{"id":65,"date":"2016-02-28T21:27:21","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T02:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/?p=65"},"modified":"2016-02-28T21:27:21","modified_gmt":"2016-02-29T02:27:21","slug":"secular-homeschoolers-not-quite-as-rare-as-unicorns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/?p=65","title":{"rendered":"Secular Homeschoolers: not quite as rare as unicorns."},"content":{"rendered":"

I was talking with a friend the other day, and he said \u2018secular homeschoolers? Isn\u2019t that an oxymoron?\u2019<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t know what to say. We don\u2019t homeschool for religious reasons, and many of the homeschoolers we hang out with don\u2019t, so to me it\u2019s the normal situation to be secular.<\/p>\n

The numbers sort of bear this out. In a survey by Trinity University in 2000 (one of those \u2018check all that apply\u2019 surveys), 38.4 percent of homeschooling families cite religious reasons as a reason they are homeschooling. According to the National Educational and Home Research Institute<\/a>, most people homeschool for more than one reason. In 2012, 91 percent said they homeschooled because of school environment (that\u2019d include us as well), according to the Institute of Education Sciences<\/a>. The US Department of Education<\/a> found that 16% of parents in 2012 homeschooled for religious reasons primarily, although far more cite religion as a second reason.<\/p>\n

Our local secular homeschooling group has about 200 members, and is a great resource for those of us looking for non-religious materials and courses. And while we do all bump into very very vocal religious homeschoolers, most of the time everyone is very polite and understanding of our different choices. We get enough negativity from family, friends and the society at large; we don\u2019t need to add it to each other. And those instances where fellow homeschoolers are abusive are a wonderful teaching experience for our children to learn real socialization skills. Chatting with our local secular group, it seems that it\u2019s generally agreed that any weirdness felt from being a secular homeschooler is more felt from outside the homeschool community, rather than from within. We generally teach our children about religions as part of our schooling as well.<\/p>\n

