Somewhere along the road in life our parents made the decision to school us at home. Maybe you started out in a public or private school and they decided that it just wasn’t a good fit. Or maybe, from preschool on out you’ve been homeschooled. Whatever your situation is, homeschooling is how you’re getting your education. Being a homeschooler comes with its perks,but it also comes with a lot of questions from interested or confused people. If you’re a homeschooler, a homeschool parent, or a friend of a homeschooler, you are most likely familiar with all of these questions.

1. Do you like it better than real school?

Believe it or not folks, homeschooling is still real school. Just because we are not in a building with 300 other kids for eight hours a day does not mean that we are not getting an education. We are learning math, English, science, history, and the like just the same as other students. The only difference is that we are getting our education at home. While some of us have had the experience of attending a public or private school, most of us haven’t. Homeschooling has been the only schooling we know. So the answer to whether or not we like being schooled at home is a matter of personal preference.

2. Who teaches you? Is it your mom? Does she teach you?

While the answer to this question may be “yes” from some homeschoolers, the answer from others is a polite smile and a gentle reply of, “No, I teach myself.” Once you hit a certain point in age and maturity, you are more than capable of picking up your books and committing yourself to studying them. Of course, there is also the matter of online schooling. In that case, you can say, “I do my schooling online,” and go on to explain how it all works.

3. Do you get to do school in your pajamas?

Why do people assume that just because we are teenagers, who may or may not be lazy, will stay in our pajamas all day just because we are at home? I mean, yes, I am guilty of staying in my pajamas all day at least twice a month. But I also know that getting dressed is an important part of the day. We homeschoolers are not always going to stay in our pjs all day just because we can. We understand the importance of getting ready for the day. But hey, if you’re a homeschooler and you enjoy staying in your pajamas all day long, no judgement. You do you.

4. Do you get to sleep late?

The answer is yes. Yes, we get to sleep late. But like my previous point, we don’t always do it just because we can. Some people are early risers and some people are late risers. We know how to get up when the alarm goes off and get our school done and out of the way so we can take a nap later.

5. Do you do school year round or do you take breaks with the public schools?

There are some families who do do school throughout the summer and over breaks. God bless these families. Most homeschool families take the same breaks that their local schools do. We have summer break, winter break, spring break, and Christmas break. We receive days off for holidays and special events. The two things we don’t get is cancellations and delays. Why would we need to cancel if the whether is bad outside? We do our school in our house anyway. We don’t have to go anywhere. The only way we get a cancellation is if we did all our schoolwork ahead of time so that out scheduled work for that day is already done. Those days are beautiful days.

6. How do you make friends?

We make friends just like anyone else. We single out someone or a group of someones and talk to them. We exchange names, talk about common interests, and bond over our flaws and habits. You don’t have to see the same 20 people five times a week to make friends. You can make a friend anywhere and anytime, homeschoolers are no different.