So You’re Thinking About Homeschooling

Hi, my name is Paula and I homeschool my 3 kids. Many times, when I share that fact it’s met with, “Oh, I could never homeschool my kids!” Can I tell you something? About 90% of those of us homeschooling once said the exact same thing. Including me. But, for as many different reasons as there are families homeschooling, we have found ourselves along this path of home education and we love how it works for our families. So, if you find yourself thinking about the possibility of homeschooling, let me share 4 things you need to know.

1. Your kids will not lack for social opportunities. Very often the next thing I hear (after, “I could never do that!”) is “How do you socialize your kids?” If I giggle when you ask that, please know that I mean NO disrespect. It’s just that there are so many social opportunities for homeschoolers these days that often the hardest decision I make each year is what are we NOT going to do. From sports clubs to dance groups, field trip groups to special discounted days at everything from art museums to climbing gyms, the opportunities to get homeschool kids together with other homeschool kids abound. As do the opportunities to volunteer at non-profit organizations, hang out with relatives, and participate in non-homeschool extra-curriculars.

2. Also, you don’t have to be alone in academics. Not only are there TONS of extra-curricular opportunities, there are so many hybrid school options for homeschoolers it can be mind boggling. There are multi-day programs which function a lot like part-time (more affordable) private schools, laid back co-ops that allow your kids to choose classes based on their needs and interests, and everything in between. These programs provide support for both the kids and parents and can take some of the guesswork out of choosing curriculum and planning lessons. And why are there so many options for homeschoolers in Georgia? Because….

3. Georgia is an extremely homeschool-friendly state. If you are reading this from another state, you will definitely need to look into your state’s requirements. But I can tell you, that, in Georgia, the process is very simple. We submit a letter of intent to homeschool to the state Department of Education each year, keep attendance records, and give our kids a standardized test every 3 years. If they are college bound, high school brings a few more requirements, but they are not overly burdensome. And if you need help navigating, there are folks in the homeschool community who can help. 

4. Finally, you CAN do it. In addition to saying we’d never do this, the other thing most homeschool parents have done is question whether or not we have what it takes to educate our kids. How will I teach them to read? What if they hate writing? What about calculus? Trust me, we’ve all wondered the same things. But hopefully, you’ve seen here that the community of homeschoolers is big and it is resourceful. There are now an estimated 50,000 homeschool students in Georgia and 1.7 million homeschoolers in the United States. If we can do it, you can too. If you’re thinking about homeschooling, just ask someone who does!

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Paula
Paula Nix is a native of Georgia and Cherokee County. She currently lives in Woodstock with her husband of 18 years, Spencer, and their three children, Piper, Haddyn, and Judson. A former special education teacher, she now homeschools her kids and teaches a writing class for other homeschool families once a week. In her free time, she enjoys reading, leading book clubs (including Books & Brews at Reformation Brewery in Woodstock), and exploring the outdoors with her family. She also enjoys searching out great food and drink in the Metro area with her husband!

1 COMMENT

  1. Yes! To everything Paula wrote! I don’t have much to add, but just to reinforce how many opportunities there are for homeschoolers in the Atlanta area. We live north of the Perimeter have joined a couple local groups. Our calendar is so full I have to start saying no to some fantastic events just because there is so much to do… It’s a great “problem” to have.

    One other comment I frequently get when people find out we homeschool is, “How do you entertain your kids all day?”. Let me say this is never an issue. I have maybe heard the words, “I am bored” once in my life from my kids. Haha. Homeschooling really fuels self-directed learning which flows right into self-directed play.

    With so many resources now available from local homeschool groups, a plethora of online support groups and blogs, homeschool classes and programs offered at libraries, museums, etc, and the vast offering of educational programming available to stream on TV or Internet, I have found homeschooling such a fun learning endeavor for myself as well as my kids.

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