A concern for the secular homeschooler is finding secular curricula. While they are not as common as religious curricula, more resources are being added to the market as producers are figuring out that we exist. Places like Global Village School and Time4Learning provide complete curricula, while ALEKS<\/a> and Saxon<\/a> provide math, and science can be found at places like Connect the Thoughts and Khan Academy. For support, there is the closed facebook group Secular Homeschool Families, and http:\/\/www.secularhomeschool.com\/.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
Amazon Products Block Errors<\/div>\n
AssociateNotEligible:<\/div>\n
Your account does not currently meet the eligibility requirements to access the Product Advertising API.<\/div>\n
This block will not be displayed on the front end of the website until the error is fixed.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Our personal journey includes multiple reasons for homeschooling. While we always thought we could do \u2018a better job\u2019 than the schools (one on one teacher student ratio will always be the best), a primary reason was that our son was simply not suited to the school environment. As social as he is, he gets \u2018peopled out\u2019 very quickly, and he did not react well to being forced to continue to socialize after he hit his limit. No flexibility was allowed him in school to put himself into a \u2018time out\u2019 when he needed one, so he would be very stressed. That and a school refusal to make his work more challenging were our primary reasons. If we did that Trinity survey above, though, I probably would also have checked the \u2018religious reasons\u2019 because there were multiple times our son came home loaded with Bible stories because another child had brought a comic book \u2018Action Bible\u2019 to school to read with the other kids.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was talking with a friend the other day, and he said \u2018secular homeschoolers? Isn\u2019t that an oxymoron?\u2019 I didn\u2019t know what to say. We don\u2019t homeschool for religious reasons, and many of the homeschoolers we hang out with don\u2019t, so to me it\u2019s the normal situation to be secular. The numbers sort of bear … Continue reading Secular Homeschoolers: not quite as rare as unicorns.<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amazonpipp_noncename":"","amazon-product-isactive":"1","amazon-product-single-asin":"","amazon-product-content-location":"1","amazon-product-content-hook-override":"2","amazon-product-excerpt-hook-override":"2","amazon-product-singular-only":"","amazon-product-amazon-desc":"1","amazon-product-show-gallery":"1","amazon-product-show-features":"","amazon-product-newwindow":"2","amazon-product-show-list-price":"","amazon-product-show-used-price":"","amazon-product-show-saved-amt":"","amazon-product-timestamp":"","amazon-product-new-title":"","amazon-product-use-cartURL":"","amazon_featured_post_meta_key":"","_amazon_featured_alt":"","amazon-product-template":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23],"tags":[24,26,25,28,27],"class_list":["post-65","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homeschooling","tag-homeschool","tag-homeschooler","tag-homeschooling","tag-research","tag-secular"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5HEA6-13","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":719,"url":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/?p=719","url_meta":{"origin":65,"position":0},"title":"So, you are suddenly a home schooler?","author":"Gina Kleinmartin","date":"March 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"So you are homeschooling suddenly? Scared and confused? Here\u2019s some advice, facts, tips and resources so this doesn\u2019t stress you out in addition to everything else that\u2019s going on right now. First: you do NOT have to attempt 6 hours of \u2018school at home\u2019 a day. Not at all. At\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"coronavirus\"","block_context":{"text":"coronavirus","link":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/?tag=coronavirus"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70,"url":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/?p=70","url_meta":{"origin":65,"position":1},"title":"The Antelope Found!","author":"Gina Kleinmartin","date":"October 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When you live on the Great Lakes in North America, it\u2019s easy to forget how amazing the area is. They are \u2018lakes\u2019 so we forget that they are huge and dangerous inland seas that happen to be 20 % of the entire world\u2019s surface fresh water. And it\u2019s easy when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Great Lakes"","block_context":{"text":"Great Lakes","link":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/?cat=29"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Antelope floating ...","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/shipwreck-antelope-300x179.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":955,"url":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/?p=955","url_meta":{"origin":65,"position":2},"title":"Office in a Bag- Outdated?","author":"Gina Kleinmartin","date":"February 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Let me know if this is still a good idea in this day and age, or if I am hopelessly outdated... An Office In A Bad is a home organizer tool. It allows you to have everything you need to function at your fingertips. Mine is an old soft briefcase\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Homeschooling"","block_context":{"text":"Homeschooling","link":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_20230223_160635261-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_20230223_160635261-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_20230223_160635261-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_20230223_160635261-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_20230223_160635261-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_20230223_160635261-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":78,"url":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/?p=78","url_meta":{"origin":65,"position":3},"title":"Kids Today","author":"Gina Kleinmartin","date":"November 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently read a book that had been circulating in my face book feed called \u2018Where Did You Go?\u2019 \u2018\u2019Out\u2019 \u2018What Did You Do?\u2019 \u2018Nothing.\u2019 At first I thought it was going to be a self help for finding balance and a chance to minimize and simplify a life, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Homeschooling"","block_context":{"text":"Homeschooling","link":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"copyright-394","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/copyright-394-e1480546392205-300x77.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":970,"url":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/?p=970","url_meta":{"origin":65,"position":4},"title":"Anne Newport Royall: A PYMNKABPS","author":"Gina Kleinmartin","date":"April 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0\u201cShe was a Holy Terror: Her Pen was as Venomous as a Rattlesnake\u2019s Fangs; Former Washington Editress: How Ann Royall Made Life a Burden to the Public Men of Her Day.\u201d- Washington Post headline from 1891 The newspaper called Paul Pry aggravated many readers, as it was dedicated to exposing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "People You May Not Know About"","block_context":{"text":"People You May Not Know About","link":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/?cat=218"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":965,"url":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/?p=965","url_meta":{"origin":65,"position":5},"title":"Viva Sicilia, Viva San Giuseppe!","author":"Gina Kleinmartin","date":"March 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Did you ever call someone Italian and have them respond, \u2018no, I\u2019m Sicilian?\u2019 You probably just laughed, it\u2019s all the same country, right? And if you\u2019ve said it, you may not even know why you did. Around the time of the American Civil War, Italy was being united. Unlike America,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History"","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/?cat=92"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/St.-Joseph-Silenus-e1679240774873.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=65"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68,"href":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions\/68"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=65"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=65"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homesteadinginthecity.kleinmartin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=65"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}