Being Around My Kids All Day
For part of 2025, I have decided to do blog posts centering around frequently asked homeschool questions. I have been asked these questions or seen them in various online spaces. This question surprised me, but yet it doesn't either. I see this question a lot when people have had little experience with homeschooling and pose it almost as an objection to homeschooling. How can homeschoolers stand to be around their kids all day?
While this question disturbs me somewhat, as I said, I have seen it more as a reason people don't want to homeschool. So I sat back and thought about it; I see these questions in plain sight in stay-at-home mom groups and mom groups all the time, in some form or another. I have also seen it asked in the form of "What do you do with your kid outside of school time?". I have also seen "I'm not here to entertain my kid all day."
My snarky response, in my brain, is, 'Well, you chose to have kids, if you don't like them.' However, that would start a whole debate I don't want to get into or fight over on the internet. But seriously.
Here are my "solutions" to being with your kiddos all day.
1. Let your kids get bored: They will usually find something to do. If not, have a list of approved activities for them to do. This is easier to do if you start this when the kids are smaller, but it is still an effective solution. My big girls knew that they could read or play with toys, but they have always had to ask permission to use electronics, get into art supplies, or watch TV/movies. They are also free to play outside as much as possible, whether on the road or at home.
2. Let your kids help: Chores are a good thing and shouldn't be avoided. This is part of becoming a functional adult human being. The focus here should be on training tasks and not perfection, especially in the early years. When our bigs were little (and now with Bird), they had to pick up their toys, take care of their dirty clothes, and do the dishes. Now that the Bigs are older, they help even more. At home, they do their laundry, as well as some outside chores. Whether at home or on the road, they do the dishes, vacuum, sweep or mop, help prep dinner, and do other various random chores. They now know they aren't allowed to do electronics or horse around unless their chore list for the day is done.
3. Get involved: This will be based on your social preferences. Get involved with things as much or as little as your personality and circumstances allow. In the beginning, I tried to do way too much. We got involved in many things through our homeschool group, and we spent too many days, to my comfort, pushing schoolwork aside to do other things. Now we have a nice healthy balance of things that keeps us busy, but not too busy. I try not to get us involved in things that take us away from our dedicated school mornings. Besides the occasional appointment, we are usually able to get still school done most weekday mornings.
Now, as far as being with you, kid, all day and dealing with it, it's honestly a personal thing. That you and I don't need to drag it too far. However, allow kids to be kids, let them get bored, and let them help or get involved. We only have 18 years with each of our kiddos, and this time goes by so fast. Stop worrying about how to get rid of them and embrace this season in life before it is over.
I hope this post has answered any questions you may have had about being with your kids all day long if you homeschool. If not, feel free to comment under this blog post or contact me via our Facebook Page or Instagram. For more in-depth conversations, check out our Facebook Parent Group.
Remember that this post is part of a series of FAQ's regarding homeschooling. This is the proposed schedule of past and future topics:
February
How do I start?
Am I even qualified to Teach My Child?
March
Who Holds You Accountable?
But What About Graduating and Issuing a Diploma?
April
What Should My Child Be Learning?
How Do I Choose Curriculum and What About the Cost?
May
How Long Does It Actually Take?
But What About Socialization?
June
What is the Hardest Part?
What Types of Schooling Are There?
July
What Do I Need to Homeschool?
How Can I Be Around My Kid All Day?
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