09/13/2026
Homeschoolers miss out on so much.â
By Andrea Hannon.
Oh, you mean likeâŠ
Spending five days a week inside a school building for most of their childhood
Having someone else decide when they can eat, move, talk, go outside, or use the bathroom
Being grouped almost entirely by birth year and calling that âsocializationâ
Having to stop something theyâre fascinated by because the bell says itâs time to move on
Being expected to learn the same thing, at the same age, at the same pace as everyone else
Having their entire weekday dictated by someone elseâs schedule
Waking up early, rushing out the door, spending all day at school, coming home to homeworkâŠand somehow calling the few hours left âfree timeâ
Having family vacations dictated by a school calendar
Waiting for weekends, holidays, and summer to have control over most of their day
Spending more waking hours during the week with classmates and school staff than with their own family
Being told when to learn, what to learn, how long to learn it, and when itâs time to stop
Learning that being finished doesnât mean youâre free to move on you wait for everyone else
Trying to squeeze sports, hobbies, friendships, family time, rest, play, AND childhood into whatever hours are left
Spending 13 years being told theyâre being prepared for the âreal worldââŠwhile spending most of their weekdays inside an institution largely separated from it
Maybe the question was never what homeschoolers are âmissing outâ on.
Maybe the real question is why weâve normalized so much of childhood being spent inside an institutionâŠand then convinced ourselves that the kids who arenât there are the ones missing something. đ„
