Biggest Problems With Homeschooling

Read as I delve into the 5 biggest homeschooling problems, the 5 things kids need most, and the 5 things YOU need most. I’ll also reveal my biggest tip for the biggest homeschooling problem of all.

Things have been a little quieter on the blog this month, simply because we just started up homeschooling again.

Honestly, I love homeschooling… I love the kids at home by my side, under my wing, learning alongside them and relishing in delicious books, seeing them firsthand experience a hummingbird or frog in nature, witnessing a lightbulb moment, developing a sweet love of learning in them, getting to pick the most amazing resources for our curriculum…

BUT – this homeschooling stuff is HARD!! Seriously, it sucks the life out of me!

If anyone has told you it’s easy, they either have no experience themselves, did a wishy washy job at it, are in denial, or are just one of those amazing model of perfection moms (and I’m not sure any of those actually exist 😉

Homeschooling is truly a FULL TIME job – on top of everything else you’re juggling – paid with hugs and kisses. Between our schooling and this blog, it feels like I’m shouldering two full time positions. Phew!

Keep reading for a lovely example of an untimely stresser our first week of school!!

Different Year, Different Schooling

Everyone’s associations with homeschooling are a wee bit different after having endured some time through COVID. Many of us have been through school closures, mask disputes, and schooling choices we’ve never before been forced to make.

Whether your situation is sending kiddos to school with mask tucked in hand, participating in a virtual or hybrid world, or braving forth with your own homeschooling agenda, you’ve had to put time and careful consideration in to what’s best for your family.

Some of you hesitantly picked up homeschooling with the collapse of a medically safe society and ended up falling in love (or at least desiring to continue on with it)!

For those who’ve picked up homeschooling, I applaud you! 👏🏻

Biggest Problems with Homeschooling

Here are 5 of the biggest problems you may experience with homeschooling –

• Lack of peace from doing too much
• Choosing curriculum 
• Learning how to schedule and balance
• Difficulties with kids – heart motivation or learning problems
• Fear of failure

And, by the way, I want to laugh when I hear people wonder whether their child will suffer socialization issues or not – it may be a valid concern initially, but with all the homeschooling co-ops, clubs, sports, virtual groups, hybrid type schools, functions, dual enrollment opportunities

(much different from the 70’s when the faithful few were trying their hand at this)

the plethora of possibilities to have your kids alongside their peers is overwhelming, at least in our part of the country!

Homeschooling, which eats up less time than a public/private school day, will typically give your children way more opportunities and time to pursue their interests and friends.

Our problem runs more along the lines of what NOT to do, what we can cut out.

I’m not equipped with all the solutions and I only have so much time and space here in this little blog corner. Instead, take in these top 5 needs for both your kiddos and yourself.

What Kids Need Most

🌟 Predictability & A knowledge of expectations –

Make sure your kids know just what you expect of them as you talk through what you’re homeschooling will look like (and establish this at the beginning of the year). I highly recommend developing a schedule for your school days. We’re all creatures of habit and it puts the kids at ease to know what’s going to happen and when.

And it’ll guarantee a more successful day for you. 

🌟 To grow a LOVE of LEARNING –

Time and again, I see parents aiming for some kind of end result and I believe it’s mostly out of fear. They’re trying to get their kids to score high on SAT’s, get into a prestigious college, prepare them for a lucrative career…all beginning at the age of 3.

I once had a mom of elementary school children tell me in one breath, she loves Charlotte Mason and in the next, she chose their particular strenuous curriculum because the creators had children who all become doctors and lawyers. Aaack!

We need to be educating our kids with a mind for the beautiful development of the child as a whole, to set their feet in a large room and let them soak up a rich feast of interesting topics and ideas, that they may see and understand their relationship with the various people and things of history, science, time.

To love learning and establish a love of a lifetime of learning – that is the mark of true success in education.

We should NOT be aiming for some kind of worldly end result – such will KILL our homeschooling.

🌟 Good literature and good things –

I cannot emphasize enough the need to use excellent literature in schooling your kids.

Please, ditch the dry, crusty textbooks and find worthwhile books that will actually make learning fun and capture the attention of your kiddos!!

By “things,” I mean bringing them in contact with hands on learning such as studying nature, using a hand lens, painting with watercolors, listening to beautiful music, sewing, sloyd, clay modeling, handicrafts (like weaving, beading, tin punch, whittling, etc).

Pursuing school with superb literature and things connects them to the world around them, presents them with living ideas, shows God’s fingerprint through nature, history, and the like.

School like this is alive and vital.

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🌟 Your walking beside them –

You should be their biggest fan, their greatest encourager, the one to exhibit patience when they don’t get something. Frustrations happen and they need your humility in saying sorry if you get frustrated (it happens!).

And – when they’re really young…three, four, five – they most importantly need a loving parent involved in their lives! To enjoy the day with them, read fun books, play in the sand, mud, and water, pick flowers, sing songs…

My heart breaks when I hear of well-intentioned parents putting their three year old in preschool so they can “get ahead” and be “ready to read” or “ready for kindergarten.”

They don’t need formalized learning amongst a bunch of strangers.

They just need you. 

🌟 Peace –

in their days, their schedule, their home life.

