I have a horrible story to share. One that might make your blood boil. You might hate me for a second, but I hope you’ll forgive me. Before I started homeschooling my girls, I had all the same misconceptions that everyone else seems to have.
I won’t list them here, but it added up to this: Homeschoolers are freaks. Different. Downright weird.
So, the story: A friend of mine had a daughter that just started college and my friend told me that her daughter had a discovered a special kind of freak-radar when she went away to college. Can you guess what is coming?
Her daughter said she could tell within one minute of meeting someone on campus whether they were homeschooled or not. Not in a good way, but in a this person is so weird they must have been homeschooled way. We had a good giggle over it and forgot about it. (And.. . Oh. The shame. My face is so red telling you this now. Is your blood boiling?)
A few months later, God would call me to homeschool my girls. We started homeschooling and after our first convention, we were sold on it.
Homeschool rocks!
We’re doing this forever!
However.
In the back of my mind, my friend’s freak-radar joke lingered. And it bothered me. Yes, God was calling us to do this. Yes, we had met several perfectly wonderful, not at all freaky homeschooled kids. But, still.
Would my kids be judged for the rest of their life because of this?
Would they be labeled freaks forever? The good Christian in me knew it didn’t matter. But the worried mom in me, well…. she worried.
And you know what else she did?
She signed her kids up for every single activity possible. That’s right. No cocky college kid was going to find my girl on her freak-radar! My girls would be socialized beyond belief!
And they were. Beyond belief. Beyond my own ability to keep up with it, in fact. Before long, we were frazzled, tired, and hardly ever home. It wasn’t working.
Thankfully, I didn’t keep at this pace for long before I realized I wasn’t doing my girls any favors. I also learned that socialization has nothing to do with dance lessons. But most importantly, I stopped worrying about my kids being freaks and started embracing it.
I mean, who was I kidding? After all…
My kids have called me Tooty Booty ever since an unfortunate incident that shall never be spoken of again.
We regularly have fashion shows featuring our noble dachshund, Frankie, dressed in doll clothes. I can’t actually say the word dachshund, by the way.
Both of my daughters have a photo in their room of my husband and me sticking our tongues out and picking our noses. And nope, it’s not the same picture. We’ve done it more than once.
I sometimes talk in an accent all day for no reason at all, other than to drive my kids crazy.
We pray before our meals, wherever we are.
We sport tee shirts advertising our faith in Jesus.
And here’s the topper: We love to talk about what God is doing in our lives.
We’d been weirdos all along.
We’re not Homeschool freaks, we’re just freaks who happen to homeschool.
Guess what? You’re probably a freak, too. Embrace it.
How would your family register on the freak radar? Pretty normal? Kinda weird? All-out freak?
Christy says
Love it! 🙂 Have a blessed week!
Sonita @ CowsDontMoo.com says
Not sure where we fall but we’re def crunchier than most, and dorks to boot.
My 7 year old likes documentaries. (as do I)
I make my own bread and yogurt, etc
I labored & delivered without an epidural, breastfed both kids and used cloth diapers on baby #2 We did baby led weaning instead of babyfood, etc
We’re happy though and it works for us.
Shelli @ Hopefully Devoted says
So true! We’re the freaks who happen to have their kids in public school. Our kids are still freaks and their classmates still notice the difference. We tell our kids all the time that we are weird and we embrace it wholeheartedly. 🙂
Dianne says
Fantastic post! I’m pretty sure we’d be freaks whether we homeschooled or not too 🙂
Teri says
Amen! God made each one of us special and unique, not lemmings. I, too, thought of homeschool as something “weird.” At age 50, I began homeschooling my then 5 yo and 12 yo for the first time. WIsh I had done it sooner! I like that we are just “us.”
Becca says
Freaks. 😀 One thing that made us stand out was our emphasis on education. My now 15YO often lamented in elementary school that he wasn’t allowed endless TV and video game time like his friends. I cheerfully said, “NOPE! We think it’s important to use your brain in many different ways” as I turned off the whatever it was. Now he’s in high school he’s appreciating our freaky approach because he’s got better study skills and academic abilities than his peers. And oh yeah he skipped a grade. Homeschooling my girls just gives a new dimension to our freakiness. 😀
renee @ FIMBY says
You’re right. I was a freak long before starting to homeschool but I kinda relish that. And I want my children to be noticeably different than the norm (in good ways). I have no desire to raise “normal” children or even be “normal” myself.
Jessica says
I’ve come to believe that most people that think homeschoolers are weird or freaks, what they really mean is they’re DIFFERENT than traditionally schooled kids. They’re respectful, and they’re not nearly as self-absorbed, and they can have a perfectly grown up and mature conversation with people their parents age. And that’s WEIRD. Because as a society we’re used to kids and teenagers being much closer to the brat end of the social spectrum.
