What is homeschooling? Is it simply school at home or is there more to it than that? If you’re asking these questions, you’re not alone as the definition is murky due to the variety of methods a child can be educated at home with. While many parents employ the traditional method that mimics the public school setup, others employ a more flexible and natural way of learning. 

It’s useful to realize, homeschooling is pretty popular these days. Both the terms ‘what is homeschooling‘ and ‘homeschooling definition‘ are googled almost 2,000 times a month in the United States alone. Perhaps this is a reflection of the growing popularity of homeschooling. Specifically, the term:

• ‘What is homeschooling’ is googled 1,000 times a month and
• ‘Homeschooling definition’ is googled 880 times a month.

But, let’s dive in and discover what it means to home educate children.

What is Homeschooling

Homeschooling is the education of children inside the home. This education is usually done by parents (90% of whom are mothers), and more rarely by tutors.

My parents taught me using books they bought from a warehouse that sold curriculum that could be used inside or outside of a school. This continued until high school when they changed our curriculum to distance education (not technically homeschooling). We were then tutored by phone teachers and sent books and other educational materials.

Is there a Difference Between Homeschoolers and Home Educators?

If you’ve read many articles about homeschooling or home educating, you may have wondered if there is a difference between the terms. It seems there is no difference, and the words are used interchangeably by many people. However, some parents who home educate don’t like the term ‘homeschool’ as they feel it sounds too much like the traditional education method – that is, the method public schools and most other schools use.

Some don’t like the term because they’re anti-establishment types or they believe children can learn much better in the home environment because it is so different from the school environment.

The term is also used in different volumes depending on what continent you live in. In the United States, most people use the term, ‘homeschooling’. In the UK, Europe, Australia, and a lot of the Commonwealth countries, people use the term ‘home education’. But, they’re really the same thing.

Conclusion

Homeschooling is a great option to consider if you’re looking into the best way to educate your children. This mode of education offers families a more diverse way of teaching children concepts and allows children to learn using their curiosity, which is the best way to learn. If you’d like to learn more about how to homeschool, head to our informational page here.