Who watched The Great Homeschool Awakening?

[Ting Tang]

I finally had a chance to watch it using a free trial to PureFlix. I thought there were some great thoughts, but it also makes me feel… like a failure because I don’t think my kids are as happy as those homeschooled kids. I feel like the bare minimum of academics is hard enough with my collection of kids. I can’t go on adventures or spare a lot of time for exploration. What were your thoughts on this documentary, if you watched it? 

[Rosie_0801]

Don't judge yourself by anything someone else edited.

[MercyA]

I haven't seen the movie.

You're not a failure.

If anyone has the time / energy / resources for exploring and adventuring all the time, good for them. Seriously. But I don't think that's what the majority of us do. It's not what I've done. 

Remember that just being with you is of immeasurable value to your kids. 

❤️

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

One thing to remember is that documentary is skewed towards those who are homeschooling for religious reasons.  That tends to be families that were commited to being one income from the beginning(and thus a little more comfortable financially perhaps), kids are more neurotypical and they are often in supportive church communities.  There is simply more time and margin for exploration and adventures. It’s a very different world than those of us who got thrown into homeschooling because PS couldn’t meet our children’s needs and are juggling a career as well, while not finding or having community.

I could be mistaken; those are just the differences I’ve noticed when it comes to the homeschooling families and their motivations.  People who always knew they would have a SAHM and homeschool seem to have an easier time because they have arranged their lives from the beginning for it, and they aren’t homeschooling due to special needs.

[Ting Tang]

Thank you everyone!  Oh, they claimed they didn't plan to homeschool, and two of the families had children who were not neurotypical.  But it was all still so perfect.  I am a Christian, and we have used that type of curriculum, but honestly...we do not start our days out with lovely devotionals.  I wish I could do that, but I still tend to go back to what they say is the myth of homeschooling---we must do XYZ by this date.  I was thinking it just didn't seem realistic.  I did like parts of it, such as figuring out HOW your child is smart and working with that.  I could probably do and be better.  Most of the time I just feel stressed out, lol.  I was not one who planned to homeschool.  

[ScoutTN]

Especially within homeschooling, one size does not fit all! Do not let someone else’s experience (especially one edited to look good!) be prescriptive for you.

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

By the way I’m a second generation homeschooler. I’m pretty sure some days(most days) my Mom was hanging on by the skin of her teeth. We didn’t do lovely devotions. There wasn’t money for adventures. She surrounded us with books, made us do our work, and kicked us outside.  I’m working on my second master’s degree, I have a sibling working on her PhD, I have a sister who’s an OT—we all became just fine adults without all the exciting homeschool adventures.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Mrs Tiggywinkle Again

[Kidlit]

I'd have said we largely fit the stereotype, but in retrospect I should've pulled the plug and sent our eldest to school several years before she went.  From the outside, no one would probably have seen the angst, but it was there.  I think our relationship suffered because we left it at status quo for too long.   All that to say--Not all that glitters is golden. 

[Ting Tang]

Most days I am just trying to get it done so they can go to their extracurriculars.  lol  It is true!  I'm still searching for a way to make it a bit more magical.  My oldest always wants to know why his work isn't as fun as the others' work, and looking back, I did have unrealistic expectations from him early on for his age.  I feel bad about that.  I do feel I can do better, so I am going to take some time to think before I do make next year's concrete plans.  I have thought many times about returning him to a brick and mortar school.  Sometimes I read comments online from adults who say they've been in therapy because they were homeschooled and isolated.  I am trying not to create that situation!

[BlsdMama]

There are just so many factors.  The thing to remember is that everyone has the same 24 hours so they do things you do not and vice versa.  I have not watched the movie. However, also realize they're aware they're making a movie.  While we were in Oregon, a little girl sent us a Flat Stanley.  We planned fun photo ops for Stanley at the capitol, parks, waterfalls, murals.  I'm sure it appeared like everyone was happy and we're fun all the time.  Truth is that we DO do fun adventure stuff sometimes.  We also do boring trudging through unfun curriculum. We also have days where people are grumpy or discontent because we're human.  I don't fault the families or the editors - the job is really to show the best parts of homeschooling.  I'm back to loving homeschooling again after being thoroughly burnt out on a kiddo who hated all things school and I'm so glad we've stuck with it, but it's definitely not all adventure and happiness.

