When I decided to homeschool my son, I had already been teaching junior high for a couple of years. My son was in kindergarten when the pandemic began, and over the summer, I decided we’d both stay home in the fall. I transitioned to working from home as an online tutor and figured out the world of homeschooling as we went.
Academically, my son really thrived under homeschooling
I enrolled him in the local virtual school so that he had a teacher separate from me, as well as classmates he met online weekly. As his designated learning coach, it was my responsibility to keep him on track with the curriculum and help him with his assignments.
The one-on-one attention I gave him for his schoolwork is impossible to recreate in group learning. As a tutor, I could provide that same attention to my students online. But as a classroom teacher, I had an average of 25 students in each of my seven classes, and providing the same level of attention to each student is not realistic. With my son, I could basically be his personal tutor for up to four hours a day.
Homeschooling gave us a lot of freedom
I never believed in the rigorous eight-hour school day, so I loved designing our week the way I felt was best for my son. I adopted a four-day school week, allowing him to take Friday through Sunday off from all formal schoolwork. Depending on the school day, we would sometimes switch his schoolwork to the afternoon if, for example, we went to the zoo or beach in the morning.
Beyond his classwork, I focused on his interests at the time and supported those curiosities with opportunities for hands-on learning. For instance, he was really into learning about different animals, so we spent a lot of time at nature sanctuaries and science museums. I knew from my teaching experience that tapping into a student’s interests directly impacts their engagement and learning.
Even though we loved some aspects, homeschooling had its downsides
My son was spending most of his time with adults, and while this was wonderful for his conversational skills, I knew he needed more time around his own peers. I could tell he was really starting to miss that, since prior to homeschooling, he had already been in school for a few years. I tried filling his social gap with classes in the community for homeschooled students, karate after school, and library programs. But it still wasn’t making up for the social aspect of going to school every day with his peers.
I also had very little personal time. After working from home and homeschooling my son for two years, I didn’t know when to stop working anymore. My home life melded with my work life and my son’s schooling. Even when I had to work, I felt guilty because I worried my son might get bored or feel lonely. I never felt like I could take any time for myself because I felt my son needed more of my attention to make up for him not going to school every day.
We both went back to in-person school with varying results
When my son returned to in-person school, he loved interacting with friends again, but I saw his academic effort decline. His adjustment to whole-group learning was painful at times, but the independence he gained in tracking his own schoolwork is a gift he would not have developed at home with me as his personal learning coach. Plus, since he thrives in peer environments and school sports, in-person school was clearly the better fit for him.
And while I thought I was dying to get back to work in the classroom, I loathed it compared to working from home. The difference in stress levels and the effect that had on my health was now too glaring for me to ignore. After struggling for a couple of school years, I left my teaching career for good and became a full-time writer from home.
My son has been back in school for four years now, but I still think I helped him thrive at a crucial time in his academic development. I don’t regret our homeschooling period at all because I view it as a unique experience we’ll always be able to refer to. I’m proud of us for trying out a different lifestyle together. But I’m even more proud of being able to choose what was best for each of us in the end.
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