It’s inevitable that the subject of being a former homeschooler will come up in conversation if you talk to someone long enough. Here are a few phrases that have left every homeschooler's mouth at one time or another.
1. “We’re not all weird.”
If I had a dime for every time someone said, “You were homeschooled? You seem pretty normal,” I could have paid for my entire college education upfront the day I set foot on campus. Yes, there are a lot of interesting home schooled kids, but we’re not all freaks that live under a rock.
2. “Yes, I have friends.”
Just because I didn’t go to elementary or middle school, didn't mean I was friendless. My parents insisted upon my siblings and me playing sports or getting involved in something to ensure we were interacting with other kids. We all chose the sports route, and I can guarantee my parents rethought that rule after they ended up with four kids on multiple different sports teams.
3. “Yes, I do actually have to do school.”
There’s a common misconception that homeschoolers don’t actually have to do school. But, contrary to popular belief, we all have textbooks, book reports, assignments and homework sheets for extra practice just like everyone else.
4. “Mom, can we please stay in our PJs?”
Although my ride to school consisted of the 12 steps from my bedroom to the living room, I was expected to be dressed with teeth and hair brushed as if I was headed off to share a classroom with 25 other students. I was actually headed to the dining room table to share a teacher with three other kids, but I was still looking presentable nonetheless.
5. “I finished school at noon today.”
In school, children have a set amount of time in each classroom to learn about a different subject. If I just so happened to feel extra driven on any given day and I hammered through all of my subjects, I could be done by lunch and off to do whatever my heart desired, which usually consisted of reading a book somewhere.
6. “Yes, I know how to play sports.”
Homeschooled kids can be a little extra nerdy than the next kid, but that doesn’t mean we were uncultured. Sports were my family’s life growing up, and although I’m still a sucker for staying in with a good book, homeschooled kids can be just as athletic as the next kid.
7. “This is my first time on a school bus.”
When I eventually went to public school in ninth grade, I had never had the experience of riding on a bus. It wasn’t until a field trip my sophomore year that I finally got to ride on a school bus. Then, after spending countless hours on buses for sports or whatever other reason, it’s an experience that gets really old, really quick.
8. “Can I buy a new backpack?”
Buying cool backpacks were always a waste of money. We had no need for a backpack that would never hold books. But we put them to good use with sleepover supplies on the weekends.
9. “No, I’m not a genius.”
Homeschooling is hard, but that doesn’t mean I was any more of a brilliant child than my public school counterparts.
10. “When will my friends be out of school?”
On those days that homeschoolers finished their school work early, if we wanted to hang out with our friends, we still had to wait for them to get out of school.
11. “Can we have a snow day?”
There were no use for snow days when we weren’t actually driving on the roads to get to school. But if we all begged our mom enough, she would cave and let us go sled riding.
12. “No, I don’t have to raise my hand to go to the bathroom.”
The biggest perk of home schooling was definitely the free bathroom pass that permitted us to use the restroom whenever we pleased.