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

Ok so I sat and actually watched the whole thing instead of just the previews I’d seen.

These are not families who are struggling.  Travel is emphasized and how great it is that they can just pick up and drive to the Midwest just to see it,  but let’s be serious: that’s not feasible for everyone or even most homeschooling families. Only one family has both parents working, but they only work part time. Nobody in the home has a full time job or more than one part time job.  I don’t know how that works but okay. Most of these dads seem to be self employed in some way that allows them to be nomads(not self employed like my husband who does construction). There’s a family featured who backpacked across Europe  with toddlers. Another family who bought an RV and traveled around the country.  These are not families with kids in speech therapy or occupational therapy, or kids who play on sports teams, or are trying to make ends meet by picking up a weekend job or growing a half acre garden to feed their families.

The families and adventures featured in this documentary are in no way a realistic portrayal of the average homeschooling family.  Right now my husband is on a construction job and I’m trying to take a nap after a 24 hour shift. My homeschooled second grader grumbled through his schoolwork and is now watching Kids YouTube while he eats cereal for lunch so I can sleep for half an hour. You’re doing fine. This documentary is ridiculous.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Mrs Tiggywinkle Again

[Clarita]

I only watched the previews because I don't want to pay the $2.99 to rent from Netflix or to deal with a trial subscription to cancel. From the previews for sure all their homes make mine look like a disaster area. Then I think if someone asked to film my homeschool I'd have housecleaners come and clean my house. The time I offered to show my friend how we do homeschooling I totally did a review lesson so my kids could effortlessly plow through the lessons. (Otherwise they would have gotten nothing done because they were distracted by their friend joining their school.

It looks like a movie really trying to convince people to homeschool and not a how-to movie. So they are going to show the best parts and not some child in tears over their math work in a hotel in the south of France. Home educator is frantically searching through their luggage for the math manipulatives that they may have left in Germany.

[Ting Tang]

Oh yes, the two part time jobs!  And yeah, I decided I live in garbage dump.  LOL

All over Facebook, people are like...you have to see it, it was wonderful.  And I did get good points from it, but it just doesn't seem very realistic.  

[Clarita]

Here's a negative review. https://www.stevepulaski.com/2022/06/14/kirk-cameron-presents-the-homeschool-awakening-2022-review/ 

[Ting Tang]

8 minutes ago, Clarita said:

Here's a negative review. https://www.stevepulaski.com/2022/06/14/kirk-cameron-presents-the-homeschool-awakening-2022-review/ 

He nailed it.  Down to the HGTV reference!  

[Not_a_Number]

Man, the most "adventurous" stuff we do is nowhere near the stuff that gives our life meaning. 

We spent the fall away from home in California. We drove there and back. We have lots of memories. I bet we could make a BEAUTIFUL movie of our experiences. 

And it was basically a mistake. The kids missed our life. My kids' friendships got destabilized from being away. They were lonely. It added stress to my marriage. 

Photogenic doesn't equal GOOD, in my experience. 

[klmama]

I've known adventurous families who had great stories and photos.  In choosing to be adventurous, they all missed out on something else important, whether that was academic rigor, social connection, or family stability.  People can't do everything.    

[katilac]

21 hours ago, Ting Tang said:

but it also makes me feel… like a failure because I don’t think my kids are as happy as those homeschooled kids 

I haven't watched it and I do not know which families are featured in it. I can, however, tell you that keeping a cheerful countenance is heavily emphasized in some evangelical Christian homeschooling circles. 

Not keeping a cheerful countenance is considered poor testimony - if you don't appear happy to non-believers, you might be the reason they don't get saved. Serious stuff. 

A cheerful countenance is also often considered a natural result of being close to God. If you don't maintain a near-constant smile, you may well be questioned as to why, and put under the microscope to make sure you aren't straying from your Christian walk. 

 I'm sure you already know that obedience is also highly valued, but not just obedience as in doing what you are told; children are expected to joyfully obey. This is, of course, a direct connection from adult Christians being exhorted to joyfully obey Christ - joyfully obeying your parents is considered a precursor to joyfully obeying Christ, so it's a serious matter. A child who does exactly what they're told but doesn't look happy about it is disobeying, and disobedience is often met with corporal punishment. 

