{"id":12636,"date":"2020-03-20T17:02:39","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T23:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/?p=12636"},"modified":"2020-04-29T13:19:31","modified_gmt":"2020-04-29T19:19:31","slug":"common-homeschooling-myths-debunked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Homeschooling Myths Debunked"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you attended a traditional school growing up, you may not be familiar with how homeschooling works. You may wonder how homeschooled children make friends or assume parents must not work if they\u2019re educating their children during the day. While no two homeschooling families are exactly alike, we noticed there were recurring myths about the homeschool community in general.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is important to note that homeschool parents do not take our children\u2019s education lightly,\u201d said Nicole McDonald, a homeschooling parent. \u201cIf anything, most of us tend to go above and beyond to make sure that we are meeting a need that our children have to make their educational experience the best it can be.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We asked McDonald to share with us her experience as a <\/span>homeschooling<\/span><\/a> parent in order to debunk a few myths surrounding the homeschool community.<\/span><\/p>\n

Myth: If a parent chooses homeschooling for one child, they\u2019ll choose to homeschool the rest of the family too.<\/b><\/h2>\n

There\u2019s no homeschooling rulebook that requires a family to choose the same modality of education for all of their children. As a mother of four, McDonald had to consider the best method of instruction for each child.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHomeschooling came onto my radar after the birth of my second daughter. I never thought that I would be one that homeschooled my children, but the concept of it always intrigued me. My oldest daughter attends public school, so I assumed the rest would follow suit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

McDonald\u2019s three youngest children require specialized resources and instruction. After careful consideration, she decided homeschooling would provide the best environment for academic success.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I wanted to dedicate myself to homeschooling my children to give them the best opportunities that I can. I am so fortunate that I have the ability to do this for my children and I am extremely grateful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Myth: Parents are not qualified to teach their children.<\/b><\/h2>\n

Parents have a variety of resources at their disposal. McDonald shared with us a few resources she uses to develop a curriculum for her children.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe use a few different online learning programs, including <\/span>IXL<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Homer Reading<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> and ABC Mouse<\/span><\/a>. We also integrate workbooks from the Dollar Store and wipe-clean learning books for the alphabet, numbers, and handwriting practice. Lastly, we incorporate materials from our local library. I like to keep it as budget friendly as possible. There are hundreds of options to choose from. Some families choose to stick to one complete curriculum, and some people piece together what works best for them.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Myth: Homeschooled kids are stuck indoors at home all day.<\/b><\/h2>\n

Homeschooling provides children and parents the freedom to learn on their own terms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur classroom is wherever we want it to be, and our kids have so much fun learning in ways that work best for them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

McDonald explained how getting out into the community and participating in co-ops with other homeschool families keeps her children engaged.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are co-ops and programs available to homeschooling families. They offer a variety of subjects and activities that every child can enjoy, including specialized events for children to make learning fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In McDonald\u2019s homeschool community, the programs are inclusive of all students.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese programs, groups, and events are not limited to just your typical student. They also include those with special needs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Myth: It\u2019s impossible for homeschooled students to make friends.<\/b><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not uncommon for homeschooling parents to receive a question about how children can make friends if they don\u2019t attend traditional school. According to McDonald, people fail to realize that homeschooling families can arrange for social gatherings to occur during a \u201cschool day,\u201d and can include academics as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have so much freedom with homeschooling. We can socialize whenever we want. We have playdates with other homeschool families multiple times a week, and we partake in field trips frequently through our co-ops or other homeschool groups that we are a part of. There is no sitting in a classroom for six hours a day being told not to talk because class time isn\u2019t a time for socialization.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Myth: Homeschool parents are stay-at-home caregivers without careers.<\/b><\/h2>\n

Not only do some homeschooling parents work, but they are also tasked with more household chores than people realize.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome homeschoolers have their own careers that they still need to keep up with, in addition to the \u2018extras\u2019 that come along with homeschooling. People don\u2019t think about how there is more housework from being home more, and how we are making more meals than a typical family eats at home during the week all while fitting in school activities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Myth: Homeschooled children don\u2019t go to college.<\/b><\/h2>\n

