This is Part 2 of our homeschool series. In our last post, we covered what homeschooling actually is. This time, we want to be honest about both sides of it — the good and the hard parts — and walk through what it actually takes to get started.
The Honest Pros of Homeschooling
There’s a lot to love about homeschooling, and it’s more than just “no more school runs.” A few of the biggest upsides, drawn from families and educators who’ve been doing this far longer than we have:
- Educational freedom — you choose the curriculum, the pace, and yes, whether faith is part of the lesson plan.
- A flexible schedule — school can happen in the morning, at night, or spread across a slow travel day. Learning fits into life instead of life fitting around a bell schedule.
- Stronger family bonds — more shared time together, by design.
- Fewer stressors — no bullying, no peer pressure to keep up with, which several homeschool advocates point to as a real boost to a child’s mental health and love of learning.
- Real community involvement — co-ops, sports leagues, and volunteering often end up giving kids more varied social experiences, not fewer.
The Honest Cons (Because We Want to Be Real With You)
We’re not going to pretend it’s all upside. According to the homeschooling educators at Great Homeschool Conventions, the honest downsides include:
- It’s a heavy responsibility. One (or both) parents become teacher, principal, and record-keeper, on top of everything else.
- Legal paperwork. Every country — and in some places, every region — has its own requirements to follow.
- A lot of togetherness. Managing family dynamics when everyone’s home all day takes real intentionality.
- Potential income impact, since homeschooling usually means one parent’s time is largely spoken for.
- Fewer built-in extracurriculars, like school sports teams, unless you seek them out separately.
None of these are dealbreakers for us, but we’d rather you go in with open eyes than a highlight reel.
What About Socialization?
This is the question we get asked the most, so let’s address it directly. The stereotype of the “socially awkward homeschooler” doesn’t hold up well against the research. As Focus on the Family points out, homeschoolers tend to grow up to be well-adjusted adults who are active in their communities — and kids generally take after their parents far more than they take after their classmates. Socialization through homeschooling tends to be more intentional, not less: co-ops, sports, and church youth groups, instead of whoever happens to be assigned to the same classroom. For us, being part of a church community is a natural, built-in piece of that — it’s where Kaylee and Kaeden will keep growing friendships outside our own four walls.
How to Start Homeschooling in the Philippines
If you’re considering this too, here’s the general path, based on what we’ve learned researching how homeschooling actually works here:
- Be honest about your readiness. Homeschooling generally takes 2-4 focused hours a day. You don’t need a teaching degree, but you do need consistency and patience.
- Choose your legal path. You can enroll with a DepEd-accredited provider (they handle the paperwork, typically for an annual fee), or homeschool independently and validate your child’s learning later through the PEPT or ALS system.
- Pick a curriculum style. Structured and classroom-like, unschooling and interest-led, or an eclectic mix — including faith-based options that build Scripture into core subjects.
- Set up a learning rhythm. A simple, distraction-free space and a flexible daily routine go a long way — it doesn’t need to look like a real classroom to work.
- Keep records as you go. Portfolios, daily logs, and samples of your child’s work make accreditation and future re-enrollment far easier down the road.
A Biblical Word on Counting the Cost
Luke 14:28 asks, “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” We think that applies here. Homeschooling isn’t a decision to make lightly or copy from someone else’s Instagram highlight reel — it’s worth sitting down together as a family, praying it through, and being honest about what you can and can’t take on right now. For us, the pros clearly outweighed the cons, and we believe God has equipped us for this season. But we’d encourage any family considering it to do that counting for themselves, rather than starting because it’s what we did.
Where We Are in the Process
We’re currently working through choosing our curriculum and getting our documentation in order, and we’ll share exactly what we land on — and why — in the next post. If you’re on this journey too, or thinking about starting, we’d genuinely love to hear where you’re at. Reach out through our Let’s Connect page.
— Kristian & Nichelle
