KIDS: Read this! I Was Homeschooled… Let Me Teach You a Few Tricks!
Hey kids!
I'm going to let you in on a little secret.
I was homeschooled, and I LOVED it.
Yep. I did all my school at home (+ 1 year at ‘real’ school - UGHH!! What a waste of time!), just like you might be doing, or might be trying to convince your parents to let you do, or maybe they’re the ones trying to convince you!
At the time, I knew I was onto a good thing because of the reaction I got when I told people I was homeschooled - “What?! You don’t have to go to school!!?” …followed by, “Wait - do you get homework?” I knew then what I know now - there are some pretty awesome perks to being homeschooled.
So, here's my list of things that make homeschooling great. And because I'm on your side, I've thrown in a few deals you should probably negotiate with your parents.
You're welcome. 😉
1. School in Your PJs. Obviously.
Imagine getting up in the morning and NOT having to get dressed.
No uniforms. No itchy socks. No hunting for missing shoes.
Just you, your maths book and your favourite pair of pyjamas.
The deal: Ask Mum if Fridays can officially be declared Pyjama School Days. Bonus points if she's wearing hers too.
2. Theme Parks WITHOUT the Queues!
You know what's better than going to a theme park?
Going on a random day when everyone else is at school. Half the joy is knowing all the other kids in Australia are sitting behind a desk somewhere, dreaming of being where you are in that exact moment!
No two-hour wait for a 45-second ride. No enormous crowds. Just you, the rollercoasters and possibly the same ride six times in a row.
The deal: Ask your parents if you can plan a midweek adventure every so often, once you've finished a big chunk of schoolwork.
3. Christmas Holidays Start In November!
Here's something worth negotiating.
If you work hard, stay on track and finish your year's schoolwork early, why should you be rewarded with… MORE SCHOOLWORK?!
That's like finishing your dinner and being given another plate of broccoli.
The deal: Before the year starts, ask Mum or Dad: "If I finish all my work properly and ahead of schedule, can we agree that I get an early holiday instead of extra work?"
Get that agreement in writing, people! 😂
4. Your Parents Are Saving a FORTUNE. Time to Negotiate.
Think about it.
No expensive school uniforms.
No school fees.
No fancy lunchboxes.
No replacing the approximately 3,000 water bottles that mysteriously disappear every year.
And don't even get me started on school shoes.
Surely there's a little room in the budget for something fun?
The deal: Is there a sport, musical instrument, art class, horse riding lesson or other activity you've been dying to try? Ask if some of those savings could go towards it.
Don't demand it (be polite and respectful, duh!). Just casually mention the water bottles. 😉
5. NO HOMEWORK!
You know that awful feeling when you've finished school for the day and then someone tells you you've still got homework?
Yeah. No thanks.
When you're homeschooled, your schoolwork IS your homework.
Once it's done, it's done.
No second shift at the kitchen table after dinner.
The deal: Agree on what needs to be finished each day. Once you've done it properly, you're officially off duty.
6. Slow Mornings Are a Beautiful Thing.
Picture this.
You wake up naturally. No alarm screaming at you.
You wander into the kitchen.
Mum's making eggs on toast. There's a hot chocolate involved.
You sit around chatting, maybe stay in your PJs a little longer, and eventually wander over to start school at 9am.
No frantic yelling about shoes. No mad dash out the door. No eating breakfast in the car.
Just a lovely, slow start.
BUT… this brings me to number 7.
7. OR… Be a Genius and Start at 6am.
Hear me out.
What if you woke up at 6am, got straight into your schoolwork, absolutely SMASHED it out in two hours and were finished by 8am?
EIGHT. IN. THE. MORNING.
While everyone else is just getting started, you're already planning your day of freedom.
Bike rides. LEGO. Drawing. Backyard cricket. Building something ridiculous. Whatever you're into.
The deal: Ask your parents if you can have flexible school hours. If you've finished everything properly, can the rest of the day be yours?
Obviously, this works better if you're a morning person. If you're not, please refer to number 6.
8. Graduate Early!
I worked hard and made wise decisions to be in my second year of Uni when I was 16 (okay, I was 16 for a month and then had my birthday but still).
This might not be for everybody, but I knew what I wanted to do so I stopped after Year 10, chose a faster pathway (Diploma for 1 year through a private college/TAFE) and then I used that Diploma to get into Uni (and they gave me a 1 year credit! So got straight into my 2nd year).
What else can I say?
9. Travel!
Homeschooled families can travel together, or older homeschooled kids can travel in groups! I lived in Vanuatu for 4 months with some missionary friends, this was an incredible experience that I absolutely would not have had available to me if I was at traditional school. We would hike to secluded villages to bring food and medicine to the locals, I was involved in kids’ holiday camps and other community events that have made an imprint on my heart and mind ever since.
I also had a close homeschooled friend in Tasmania, so we struck up a plan for me to fly over and live there with her for a month to do school together and just have awesome fun. I didn’t think mum would agree, but it happened!
More Living. Less Rushing.
This one's actually my favourite.
More time with your family.
More time with your friends.
More time for hobbies, adventures, conversations and the little things that make childhood so good.
Less rushing. Less stress. Less yelling, "WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!"
More time to just be a kid.
You can spend your afternoon baking with Mum, kicking a ball with Dad, visiting grandparents, hanging out with friends or making a spectacular mess in the backyard.
And you don't have to cram your entire childhood into the two hours between school and bedtime.
The deal: Ask your parents to protect some of that free time. Not every spare minute needs to be filled with another activity, lesson or job.
Sometimes you just need to climb a tree.
Or lie on the trampoline and stare at the clouds.
That's important stuff too.
One Last Thing, Kids…
I've told you all the fun bits, but here's something I learnt from being homeschooled.
Freedom and responsibility go together.
If you want the pyjama days, the early finishes, the theme park Tuesdays and the extra freedom, you've got to do your part too.
Do your work properly. Give things a go. Help out at home. Don't spend 45 minutes complaining about a maths question that would've taken you five minutes to answer. (We've all been there.)
Homeschooling isn't about doing nothing.
It's about having more room in your life to do the things that matter.
And here's something else worth knowing: your parents are putting a lot of time and effort into giving you this opportunity. So appreciate them, even when they're making you redo that messy handwriting.
I was homeschooled, and looking back, I'm so grateful for it.
Not because every day was perfect. It definitely wasn't.
But because I got to learn, grow, explore and enjoy being a kid without every minute of my day being planned for me.
So go on.
Show this to Mum and Dad.
And start negotiating. 😂
Love,
Bek
Former homeschool kid, current homeschool mum, and someone who still thinks school in your PJs is a brilliant idea.
P.S. Parents, if your child has just handed you this article and is now demanding a season pass to a theme park, I accept absolutely no responsibility. 😂