So, yeah, kids from those families smile a lot. It's in their best interests. 

[Ting Tang]

1 hour ago, klmama said:

I've known adventurous families who had great stories and photos.  In choosing to be adventurous, they all missed out on something else important, whether that was academic rigor, social connection, or family stability.  People can't do everything.    

That’s just it— you can’t do everything. I feel like I’m juggling a lot now and struggling without the adventure because I think my kids should be able to do math and analyze sentences, lol. 

[Ting Tang]

36 minutes ago, katilac said:

I haven't watched it and I do not know which families are featured in it. I can, however, tell you that keeping a cheerful countenance is heavily emphasized in some evangelical Christian homeschooling circles. 

Not keeping a cheerful countenance is considered poor testimony - if you don't appear happy to non-believers, you might be the reason they don't get saved. Serious stuff. 

A cheerful countenance is also often considered a natural result of being close to God. If you don't maintain a near-constant smile, you may well be questioned as to why, and put under the microscope to make sure you aren't straying from your Christian walk. 

 I'm sure you already know that obedience is also highly valued, but not just obedience as in doing what you are told; children are expected to joyfully obey. This is, of course, a direct connection from adult Christians being exhorted to joyfully obey Christ - joyfully obeying your parents is considered a precursor to joyfully obeying Christ, so it's a serious matter. A child who does exactly what they're told but doesn't look happy about it is disobeying, and disobedience is often met with corporal punishment. 

So, yeah, kids from those families smile a lot. It's in their best interests. 

Oh my goodness. Some of the parents in this one are as you described. I feel like I’m so far away from being so happy and content. I think I can improve in many ways. But I still have constraints— 

[Shoeless]

I only know one homeschool family that tried for big, travelling adventures. Both parents had lucrative jobs on the east coast for decades, cashed out early, retired to cheap, rural area, and adopted a boatload of kids out of foster care, (the parents were early 50s when they started adopting).    

They sold everything, bought an RV, and decided to be road-schoolers and "content creators", and now share their experiences on tiktok. The RV breaks down on the regular.  Most of their posts are from hotels/airbnb/friends/family homes as they wait for the RV to get repaired, (it's been in the shop 4 or 5 months now).  They're already thinking about giving up the RV and buying property.  I hope they figure something out soon. Living in limbo for months and months has got to be exhausting, as well as expensive.  I don't think they are really making any money off tiktok. 

I admit that I felt a pang of envy when I heard they were going to travel the country, but their current situation is not one that I would enjoy at all. 

 

 

 

 

[Ausmumof3]

20 hours ago, Ting Tang said:

Most days I am just trying to get it done so they can go to their extracurriculars.  lol  It is true!  I'm still searching for a way to make it a bit more magical.  My oldest always wants to know why his work isn't as fun as the others' work, and looking back, I did have unrealistic expectations from him early on for his age.  I feel bad about that.  I do feel I can do better, so I am going to take some time to think before I do make next year's concrete plans.  I have thought many times about returning him to a brick and mortar school.  Sometimes I read comments online from adults who say they've been in therapy because they were homeschooled and isolated.  I am trying not to create that situation!

I think there’s seasons for stuff. We did a lot of exploring with younger kids but as they’ve got older and developed their interests and for more routine extracurricular stuff we’ve had less time for random adventures. I won’t lie I miss being able to say yes to all the outings, do nature walks and read good literature but I need to meet my kids needs where they are now.

[ScoutTN]

4 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I think there’s seasons for stuff. We did a lot of exploring with younger kids but as they’ve got older and developed their interests and for more routine extracurricular stuff we’ve had less time for random adventures. I won’t lie I miss being able to say yes to all the outings, do nature walks and read good literature but I need to meet my kids needs where they are now.

This. My almost-graduated homeschooler has had lots of sweet, fun times and some really hard ones.
 

LOTS of freedom and small adventures as a younger student! We enjoyed the simple things like library story time and RAs, lots of unstructured time and time outdoors, and the time together. Not perfect, but good. No big trips. No big, nice house. Not classical (though influenced by the ideas and the model). 