What You Need Most

🌷 Trust & Confidence (in Him) –

If you feel that calling to homeschooling, then trust that calling and know He will enable. You don’t need to stress about your abilities or drown in the fear you’re going to mess them up or miss anything crucial. It’s common to have no idea what you’re doing in the beginning and find your way as you continue with it over the years.

That’s what it’s like for most, if not all, of us.

The greatest educator is the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is active in teaching your kids.

🌷 Grace –

Be prepared to give plenty of grace to yourself, your husband, and your kids as you ride this roller coaster of homeschooling.

Giving grace will provide you the stamina to continue as you let go of a perfectionistic ideal.

🌷 Peace –

Time and again, you’ll encounter something not going the way you planned with your schooling. Okay, this will probably happen daily. Please know it’s okay when this happens!!

I could give you a million of my own examples…

I’ll share with you the bane of my existence on one of my “first week” homeschooling experiences – our printer.

Our new printer.

I purchased this thing with high hopes it would shuffle out the printed pages just as smooth as butter and it did anything but that. I cannot tell you how many hours alone I fought with that dreadful, irksome printer this past week!!

Yet, I kept reminding myself things would be okay, that I should suffer through this gladly, knowing I can trust the Lord with my time and there will be some end in sight. And there was – we finally junked it and purchased a color laser printer that’s serving us very well. Hallelujah. 

🌷 A Go-To Guide –

Treasure is found in a friend or two, seasoned in homeschooling, with kids a few years ahead of you…

one that has a homeschooling atmosphere you admire and respect.

This has been one of the most helpful and comforting things for me. They are tried and true in terms of making it in one piece (with much success and joy, even!) and I love that liberty to bounce questions, grab ideas, and gather recommendations. And receive encouragement.

🌷 Time to plan –

Without a plan, frustration and failure is inevitable. Make sure to set aside specific time at least once a year to evaluate, research, pull out the schedule and plan away.

Especially in anticipation of a fresh new year.

I have my husband shoulder the kids for several days each summer to give me time alone to reflect upon our prior schooling and plot out the year ahead. We school in 3 twelve week terms and I also take time between each term to assess and adjust before continuing on.

Hint: make sure to schedule not only for on school time, but off school time as well…including downtime for kiddos and downtime for YOU.

The Biggest Problem…And the Number One, Absolute Biggest Tip

You’ll notice I mention peace more than once.  

My piece of advice? Peace in your schedule.  

Scheduling for peace – doesn’t it even sound pretty?

Like a a breath of fresh air, inhaling the sweet, crisp fragrance of tranquility as you breeze through your day? 

The aroma of a thousand calm days.

Especially if you’re a type A, like me.
…Or you’re a Charlotte Mason-er, wanting the entire rich feast for your kids and not wanting to let any of it go.
…Or you’re pursing classical schooling and the upper levels have your middle schooler working 6 hours a day to keep up.
…Or you’re just super excited about your kids getting it “all.”
…Or you’re filled with a few too many worries of missing out or not hitting what you should hit, so you pile on all the extras, “just in case.”

There are a myriad of reasons that can push us to do too much – in turn, pushing our kids to encounter the same.

When we’re clamoring for all the educational goodies and opportunities available to us, seeing just how much we can budge into our already bursting schedule, things start to feel a bit too tight – for everyone.

You scramble to hit all the marks and you lose the stamina to continue on.

There’s no grace in the schedule.

The joy drains as the day overwhelms.

You reach the afternoon/dinnertime/evening/whenever you finish time and you’re somehow suffocating. 

My piece of advice?
Peace in your schedule.

I’ve heard it before and it was the BEST PIECE OF ADVICE EVER for our schooling –

if you don’t have peace from an overcrowded homeschool schedule (or any schedule, for that matter)…

cut, cut, cut until you have peace.

Your kids will be okay, I promise.

Know your limitations.

Don’t look at other homeschooling moms who are doing more with a guilty swallow of shame –

Know that we all have our own individual capacities, our own particular situations, that make us capable of more or less (and who knows whether peace is a shining beacon in their homes).

God will lead to the just enough you need in your day and it will be that – just enough.

The peace you gain from a necessary cutting back will shower upon your family a treasure of incalculable worth.

You will all feel it.

And He will bless it.

There is so much to schooling – I can’t hit it all just in one post! I’m happy to offer guidance or further advice on homeschooling topics – feel free to comment below and I’ll make sure to respond! 🙂

My new FAVORITE schooling item is the Huckleberry Bug Box found on Amazon. We’ve used it more than once this first week for collecting, magnifying, and working in our nature journals – it’s PERFECT and has met so many of our needs! A must have for the nature enthusiast or the kid who loves to collect and bring fun finds into the house 😊

Check it out:

Note: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. However, I will only ever recommend products I love and truly believe will bring you value.

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And, if anyone is curious as to what we use for our homeschooling curriculum, we LOVE Charlotte Mason schooling and ADORE using The Alveary from the Charlotte Mason Institute.

This program was a godsend for us – our schooling was a bit disjointed and harried before we started the Alveary.

They put together all the lesson plans for you, so once you have your schedule set up, it’s very open and go. It’s rich and varied and they offer a ton of extra things to enrich the lessons – all for one fee that covers all kids 1st grade through high school. They also have a “soft launch” option, to make starting CM schooling easier.

Check it out!  The Alveary

This post was originally published in August 26, 2020 and has been updated.