The New Face of Homeschooling

What do Davy Crockett, Frank Lloyd Wright and Hilary Duff have in common? They were all homeschooled, an educational option that is on the rise in the United States, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The NCES estimated that the number of children homeschooled doubled in size from 1999 to 2012, growing from 850,000 to roughly 1.8 million. Although the U.S. Department of Education found that 3.4 percent of students are homeschooled, Ed Choice’s 2017 Schooling in America survey discovered 7 percent would choose to homeschool if it were an option. With numbers on the rise, homeschooling has a new look, a broader demographic, as well as new opportunities for families opting out of the conventional school system.

KC homeschooling parents chimed in with some of their reasons for choosing to homeschool. Here’s what some of them have to say:

I love being able to give one-on-one attention; to individually tailor their education and work at whatever level they are capable of in each subject. I am so thankful that we can encourage delight in what we do. I appreciate the time as a family and the ability to focus on our relationships. -Jessica W.

It was a way to preserve our family. My husband worked second shift six days a week. Sundays were our only day, but being ministers, we were busy then too. The kids never spent time with their dad! Nine years later, it is still a good fit.  - Natasha D.

I feel like our years together are short. The thought of them being away at school every day saddened me. I love learning with them. -Stephanie M.

 I want to pursue excellence in learning, not just excellence in education. I want my boys to have time to pursue their own interests. I also want our family to have margin in our lives and to not be overwhelmed with activities.  -Carody K.

It’s been my desire to preserve my child’s childhood. -Kaydee K.

 As a fourth grade teacher, I knew I wanted different for my own kids. I didn't want them to hate learning like many of my "behind" fourth graders (especially boys) did. I wanted them to have more freedom of movement, time in nature, music, art, etc. -Shannon C.

 We were living in Germany (military), and knew we had several short moves coming up back-to-back. I was concerned about my sweet kindergartner moving schools three times in four years. We started in January and never looked back. That was seven years ago. -Audrey B.

Because families find themselves homeschooling for so many different reasons, it’s only natural that how they homeschool looks different, too. Three local families took the time to share what a day in their homeschool life looks like.

Peterson Family

As a young adult, Jessica Peterson knew three things with absolute certainty: She would never get married, she would never have children and she would never teach. Peterson, a busy wife and a mom of four children, Adelynn, 7, Cole, 4, and 2-year-old twins, Bella and Pax, now laughs at this notion.

“Never say never!” she advises.

Peterson and her husband, Jeff, say homeschooling wasn’t on their radar until they attended a church that had several homeschooled high schoolers.

“There was something about them … their maturity, how they interacted with others, and their work ethic. It was just really inspiring,” she says

A typical school day starts early in the Peterson home. Both Adelynn and Cole wake up before the twins, and Peterson capitalizes on it as an opportunity for morning time, a time where they eat breakfast, read together and do crafts or activities.

“I always have a million ideas about how I wish to make each day special, but I try to hold to three top priorities for each day, which is far more feasible with little ones underfoot.”

Indeed, schooling with babies requires a lot of creativity. When Bella and Pax are awake, the whole family dynamic shifts.

“I might normally curl up on the couch and read a chapter book with Adalynn and Cole if the twins are napping,” she says, “but if they’re awake, we have to accommodate so that my hands are free.”

Peterson’s found there has never been a book they’ve read for which she hasn’t found an online audiobook version. When the twins take their afternoon naps, she sits down with Adalynn to offer instruction in core subjects like math and reading.

The family attends a local Classical Conversations community throughout their school year. Unlike a co-op where parents drop their kids off to take elective classes, CC requires parents be on site, and families engage together in core study that they then implement at home. Students participate in science experiments, fine arts study, and give weekly speech presentations, while parents can seek support and encouragement from one another.

“Our primary motivation for joining CC wasn’t the rigorous education they offered but the robust community we sensed amongst families,” Peterson, a self-described super-extrovert, explains. “I love that we are a part of a community that is all doing the same thing together.”