As relational connections and commitments to both ECs and academics increased and deepened with age, our homeschool became much less flexible. We made choices. There are trade-offs. We have never had lots of money and have had many other challenges to deal with while homeschooling. I made mistakes and there are things I regret, for sure. But my homeschooler has enjoyed her journey and is ready for college. 
 

Homeschooling can be really good and really hard, just like all of life. False portrayals of it help no one. 
 

Eta: I have one kid who is in public school and it makes me sad. I don’t like his community and much of the curriculum. But it is the right path for him right now and does have important advantages that homeschooling doesn’t offer. Trade-offs. Life is messy. Any presentation of homeschooling that does not boldly and honestly acknowledge the challenges and that one size does not fit all is, as Home Again said, rubbish. And dangerous rubbish. 

Edited April 28, 2023 by ScoutTN

[Ann.without.an.e]

A documentary is the equivalent of a highlight reel. You see only what they want you to see for a short amount of time. It isn't healthy to compare our full life experience to someone's highlight reel. Same with social media or the blogger moms who only show the best of themselves and their crew. 

I don't know any homeschool families who had lots of adventures, though some more than we were able to have, for sure. It takes a lot of money to live that way and most of us have sacrificed at least some income to homeschool. 

Also, is adventuring even your goal? The other day I saw something something along the lines of "if you homeschool your kids you gain 17,000 hours with them". What if that was my goal...normal life with my kids in the plenty. My kids picked a lot of green beans lol. Did we have some fun? of course, but real life was my goal. 

[HomeAgain]

I haven't watched it.  I did, however, watch a documentary about the Stockdale family yesterday.  They were a homeschooling family centered on making sure their kids were protected from bad influences.  They did everything together, even having a family band and making all sorts of cute videos.  The kids were talented, smart, and kind.  And then, as an adult, one of them went and shot his mother, younger brother, and tried to kill himself.  Their community was shocked.

 

It's this sort of thing that makes Homeschool Recovery subreddits a sad hole to wander down.  So many now adults identifying with the repression and isolation, the need to present one sort of front to the world and feeling another way inside. Adults having to navigate how to have valid feelings and having no idea how or even what is valid.

I won't watch the Great Homeschool Awakening.  We are no longer homeschooling, but it was never perfect.  It was messy and lots of ups and downs.  Everything starts out rosy at the beginning of the year, gets rather dark in February, and then finishing with determination in June.  And that was perfectly okay.  Some ages were harder than others.  Sometimes perspective changes.  My 24yo asked a while back while the 13yo was being a git: "Was I that bad???"  And when I confirmed it, and he watched my responses, "I used to think you were so mean.  I would be so much meaner having to deal with that nonsense!" 🤣

It was messy and it was okay.  Everyone was learning together.  But it took me a long time to give up the ideal image that Sonlight catalogs presented or stop mourning over the Memoria Press work my children would never do.  There was always this presentation that they were right and we were wrong and it just wasn't going to turn out well.  Spoiler - it did.

[Ting Tang]

47 minutes ago, HomeAgain said:

I haven't watched it.  I did, however, watch a documentary about the Stockdale family yesterday.  They were a homeschooling family centered on making sure their kids were protected from bad influences.  They did everything together, even having a family band and making all sorts of cute videos.  The kids were talented, smart, and kind.  And then, as an adult, one of them went and shot his mother, younger brother, and tried to kill himself.  Their community was shocked.

 

It's this sort of thing that makes Homeschool Recovery subreddits a sad hole to wander down.  So many now adults identifying with the repression and isolation, the need to present one sort of front to the world and feeling another way inside. Adults having to navigate how to have valid feelings and having no idea how or even what is valid.

I won't watch the Great Homeschool Awakening.  We are no longer homeschooling, but it was never perfect.  It was messy and lots of ups and downs.  Everything starts out rosy at the beginning of the year, gets rather dark in February, and then finishing with determination in June.  And that was perfectly okay.  Some ages were harder than others.  Sometimes perspective changes.  My 24yo asked a while back while the 13yo was being a git: "Was I that bad???"  And when I confirmed it, and he watched my responses, "I used to think you were so mean.  I would be so much meaner having to deal with that nonsense!" 🤣

It was messy and it was okay.  Everyone was learning together.  But it took me a long time to give up the ideal image that Sonlight catalogs presented or stop mourning over the Memoria Press work my children would never do.  There was always this presentation that they were right and we were wrong and it just wasn't going to turn out well.  Spoiler - it did.

