Is it Difficult to Homeschool?

When I tell people I home educate, the responses I often get are:

“I could never do that!” (not because they don’t want to but because they don’t think they could)  or “Isn’t it difficult to homeschool?”

And the last answer got me thinking about how the difficulty of homeschooling or home educating might put people off from trying it. Is homeschooling difficult? Yes, there are definitely things that can be challenging about homeschooling. But the benefits far outweigh the difficulties. 

I think there are a lot of misconceptions around home education in general, which can make it a difficult choice even if someone really wants to do it. What would I suggest? Going with your gut. If home education is something that calls to you and your family, or even if it’s something you’ve only recently become interested in, there’s no harm in giving it a go. As the saying goes—you don’t know until you try—and I think going by this has helped me to make the choices I’ve made and realise that home education is completely right for us. 

But back to the main question: is it difficult to homeschool? Well, the best way of answering this properly is by listing the difficulties you might face when homeschooling.

At the end of the day, the decision to home educate is YOUR choice. It’s different for EVERY family and it’s about what’s RIGHT for yours! Now, if you’re worried about whether homeschooling will be difficult for you, let’s dive into some homeschooling challenges.

The Challenges of Homeschooling

It’s time-consuming

Whilst one of the main reasons people choose to home educate is to spend more time with their children, the reality is that it can feel like you’re around them 24/7. Whether you’re homeschooling or unschooling, deschooling or worldschooling, it’s all very time-consuming. You’re even in parent or home educator mode and it can feel non-stop from the moment your kids wake up until the moment they’re in bed. And by that time, you’re ready to just crash. 

Days are busy and your mind is busier. Then again, we wouldn’t change it for the world. I remind myself that this is time that I’ll never get back with my children, especially if they were in school. 

It takes up a lot of energy

It’s true, homeschooling does take up a lot of your energy. There are so many hats to wear and things to plan and think about. And with such a big commitment, there’s no doubt that you will experience burnout from time to time. From planning what to do to actually doing it, trying to remember things and keeping on top of everything, there’s a lot involved and by the end of the day your energy is usually drained. 

But, on those days when I feel particularly exhausted, I look back on the day and reflect on everything we’ve achieved. None of it could have been done without being busy or going through the ups and downs. It’s all part of the journey. 

The stigma and the judgement

When you choose to home educate, you’ll find there’s a lot of stigma and judgement that comes with it. I agree this can make things difficult, especially when you find that you’re having to explain yourself or ‘stick up’ for your decision, simply because other people do not understand it.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve wanted to roll my eyes when I hear the words, “shouldn’t she be in school’ or “wouldn’t she like to be with others her age” or “how do you teach her” and so on . . . 

Then again, I realise that school is the norm for a lot of people and that—naturally—people are going to have their doubts and opinions. Yes, it can be hard to deal with, but eventually you get to a point where you don’t feel the need to explain your decision too much. After all, it’s a decision that’s right for your family and it’s best not to worry too much about what other people think. 

Finding or sticking to a routine

Whether you’re all for routines or simply love flexibility, adding a bit of structure to your homeschooling day definitely helps and it makes it feel a lot more manageable. That being said, it can be difficult trying to stick to a routine or finding one that works. 

Children change a lot—that’s to be expected. Their interests change, their behaviour can change, and often this means that your routine needs to change too. And with all this change, it can be hard to commit to a routine. You might find one that works, you might have a great rhythm going, and then all of sudden it doesn’t work anymore. And it’s back to square one trying to figure things out again. 

It’s normal to feel like you’re constantly finding your feet. Remember, you don’t have to have things figured out all the time. Sometimes the best part of home educating is the figuring it out! Be open to adjusting and adapting your routine and it will feel less stressful when you need to. 

Homeschooling multiple ages

Homeschooling one child can be difficult, but homeschooling multiple children who are different ages has its challenges for obvious reasons. The struggle is in adapting the learning to suit different ages. There’s the challenge of different interests, different abilities and different learning styles, and it can feel like a juggling act as you try to satisfy your children all at the same time. 

This can be a lot for parents to handle and it’s undoubtedly stressful when you’ve got more than one child to think about. The trick is often in preparation and taking advantage of mutual interests. You’ll find that the longer you home educate and discover what works, the easier it is to adapt to. 

Juggling work and homeschooling

It’s no easy task trying to juggle your work and homeschooling commitments. It’s a concern for many parents and one of the reasons why people may be put off from homeschooling in the first place. There’s the need to earn income but the desire to homeschool. Most of all, you want to be there for your children when you can. If you work full-time, homeschooling can be a difficult concept to get your head around.

Is it possible to homeschool and work full-time? Yes. Can it be a struggle? Yes. Again, it’s about finding what works for your family. What many parents forget or don’t know is that home education doesn’t have to look anything like a traditional school day. It doesn’t have to be six hours. It can be whatever works for all of you. So, if you work full-time, you might choose to homeschool in the evenings or only on the weekends, which is completely fine. 

Keeping your children motivated

It can be hard enough trying to motivate our children at the best of times, so when you throw homeschooling into the mix you often have to work even harder to keep them occupied and, more importantly, satisfied!

The hardest part about keeping children motivated when homeschooling is the energy that it takes out of you. You may feel like you are failing your children when they refuse to do something or start resisting you. This is at no fault of your own. Children will be children and often it’s about rediscovering your child’s interests and what will motivate them.

Doubting yourself

One of the biggest challenges of homeschooling is actually doubting yourself. This doubt can stem from judgement or simply from having a bad day. It’s completely normal to have doubts about homeschooling. Many of us question whether we are doing the right thing, especially if it seems like things aren’t working out or our children are resisting our efforts more and more. 

The number one thing to remember when you start doubting yourself is your WHY for homeschooling. Why have you decided to homeschool? When you remember why you are doing something, it motivates you to keep going. Homeschooling has its ups and downs, but your reason for choosing it will always remain strong. 

You might be interested in:

Why it’s Normal to Doubt Your Decision to Home Educate

How to Tackle Doubts About Home Education

So, there we have it. Now you know some of the challenges of homeschooling, you can make your own decision about whether you will find it difficult to homeschool. Whatever choice you make, know that you can always change your mind if it doesn’t work out. The most daunting choices are often the ones that teach us the most.