and the truth that gives families confidence.
Every August, thousands of parents begin homeschooling for the first time. Along with excitement often comes uncertainty. Unfortunately, many new families also encounter myths that make homeschooling seem expensive, overwhelming, or only possible with professional help.
The good news? Homeschooling has always been far more flexible—and far more accessible—than many people realize.
#1. You need to be a certified teacher.
You know and love your child best. You taught them how to walk, talk, and so much more. Every day, you make important decisions about their health, safety, and well-being.
#2. You need to spend a lot of money.
You can find robust and enriching resources all around you. Homeschooling can be as simple or as elaborate as your family chooses. Start with your local library where you will find hundreds of books – even more through an interlibrary loan system – free online tools, games, YouTube channels, and more.
GSHE has over 150 entirely free resources available to members with an account.
Many retailers also offer teacher discounts to homeschoolers! GSHE has a long list of them, too.
#3. Parents need to do all the teaching themselves.
Families are free to use whatever resources work best for them. This is the original kind of co-op that homeschoolers formed decades ago. Working together, families can keep the costs down and pool their talents and skills for the group’s learning.
Families can also utilize any resource, material, and program that they wish. More educational providers are offering drop-off – full and part-time – classes that families can incorporate into their children’s learning as they wish. They offer everything from art to science to history to literature and more.
People can also incorporate clubs and sports into their children’s experiences. Scouts, 4-H, martial arts, and dance are examples.
GSHE has hundreds of these enrichment programs in our resource database that you can find by type and location, again, available to members with an account.
#4. Homeschoolers don’t have academic success like traditional schools.
Although a homeschool education may look different from a traditional school experience, students are free to follow their interests, talents, and use any materials the family chooses. That can be a big motivation when other students burn out in classes that seem irrelevant and uninteresting to them.
Thousands of homeschoolers have gone before you. Their children have gone on to college, careers, military service, trades, entrepreneurship, and countless other paths. There isn’t just one definition of success – and homeschooling gives families the freedom to pursue the one that fits their child.
Many parents assume that traditional schools have found the formula for academic success. In reality, schools across the country continue to face significant challenges on state assessments, national testing, and college-readiness measures. While no test tells the whole story, these results remind us that a traditional classroom and certified teachers are not guarantees of academic success.
Not long ago, success was determined by going to prestigious colleges. Fortunately, more people recognize that success can be different for different people. As homeschoolers, you are free to define success in a way that is meaningful for your family and your child’s unique needs, interests, and goals.
#5. Homeschoolers are isolated and lack social skills.
Homeschoolers can select their social engagement just as they pick their academic and other learning materials. Families are free to find, build, and connect with the people that they choose – build their own tribe – that is not limited by age or zip code.
GSHE has dozens of these smaller, more organic support groups that are all over the state. We also encourage families to make a deliberate effort to find and build these community connections, be purposeful in finding friends. We have seasonal activity ideas and share community events to help bring people together. You get out of it what you put into it.
Homeschooling has never been about recreating a classroom at home or purchasing expensive curriculum. It’s about providing an education that fits your child and your family’s values, goals, and circumstances.
Every experienced homeschooling parent was once a beginner. You don’t have to know everything on the first day—you simply have to begin. With curiosity, flexibility, and a willingness to learn alongside your child, you’ll discover that homeschooling is far more achievable than many people imagine.