If I were to protect my children from bad influences, I would need to stop letting the random curse word slip, lol.  Seriously!  That is such a sad story about that family. I have not heard of them. I see ads for various online/homeschool companies, and every so often in the comments, there will be someone who tells people NOT to homeschool, that there are adults suffering because they were homeschooled and their parents thought they knew best, and that there are support groups.  That is so sad to me.  Sometimes I wonder no matter how wonderful you make it, will some kids still feel it was all wrong?  The majority of kids still go to regular school.  My kids are in extracurriculars, where thankfully, they mingle with public, private, and homeschooled kids.  I hope that helps.  Honestly, if my local schools had a stellar reputation, I'm not sure I would be doing this.  I went to very good public schools. It hurts me to see how much less is available to local kids than what I had, and I am 42.

Yeah, we've tried Memoria Press. We did second grade this year but tried to do 3rd and 4th with others last year. Now we just use parts. I have no clue how four kids could use each package in its entirety.  I'm seriously thinking of unschooling my oldest, except in math, grammar, and spelling.  He keeps asking me to study various things.  I think I need to do better while he still has a love for something, but he still keeps saying he just wants to be a truck driver.  Not to diminish that job, and he could change his mind.  lol 

[Happy2BaMom]

I haven't watched it, and won't (for multiple reasons), but....it sounds less like a documentary, and more like propaganda. If so, treat it as such.

[Carol in Cal.]

Well, there IS more freedom with homeschooling than with school.

If you decide to fit in a field trip to, say, a children’s science museum you can go in the afternoon after all the field trip school rooms are finished, and have the whole place to yourself.  Or you can customize what you teach when, to an extent, so if you’re going on a vacation to the mountains next summer you can study geology instead of chemistry for a few weeks beforehand to make it all fit together.  

That doesn’t mean infinite possibilities, but it takes some of the outside control out of your family life, which is really nice.  That’s why I’ve always thought that one kid in school and the other at home or hybrid schools are the worst—all the responsibility of homeschooling and none of the schedule flexibility.

[Ting Tang]

6 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Well, there IS more freedom with homeschooling than with school.

If you decide to fit in a field trip to, say, a children’s science museum you can go in the afternoon after all the field trip school rooms are finished, and have the whole place to yourself.  Or you can customize what you teach when, to an extent, so if you’re going on a vacation to the mountains next summer you can study geology instead of chemistry for a few weeks beforehand to make it all fit together.  

That doesn’t mean infinite possibilities, but it takes some of the outside control out of your family life, which is really nice.  That’s why I’ve always thought that one kid in school and the other at home or hybrid schools are the worst—all the responsibility of homeschooling and none of the schedule flexibility.

Very true! I love the flexibility.  And that would be a hesitation of returning just one child to a brick and mortar school--or even signing up for an online class, lol.  I really do not miss being committed to a school.  

[lovinmyboys]

14 hours ago, klmama said:

I've known adventurous families who had great stories and photos.  In choosing to be adventurous, they all missed out on something else important, whether that was academic rigor, social connection, or family stability.  People can't do everything.    

I think this is so wise to remember. I feel like we have had quite a few adventures, but just this morning I was feeling guilty because I don’t think I have given my kids roots.
 

It is birthday season around here and I guess I use those milestones to look back at all of my regrets 😀. You can’t have everything and there are so many ways to build a solid homeschool/life.