\u201cI think it is important to note that colleges and universities accept homeschooled children. From my research, and from listening to fellow homeschoolers, colleges and universities welcome these students with open arms.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Homeschooled students not only attend college, they also have the opportunity to earn college credit before they graduate high school. Credit-by-exam programs <\/span>AP<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>CLEP<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>DSST<\/span><\/a> allow students to earn college credit in subjects they\u2019re already familiar with. The best part? Traditional students can take advantage of credit-by-exam programs too.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMany of my friends that homeschool have children that are inching their way towards their senior year. Some of these teenagers have been taking college-level courses for a couple of years already. They will graduate with almost enough credits for an associate\u2019s degree. This is just one of the many benefits to homeschooling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Want to save time and money by earning college credit through one of the programs listed above? We can help with that. Peterson\u2019s <\/span>Test Prep<\/span><\/a> subscriptions offer comprehensive study guides, including flashcards, instructional videos, and full-length practice tests to help prepare you for exam day.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you attended a traditional school growing up, you may not be familiar with how homeschooling works. You may wonder how homeschooled children make friends or assume parents must not work if they\u2019re educating their children during the day. While no two homeschooling families are exactly alike, we noticed there were recurring myths about the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":12637,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2290,11,12,556],"class_list":{"0":"post-12636","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-stories","8":"tag-ap","9":"tag-clep","10":"tag-dsst","11":"tag-homeschool","12":"ad_tags-ap","13":"ad_tags-clep","14":"ad_tags-dsst"},"better_featured_image":{"id":12637,"alt_text":"mother homeschooling her daughter","caption":"Mother and daughter having fun together in bedroom with teaching her to spell words and reading some hard words.","description":"","media_type":"image","media_details":{"width":1365,"height":768,"file":"2020\/03\/iStock-1130508150.jpg","sizes":{"medium":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-300x169.jpg","width":300,"height":169,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-300x169.jpg"},"large":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-1024x576.jpg","width":1024,"height":576,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-1024x576.jpg"},"thumbnail":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-150x150.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-150x150.jpg"},"post-thumbnail":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-270x180.jpg","width":270,"height":180,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-270x180.jpg"},"contentberg-main":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-770x515.jpg","width":770,"height":515,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-770x515.jpg"},"contentberg-main-full":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-1170x508.jpg","width":1170,"height":508,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-1170x508.jpg"},"contentberg-slider-stylish":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-900x515.jpg","width":900,"height":515,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-900x515.jpg"},"contentberg-slider-carousel":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-370x370.jpg","width":370,"height":370,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-370x370.jpg"},"contentberg-slider-grid-b":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-554x466.jpg","width":554,"height":466,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-554x466.jpg"},"contentberg-slider-grid-b-sm":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-306x466.jpg","width":306,"height":466,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-306x466.jpg"},"contentberg-slider-bold-sm":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-150x150.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-150x150.jpg"},"contentberg-grid":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-370x245.jpg","width":370,"height":245,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-370x245.jpg"},"contentberg-list":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-260x200.jpg","width":260,"height":200,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-260x200.jpg"},"contentberg-list-b":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-370x305.jpg","width":370,"height":305,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-370x305.jpg"},"contentberg-thumb":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-87x67.jpg","width":87,"height":67,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-87x67.jpg"},"contentberg-thumb-alt":{"file":"iStock-1130508150-150x150.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150-150x150.jpg"}},"image_meta":{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images\/iStockphoto","camera":"","caption":"Mother and daughter having fun together in bedroom with teaching her to spell words and reading some hard words.","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Mother and daughter having fun together in bedroom with teaching her to spell words and reading some hard words.","orientation":"1","keywords":["alphabet,book,child,childhood,daughter,education,ethnicity,famil"]}},"post":12636,"source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150.jpg"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCommon Homeschooling Myths Debunked | DSST Test Prep<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you attended a traditional school, you may not be familiar with how homeschooling works. Peterson's debunks common myths about homeschooling.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Common Homeschooling Myths Debunked | DSST Test Prep\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you attended a traditional school, you may not be familiar with how homeschooling works. Peterson's debunks common myths about homeschooling.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Peterson's\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/petersons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-20T23:02:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-04-29T19:19:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1365\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jaclyn Walsh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Petersons\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Petersons\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jaclyn Walsh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Common Homeschooling Myths Debunked | DSST Test Prep","description":"If you attended a traditional school, you may not be familiar with how homeschooling works. Peterson's debunks common myths about homeschooling.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Common Homeschooling Myths Debunked | DSST Test Prep","og_description":"If you attended a traditional school, you may not be familiar with how homeschooling works. Peterson's debunks common myths about homeschooling.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/","og_site_name":"Peterson's","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/petersons","article_published_time":"2020-03-20T23:02:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-04-29T19:19:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1365,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jaclyn Walsh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Petersons","twitter_site":"@Petersons","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jaclyn Walsh","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/"},"author":{"name":"Jaclyn Walsh","@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4443ff55d3e59fda2ae9884f88010a62"},"headline":"Common Homeschooling Myths Debunked","datePublished":"2020-03-20T23:02:39+00:00","dateModified":"2020-04-29T19:19:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/"},"wordCount":967,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150.jpg","keywords":["AP","CLEP","DSST","homeschool"],"articleSection":["Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/","url":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/","name":"Common Homeschooling Myths Debunked | DSST Test Prep","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150.jpg","datePublished":"2020-03-20T23:02:39+00:00","dateModified":"2020-04-29T19:19:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4443ff55d3e59fda2ae9884f88010a62"},"description":"If you attended a traditional school, you may not be familiar with how homeschooling works. Peterson's debunks common myths about homeschooling.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20163914\/iStock-1130508150.jpg","width":1365,"height":768,"caption":"Mother and daughter having fun together in bedroom with teaching her to spell words and reading some hard words."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/common-homeschooling-myths-debunked\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/category\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Common Homeschooling Myths Debunked"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/","name":"Peterson's","description":"Peterson's helps students discover their best fit educational program","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4443ff55d3e59fda2ae9884f88010a62","name":"Jaclyn Walsh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3bc93783112e610e1a2714225febcf5795d3f68585fd283a8fcc2211d7c3cb68?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3bc93783112e610e1a2714225febcf5795d3f68585fd283a8fcc2211d7c3cb68?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3bc93783112e610e1a2714225febcf5795d3f68585fd283a8fcc2211d7c3cb68?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jaclyn Walsh"},"url":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/author\/jaclyn\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12636"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12643,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12636\/revisions\/12643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}