Why We Stopped Homeschooling

(How It's Going and the Things I Miss)

Hi, I’m Haley! Book midwife (editor) and author. Consider upgrading to a paid subscription to support this work and gain access to exclusive content:

“All the homeschooling moms I followed when I started homeschooling like Haley and Rosie and Blythe and Kendra aren’t homeschooling anymore! Why did this happen?”

I saw this question posed in my retired podcast’s Facebook group. And it’s actually the question I receive most often anytime I do Ask Me Anythings. I can’t speak for everyone else’s experience, but I can shed some light on why we shifted to brick-and-mortar school, how it’s worked for our family, and what I miss about homeschooling.

But first some background. I was homeschooled from 3rd to 8th grade by my parents. It was a great experience. It gave me time to pursue ballet, voice lessons, and musical theatre. I had time to read and get bored and get creative. And it allowed me to discover my interests without the pressure of fitting in with peers. I could just be a little weirdo. The transition into public high school was a breeze and I became a National Merit Scholar with a full ride to a great college. So homeschooling just worked for me. My husband didn’t enjoy school until college and the idea of homeschooling always appealed to him. So when we started our family we knew we wanted to try homeschooling and for a decade, it worked really well for us. But in 2020 there was a shift.