[Jean in Newcastle]

The documentary/ propaganda angle aside, I think that people discount the role that people's attitudes and choices have in how they accept or react to their circumstances.  Which is a clumsy way of saying that not everyone who is bullied in public school becomes a school shooter or a bully themselves.  Not everyone who has loneliness in homeschool (or even in public school) reacts violently to that.  Not everyone who is exposed to bad influences follows those bad influences.  I agree that there are pros and cons / trade offs to every schooling method.  And to various parenting methods as well.  And that as parents we do have a responsibility to a) not be abusive b) try to mitigate those cons in our situation c) try to maximize the pros in our situation if we can (but we still just do our best).  But then it's out of our hands.  We can't stop all the bad decisions (some very very bad) that other people make. 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by Jean in Newcastle
trying for clarity

[JennyD]

At this point, I am completely uninterested in reading/watching/listening to anything about homeschooling UNLESS it is created by a parent who actually did the day-to-day work of homeschooling their kids themselves.

Homeschool dads (e.g., Kirk Cameron), academic researchers, former-teachers-turned-curriculum writers, professional parents' rights advocates -- not interested in what any of them have to say.  People are free to have and express opinions about all sorts of things, of course, but as far as I'm concerned, if you haven't actually been a primary homeschool parent for some length of time, there is nothing that I personally can learn from you about homeschooling.

 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by JennyD

[kirstenhill]

On 4/27/2023 at 10:46 AM, Mrs Tiggywinkle Again said:

Ok so I sat and actually watched the whole thing instead of just the previews I’d seen.

These are not families who are struggling.  Travel is emphasized and how great it is that they can just pick up and drive to the Midwest just to see it,  but let’s be serious: that’s not feasible for everyone or even most homeschooling families. Only one family has both parents working, but they only work part time. Nobody in the home has a full time job or more than one part time job.  I don’t know how that works but okay. Most of these dads seem to be self employed in some way that allows them to be nomads(not self employed like my husband who does construction). There’s a family featured who backpacked across Europe  with toddlers. Another family who bought an RV and traveled around the country.  These are not families with kids in speech therapy or occupational therapy, or kids who play on sports teams, or are trying to make ends meet by picking up a weekend job or growing a half acre garden to feed their families.

The families and adventures featured in this documentary are in no way a realistic portrayal of the average homeschooling family.  Right now my husband is on a construction job and I’m trying to take a nap after a 24 hour shift. My homeschooled second grader grumbled through his schoolwork and is now watching Kids YouTube while he eats cereal for lunch so I can sleep for half an hour. You’re doing fine. This documentary is ridiculous.

QFT... Like others, I've only watched previews, but yeah...even for families that aren't struggling, the whole "travel adventures all the time" thing doesn't fit well with so many things we do - music lessons, homeschool classes or co-ops, volunteering, church commitments, extra-curricular activities. Even before we had a kid in public school tying us to that schedule, we all of twice took a longer vacation (still only 2 weeks) when other people were in school.  It was great to have a bit of flexibility to catch some national parks a bit out of peak season, but it certainly isn't even the best perk of homeschooling to me.

I have issues with the whole road schooling/nomad life as being the pinnacle of homeschooling anyway...I don't think the "rugged individualist" life is healthy for most families.  People need support and community...whether that is homeschooling community, faith community, neighbors, extended family, etc.  

[Heartstrings]

1 hour ago, JennyD said:

At this point, I am completely uninterested in reading/watching/listening to anything about homeschooling UNLESS it is created by a parent who actually did the day-to-day work of homeschooling their kids themselves.

Homeschool dads (e.g., Kirk Cameron), academic researchers, former-teachers-turned-curriculum writers, professional parents' rights advocates -- not interested in what any of them have to say.  People are free to have and express opinions about all sorts of things, of course, but as far as I'm concerned, if you haven't actually been a primary homeschool parent for some length of time, there is nothing that I personally can learn from you about homeschooling.

 

 

Yes!    I am so tired of people with no connection to homeschooling coming in and trying to “coach” us or “counsel” us.  No thank you.  I want to talk to the mom who homeschooled and graduated a few kids, not pay a school counselor turned homeschool coach who doesn’t even know who Charlotte Mason is.   
 

That might have been bothering me for a bit.  🤣.   

[theelfqueen]

Did we have adventures? Yup. We went on a 3 week trip to the UK and Ireland in the midst of studying British History. We went on a multi week road trip through Utah while studying Geology. My youngest took blacksmithing classes and flying lessons. Everyone participated in Martial Arta. We went to the zoo and the aquarium and the library and hiked once a week. 