The Werner Family

Every weekday morning, Maureen Werner, a single mom of seven, tiptoes downstairs to begin her work as a CPA before her children wake. For Werner, whose family consists of one grown biological son, four daughters ranging in age from 11 to 19 she fostered-to-adopt, and twin 7-year-old boys that came via private adoption, homeschooling was not something she fell into. She strategically planned.

“When my oldest three were in elementary school at the local public school, I was looking toward middle school and dreading it. I thought those years would be so much sweeter if we just did school at home and then they could go off to high school,” Werner says.

Over the course of the next three years, she pulled each of her daughters from school until eventually all six were being homeschooled exclusively. Werner, a business owner, found herself very purposefully balancing work, home and school life, all under the same roof.

“I gave myself the opt-out each year for the first three,” Werner says, adding by then she was all in. “You don’t move into a house or a marriage and say, ‘Well, let’s see how this works.’ Being all in is what makes it work. That’s not to say we haven’t changed curriculums or co-ops. I still have to advocate for each of my children.”

For five years, Werner utilized Sonlight, a literature-based curriculum that lined everything up in a way her accounting background found assuring. As she gained confidence, she began exploring other curriculum options. The family also has participated in co-ops such as Mighty Oaks (a two-day-a-week option) and LCA, where Werner teaches sewing and a cooking class called “What’s for Breakfast?”

During a typical school day, Werner and her children enjoy poring over history, science, poetry and read-alouds while simultaneously eating breakfast together. In the cooler seasons, this typically takes place with cider or hot chocolate in hand, but if the weather is nice, they may take their morning time outdoors. Afterward, Werner focuses her efforts on her twins in their school room while her girls go off to work on their independent studies. Katy, the oldest daughter, now works full time, while Mackenzie, 15, takes classes at Johnson County Community College. The school day wraps up at lunchtime. Afterward, Werner attends to work, taking phone calls and doing business meetings.

The Werner kids’ education continues while she works through a host of extracurriculars. For years, all four girls danced at Miller Marley. At one point, Katy, 19, and Mackenzie, 15, were dancing more than 20 hours a week and teaching beginner classes. Mackenzie has sung at Starlight and with the Lyric Opera twice. Ava, 11, currently plays competitive soccer, and the boys will begin playing in a rec league this fall.

“I always want them to be active but I never want them to be pushed too hard,” Werner says. “Our end game has never been a scholarship or being a professional but being the best that you can be.”

Enderby Family

Homeschooling was not a very unconventional choice for Seth and Noelle Enderby, who both were homeschooled themselves. But the couple figured they would eventually send their three daughters, Ariel, 14, Lana, 12, and Camille, 10, to school one day. That day hasn’t yet come.

Instead, the family chose to transition from homeschooling to virtual schooling, an option where students are considered public schoolers but do so from the comfort of home via online instruction and personal tutoring. Noelle says homeschooling the girls when they were young was a natural extension of parenting itself, but homeschooling the upper grades seemed daunting. Seeing other homeschoolers graduate students successfully gave the couple the confidence to continue to school from home, but with the help of an outside network of support.

Last year, the family enrolled in Leavenworth Virtual School. On any given day, the girls would grab their Chromebooks (each student is given one) to see what their day’s assignments were. After all independent work was done, the girls would reconvene with Noelle, who proctored tests and quizzes and asked comprehension questions.

“I was afraid we might lose some of the flexibility we came to love with homeschooling when we enrolled in LVS,” Noelle says. “I was amazed at how flexible it really, truly was. I feel like we’ve gained support but maintained freedom. It’s been amazing.”

This year the family plans on transitioning to Maize, another Kansas virtual school, where Ariel will begin high school. For the first time, she will have online classes at set times.

“It’s a stepping stone to get her to that college level ... she’ll be accountable to someone else but she still has me right there,” Noelle says. “Virtual school gives us the security that the girls are where they need to be. I have a sense of freedom in being able to partner with another teacher.”

Lauren Greenlee is an Olathe boy mom, second-generation homeschooler and a writer.