So, if that’s what people are defining as “weird”, then I’ll let my children wear that label proudly!
Cassidi says
Thank you, again, for a fabulous post. We have definitely been freaks all along, too (according to our extended family)! We love the Lord to the extent that it actually shows up in our actions {gasp}, we go to a “store-front” church, we operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and we’ve even done the Atkins Diet {hee, hee}! The fact that we homeschool is just another aspect of our lives that makes it easier for people to distance themselves from us. But that’s ok, our lives are supposed to be different (in the world, not of it). I’m ok if people think my girls are freaks, I know that Jesus does not, and His opinion is the only one that matters!
tish says
My kids have had mean kids treat them differently because of being homeschooled. It hurts. All of us. But usually we have adults approach in public and ask (actually assume) if we homeachool. It has always been positive. I ask why they ask and they say they can tell because they are respectful and well behaved and that they wished more people did it. God has built us up so much that the occasional weird public schooler doesn’t shake our grounding. 😀
Lindsay says
I hope that one day people will assume we’re freaks too. My goal is respectful, insightful, Christ-centered kids, and I’m pretty sure that’s not in the schedule at public school.
Great post!
Jenn says
Love this! Ditto everything you said 🙂
Melissa says
We are Freaks too!!!
we do not homeschool, our 1st grader is in a small private school, but if and when I lose my job, that is our plan…
we don’t have cable or satelite, the only tv we watch are kids videos, Little House on the Prairie series, and soon we will be gettin Grizzly Adams series! and that excites us!!!
we pray, loudly, wherever we are before every meal, and anytime we see an ambulance or fire truck…
we dance in our living room almost nightly!
we all sleep in the same room!
we have our kiddos helping us deliver firewood every week-end…
we love having them around us ALL the time, and we know how quickly this will pass…
we may be freaks, but we are in love with it!
Thanks for sharing your heart!
Melissa says
Yes, yes! Weird is NOT a bad word in this house!!! :o)
And my (self-proclaimed) very weird friend said this about a month ago to ME, “I am blessed to have found an even quirkier family than my own.”
I LOVED that!!!!!!
Claire says
Love this! Awesome post.
SoCalLynn says
Can we be friends? Your family sounds like ours does! I have a daughter who can be outrageous (in other people’s minds anyway) and we love to make each other laugh. We proudly wear our Christian t-shirts in public and are vocal about the fact we home school. Yes, we are freaks in so many great ways!
Angel says
I personally do not have judgement against ALL homeschoolers but I do have judgement on one or 2 people I know that do it because of how they do it. My point….one of my daughter’s teachers homeschooled her kids. They are lovely & well adjusted college kids. Another friend homeschools 1 son because of certain learning challenges he faces. All bright kids. Now, on the other hand. My husband’s ex homeschools her 3 boys all while working 2 jobs & taking care of a special needs child. She does not teach them nor does she assist them in any way. Now that her oldest (my step son) is in techinal school he sees first hand how behind he is. While some guys are blowing through certain areas he is working extra hard on grasping it. And some of this stuff is 7th or 8th grade basics. Another friend decided to homeschool not only her oldest but a friend’s child too. She does not even have a GED. I see her posts on face book full of spelling & grammer errors and when I talk to her she sometimes uses the wrong words.
I guess my point is I would have less against (some) homeschoolers if in order to homeschool you had to pass a test. Why not? Teachers must. I am not saying this is the case with all but I do believe we need a little more control over some areas of homeschooling. (BTW Michigan where my stepson was raised does not require records of homeschoolers) And that is I believe a disservice to the children.
Just my thoughts. (And again….not everyone who homeschools is like this….most children are smart & educated)
Melissa M says
You misspelled grammar.
Angel B says
Melissa…..I am not even going to say what you are but I believe your life must be very dull to find the one misspelled word on a 2 year old comment. Maybe you homeschool and have insecurities and chose to pick the one word I misspelled? Anyway, get a life.
Angie @ Many Little Blessings says
Love this post!
We’re pretty nutty around here too. 😉 Then again, I think you’re already aware of that. LOL
sara says
Freaks? Nah!
What those girls sniffed and were frightened by was an independent spirit, someone who is not running with the herd, but in spite of it! When frightened, society with the aid of some teachers, instructs marginalization.
