8 Things Homeschool Moms Should Stop Worrying About7 min read

If you’re a homeschool mom, we’d go out on a limb to say that you probably worry a lot.

You tend to worry about the littlest things when it comes to your homeschool.

And that’s totally understandable! You want what’s best for your kids and you want to be able to provide them with everything that they need.

But how much do you really worry?

Do you believe (either intentionally or unintentionally) that the fate and future of your children rest exclusively in your two frail hands?

Do you see every mistake that your kids make as somehow being caused by your faults or shortcomings?
And somehow, when your kids achieve things and have successes, you don’t even take a little credit?

Dear homeschool mom, here are just a few things that we want you to let go of and stop worrying about

1. Homeschooling Preschool

As a mother, it’s normal to want your child to start learning things from a young age. You want them to know stuff, to be aware, to be smart. But there are so many moms who worry that if they don’t start formally homeschooling their kids at least from the age of 3, then their kids are going to start falling behind. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself, behind what? What or who are your kids going to fall behind? And who is ahead? How does one determine what exactly is behind and what’s ahead?

But most young children just need to play! And to learn by playing, by just being kids. They will learn as they help their parents to do small chores around the house. They will learn by sharing a piece of candy with their siblings. They will learn when they clean up their toys after making a mess. They need to run around and exercise and make new friends in the neighborhood. They need to play with toys and random objects that will encourage fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. They need to learn by listening to bedtime stories and they need to sing and dance their hearts out. What they don’t need is a formal curriculum when they’re just tiny toddlers.

That being said, there are other kids who like more structure. They may show some interest in reading or learning a few things, and that’s okay. You can encourage them and hold their hands as they try to learn. But if they want to play, let them. Kids learn much more from everyday activities and interactions than we think.

2. Homeschooling High School

Are you feeling pressured because you haven’t really homeschooled a high school student before? Again, totally understandable. But, please don’t feel like you absolutely have to know every single piece of information or the answer to every question! Literally, nobody knows every single thing there is to know about a given subject so we’d suggest you really take that off your list of things to worry about.

You can always sit with your kids and look for answers together. This is such a nice way to model constant lifelong learning to your kids. It’s a great way to show them that adults don’t always have the answers and if you’re truly willing, you can never stop learning no matter how old you grow.

If you aren’t very comfortable teaching a few subjects, consider outsourcing them. There are homeschool co-ops, online curriculum and self-teaching curriculum available to help homeschool subjects where minimal parent involvement is required. You could also homeschool together with another parent. Maybe that mom is better at math while you love English more. Partner together and teach both sets of kids the subject that you’re more confident about.

3. Your Kids getting into College

Just because your kids are homeschooled in no way means that they won’t get accepted into college. As long as your kids have good grades, are good at extracurriculars and are just good human beings in general, you have no cause for worry at all. Sit back and enjoy your homeschooling because you’ll definitely miss your kids when they’re off to college!

4. Socializing

Although this shouldn’t be a concern at all, if you do worry about this, or about having to prove to the general public that your kids do in fact know how to socialize despite being homeschooled, then maybe take a step back and consider a few things. Firstly, homeschooling is not the cause for a person being socially awkward. There are so many people out there who have social anxiety and are awkward in social situations but have never been homeschooled! And honestly, homeschooled kids are pretty great at socialization!

5. Your Kids don’t always want to homeschool

Over your years of homeschooling and teaching, you will be faced with times when your kids don’t want to homeschool. Honestly, there will be times when you won’t want to homeschool either! But the good thing is that children have parents for a reason! As a parent, it is your responsibility to make the right decisions for your kids. If you feel like it’s better for your kids to start going to a public school, you make that decision and stick with it. But if your heart and mind believe that homeschooling is the best thing for your kids, then don’t doubt yourself and don’t give up when the times get tough.

6. Bad Days

If no one has told you this yet, we want to reassure you that bad days are normal. Bad days happen and sometimes they stay longer than we want them to, but eventually, they pass. There will be bad days where you can’t be the best mom or homeschool teacher for your kids, and there will be other bad days when your kids just don’t want to study. Some bad days will catch you by surprise and everything may seem to go wrong.

But worrying about bad days happening, or worrying when they do happen is not the solution. Neither is constantly wondering about whether you should continue to homeschool or just opt for public school instead.

Try to find solutions and deal constructively with bad days when they do come your way. Maybe you have to change up the way you do things, or reduce the curriculum, or take more breaks. Sometimes it’s best to just throw in the towel and not study on a bad day! Order some take-out and snuggle together to watch a movie instead.

The bottom line is this: bad days are normal and they will definitely come your way. It’s how you deal with them that counts.

7. The pace and/or age at which your kids learn

You seriously need to stop worrying about your kids “falling behind” or learning at a different pace and/or age than a traditional school atmosphere. As a homeschool mom, your priority is not to stuff your kids with everything even if they find it hard to digest. Your aim is to teach them everything they need at a pace and at the age that they can grasp it. Don’t try to keep up with other homeschooling families or mainstream schools. Focus on your kids and their personal needs. When you’re fixated on doing what’s best for your homeschool, this worry won’t trouble you anymore.

8. Not finishing every single lesson in the book

It can get hard when you can’t finish every lesson in the book. Or every activity in the workbooks. But as a homeschool mom, you need to make your peace with it! Honestly just think about it, if you went to school as a kid, did all your teachers complete every single exercise, activity and lesson in the book? No! Because learning isn’t about how much you can fill their minds with, it’s about how much they can take in. There will be a lot of information that you cannot cram into your curriculum but that’s okay. Take it slow. Take it one step at a time.

Enjoy the Journey of Homeschooling

As a homeschooling parent, you will have your fair share of good days and bad days. But you need to make the decision to focus on enjoying the process. Take it one day at a time. Because before you know it, these homeschool years will pass you by and your last kid will be graduating. And you don’t want to look back thinking about what you could’ve done differently or how you should’ve worried less.