We also sat at the dining room table and had massive fights about sneaking the teachers guide to copy answers rather than doing math. We had meltdowns about mean Mom requiring perceived to be horrible things (like note-taking) . Yes. You have to finish  your schoolwork before you can do some other thing.... all of the grind. Those hikes often included listening to an audiobook for at least part of it. Car trips often involved app practice for schoolwork and listening to endless Great Courses lectures. 

And sometimes I said screw math let's go for a hike. And it was just for fun. 

The first year my youngest was a solo homeschooler We did a semester "at Hogwarts" we decorated his work area, he got the letter, his course list used goofy titles (herbology = botany with a couple of fun extra books, we did ancient history and spent time on mythology and called it history of magic, etc) it looked magical but felt mostly like doing school lol. 

Edited April 28, 2023 by theelfqueen

[Lecka]

I have been around someone who gets amazing videos of her kids, and if I had never seen her making one in person, I would be very naive to what can be going on around amazing videos.

 

Her kids were like actors following her directions.  
 

It’s just how they make social media videos in that family.  They put on an act the way mom wants.  
 

Then once she has her video, they can act however they want.

 

I don’t look at things the same way since seeing this.  
 

There’s just no way to know what is real or fake from just seeing a video, or a series of videos, unless you have been around people more to know if the videos are an act or not.  
 

Before I took things more at face value because “my kids” can’t act, they barely smile for a picture.  Sometimes they won’t smile.  Well — a lot of kids can act, they are good actors, they will smile and say what they are supposed to say for a video.  
 

 

[Arcadia]

On 4/27/2023 at 4:56 AM, Mrs Tiggywinkle Again said:

People who always knew they would have a SAHM and homeschool seem to have an easier time because they have arranged their lives from the beginning for it, and they aren’t homeschooling due to special needs.

We did not intend to homeschool. However the intention to be a SAHM was already discussed and decided before the engagement. So financially, budgets were based on a single income and potential periods of unemployment. My parents intended for me to be a SAHM so they supplemented my budget for my kids education expenses. 
 

On 4/27/2023 at 5:14 AM, Ting Tang said:

 Most of the time I just feel stressed out, lol.  I was not one who planned to homeschool.  

We didn’t plan to homeschool either and the stress + exhaustion made my health deteriorate fast. My husband is the one who wanted to homeschool but was unwilling to spend. So at one point, my health was so bad it was either our kids go back to public school or they go to outsourced classes. We even toured private schools. 
 

So take care of yourself and don’t compare because that would cause more stress and anguish.

28 minutes ago, Lecka said:

 Well — a lot of kids can act, they are good actors, they will smile and say what they are supposed to say for a video.  

That is true in real life too. My kids definitely know how to “behave” in public. 

Edited April 28, 2023 by Arcadia
autocorrect

[SeaConquest]

17 hours ago, katilac said:

I haven't watched it and I do not know which families are featured in it. I can, however, tell you that keeping a cheerful countenance is heavily emphasized in some evangelical Christian homeschooling circles. 

Not keeping a cheerful countenance is considered poor testimony - if you don't appear happy to non-believers, you might be the reason they don't get saved. Serious stuff. 

A cheerful countenance is also often considered a natural result of being close to God. If you don't maintain a near-constant smile, you may well be questioned as to why, and put under the microscope to make sure you aren't straying from your Christian walk. 

 I'm sure you already know that obedience is also highly valued, but not just obedience as in doing what you are told; children are expected to joyfully obey. This is, of course, a direct connection from adult Christians being exhorted to joyfully obey Christ - joyfully obeying your parents is considered a precursor to joyfully obeying Christ, so it's a serious matter. A child who does exactly what they're told but doesn't look happy about it is disobeying, and disobedience is often met with corporal punishment. 

So, yeah, kids from those families smile a lot. It's in their best interests. 

Holy smokes -- what an invalidating environment for anyone prone to depression and anxiety. 

[Shoeless]

7 hours ago, Ting Tang said:

Sometimes I wonder no matter how wonderful you make it, will some kids still feel it was all wrong?

Yes, some kids will. Some public school kids probably wish they could homeschool, too. 

Moving Beyond the Page is the curriculum that makes me sigh wistfully.