Homeschoolers just haven’t been pressed into the I HAVE BEEN TO A PUBLIC SCHOOL AND THIS IS WHAT WE LOOK/SOUND/THINK LIKE mold! It is frightening to others when we don’t worship at the same altars they do! (like the altar of conformity)
Mimi says
This is a great post! I am 20 years old and I was homeschooled from Kindergarted through my senior year, and it was great! I went off to college and guess what… no one knew I was only 17 and that I was homeschooled! I was a good kid in college, I didn’t party or drink or break the rules, and the other students knew it! And you know what, some of them thought I was weird I’m sure, they thought that I didn’t have any fun and all I did was study. But I did so much more than that, I studied hard and got good grades, but I also built life-long friendships! I lived in one of the residence halls, and I spend hours upon hours talking to girls late into the night about all the problems they had. Jesus gave me the opportunity to love them because He was working through me. My parents trained me and discipled me so that I could leave home confident in my realtionship with Jesus. They spent so much time teaching me, and even more time living life with me!
About Socialization…. I would just like to say that I would rather my kids get their socialzation skills from me and my husband than from a room full of other kids their age, just sayin’ 🙂
Thanks for all your posts, I am new to your website but I have enjoyed reading the things you have shared so far! Keep blogging for the glory of Jesus!
Mimi
Christine- Fruit in Season says
This is one fantastic post! You rock, freak!
Mimi says
And one more thing: It is completely worth it to be weird when it comes to loving Jesus. There is a cost, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.” (John 15:18-19a).
Even if you are considered weird, it really does not matter in light of eternity, it is worth it to homeschool and train your children to be godly men and women. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
There were times when I didn’t want to be homeschooled, I wanted to ride the bus and do what the other kids were doing. My parents protected me and blessed me with a private home education, it was a blessing and I am very thankful that they taught me the things they did.
Devon says
I love this!! We’re still freaks that are coming out of the closet. Our first homeschooling year will start in the Fall. I’ve never been more excited to be a freak. And, yes I was one of those people that judged the homeschooling community before as well! It’s amazing how God works, isn’t it???
Eric Mills says
I LOVE my Freaks, great post Ang.
Amy @ Raising Arrows says
Honestly, we are freaks even in homeschooling circles! 😉
Jimmie says
Yep. Resonating….. I am a freak who homeschools.
Cindy says
This made me giggle. So true! People who are already outside the box tend to leave the stuffy confines of normalcy anyway. Of *course* we homeschool!
Kris @ Weird, Unsocicalized Homeschoolers says
Great post, Angela! Yep, we’re freaks. Of course, I’ve known that we’re weird, unsocialized homeschoolers for a while now. 😉
Sarah at SmallWorld says
Awesome post! And so true. My son is a freshman in college this year, and he embraces his freakishness. He’s cool and quirky, and I would have totally hung out with him if we were in college together. Even if he was homeschooled. 😉
Amy says
Loved this post! Just remember, freak or not, “common” is not the same thing as “normal.” 🙂
Erika says
Love your post & your truthfulness! I didn’t realize that trying to integrate my family (be more like the neighbors) was such a burden, but it is! My kids know it’s ok to be “us”. We’re up pretty high on the freak scale. But not alone:D
Brooke says
Can I just say, I love this post?! I don’t know about the rest of my family but I, for one, am definitely a weirdy. Well, maybe I take that back. We’re all weirdies! We homeschool as well and I also had the same feelings about homeschoolers before finding out that we, in fact, were supposed to homeschool. It’s funny the roads life takes you down.
Nate says
We all aren’t that weird…
🙂
https://shenkitup.com/2011/04/21/why-are-homeschoolers-weird/
Mandy says
I know this is a really old post, but I just saw it and it made my day. I often feel SO self-conscious of the fact that we’re homeschool freaks. But my three kids and I recently were eating at the Costco food court when this nice older lady sat by us and started to chat with us. My kids, they are TALKERS. They talk about anything and everything, but right now are kind of obsessed with talking about ages and birthdays. The two older kids list off everyone in the family, how old they are, and when their birthday is. They also list off what year each person was born, if they remember. So as we carried on in conversation with this nice older lady, at some point she asked if my kids are homeschooled. She asked in a kind way, not a “you guys are so weird that it was obvious” kind of way. I’ve actually done something similar, there was this family I noticed at my doctor’s office once, and they had like six kids. The kids were all so well-behaved, they were kind to each other, keeping themselves entertained, playing games together and reading books and magazines. I asked the dad if they were homeschooled, and he explained that they are unschooled, and we talked some about unschooling. They were freaks, but in the awesomest way, LOL! It brought me such joy to see such a big family of respectful kids who didn’t all need electronics to be entertained (not that it’s terrible to keep your kids entertained with electronics when need be).