on the Science Fair website, because she wanted it to be personal. Therefore the years she participated in science Fair, she persevered more because it meant so much to her.
Finally, I think homeschooling offers the parents a chance to guide their kids through God’s foot steps who has created them Psalm 139:14. It is hard but with much prayer, we can make more good choices than mistakes.
Thank you for sharing this story! What an encouragement!