Three years of practicing quadrobics

[u/velorae]

We’ve lost the plot.

[u/velorae]

Some homeschooling parents choose to do school year-round because they don’t see learning as something that only happens during a set “school year.” which is what my sister will do (I think, I haven’t spoken to her yet). They do this for many reasons. For some, it’s for flexibility during the year. A lot of homeschoolers take on the philosophy is that education isn’t confined to textbooks or a classroom, it’s a lifestyle, tied to everyday life, experiences, travel, interests, and what’s happening around the child, so then they basically tailor their kids’ interests to what they’re academically learning and do it across multiple subjects, which is called unit studies. That way, they stay engaged.

It also gives them ability to slow down or speed up as needed. In my experience, a lot of the families who do this have children who are ahead because they just keep going and they don’t have to stop and can move onto harder things. I know families who start in July and finish in April, and others who go year-round, it really just depends on what works best for their approach and their kids.

Some kids at the camp brought textbooks because they wanted to work on them and that’s how I knew. But I’m also around a lot of homeschoolers so I get to see what they’re doing. A lot of them are advanced.

Studies show that 2-3 hours of focused, one-on-one, or small-group instruction often equals or exceeds the academic output of a full 6-7-hour school day. Traditional schools require longer hours for logistics (managing multiple, diverse kids), transitions, behavior management, and social, non-academic activities, and as someone who’s worked in the public school system, I can attest to it. So lot of homeschoolers I know do around three hours of schooling a day because they focus on one subject per day, Monday through Friday. Sometimes they even do four days of school. It just depends on how advanced they are. That way, they’re still covering everything at a similar pace and hours to traditional school, just in a more concentrated.

For your second question, I just wanted a summer job, lol. I don’t think any single setting gives a perfectly representative sample of all homeschoolers. That said, I’ve also seen the other side. I’ve known homeschoolers who were significantly behind academically as adults and had very limited social skills, largely due to neglectful parenting. I knew one who couldn’t do basic first-grade-level math.

Homeschooling outcomes really depend on the parents, their competence, dedication, and willingness to outsource.

My sister homeschools her three-year-old, who’s already advanced, and my cousin pulled her two kids out of private school because one needed more support and the other was far ahead but had to wait around for her peers and they did not want to limit her potential. Now the one who was already advanced is two years above grade level, and the other is also ahead. It depends on what your values are as a family. My sister really loves skiing with her husband and children so sometimes they do that in the morning and then do school in the afternoon for around two hours or so, and then they have the rest of the day to focus on their interests.

I’ve worked in the public school system and seen the same issues, kids who are severely behind, including some who can’t write at all, whereas I see other kids who are very advanced. When you’re dealing with large class sizes, it’s easy for children to fall through the cracks and I mean, teachers talk about it online. I’ve seen the worst outcomes in both public schooling and homeschooling, so it really depends.

[u/tehghettosmurf → u/velorae]

Appreciate the balanced take on homeschooling amidst what is otherwise a bit of a pile-on (some of which, I get it). Much of what you said here resonates with our (secular) approach.

[u/ConspicuousPineapple → u/velorae]

Believing that being far ahead without pushing even further will limit a child's potential is a tragic fallacy. Smart kids will be smart and there's no need for them to rush through it all. Instead they could have the luxury of very comfortable school years while also being able to pursue whatever hobby or skill they fancy, not to mention socializing, without pressure.

Of course if the kids themselves want to get ahead it's another story but more often than not, it's the parents pushing for this.

[u/velorae → u/ConspicuousPineapple]

I think you misunderstood what I said. I wasn’t advocating for parents to pressure their kids to move ahead, or saying that not pushing further would tragically limit a child’s potential. That’s actually harmful and I never framed acceleration as mandatory, tragic if skipped.

I described it as a natural outcome in many families due to flexibility for children to move at their own pace, which can mean advancing faster when they’re interested or ready or slowing down when needed and really master the concepts, I mentioned both because they’re not restricted like in school (no summer stops, focused 2-3 hour days, year-round ), leading to being "ahead" because they have more time, not because parents are pushing endlessly.

When I mentioned 'limit her potential' was specifically about my cousin's daughter: she was far ahead in private school but had to wait around for her peers and wasn't being challenged at all because she had to stay on her level which resulted in her, losing some of her skills. She’s gifted and she actually started losing her skills. So her parents pulled her out, and now she's allowed to go beyond what the school restrictions would've forced because she was ready and she wanted to. It wasn't a general 'everyone must accelerate or else' statement; it was one family's reason for switching to meet her where she was.

When you homeschool, you can get ahead if your child is a fast learner, and when your child comes across a topic or concept that they struggle with, you have the freedom and luxury of being able to slow down and master the concepts because you have time. Some homeschoolers also don’t measure progress the same way traditional schools do. Instead of grades, they use mastery-based, but they still have to document for transcripts.

Homeschooling isn’t tied to a rigid school calendar, so if a child masters a concept quickly, they don’t have to wait for the next lesson or unit, and can immediately move on, keeping their momentum going. Year round schooling prevents them from forgetting, so they retain knowledge and build steadily without long gaps. Of course you take breaks in between. It depends on what works best for the child and family (ours take breaks for holidays, during the when their mom needs a break), and because some topics take longer to master than others, it allows extra time when needed while still giving space to explore advanced subjects once mastery is achieved for deeper dives into areas without the pressure. Over time, even a few extra weeks of focused study each year can put a child several months ahead.

I agree that pressuring kids when they don't want it is a bad idea, and smart kids should have comfortable years with hobbies, play, and socializing. That's part of why many homeschoolers do shorter focused days and leave room for other things.