“You don’t own a laminator?!?” my friend responded with shock and surprise. “You’re a homeschooler, and I thought all homeschoolers would own one!” Nope. Not this homeschooler, and that doesn’t mean I’m not a “real” homeschooler.
At what point can you decide you are authentically available for the label of “homeschooler”? Do you wait until you’ve officially offered notice to your local school board? Do you wait until you’ve taught your first lesson? Can you be a homeschooler simply through your attitude toward learning in the summer?
Especially with the rise of hybrid learning, the definition of homeschooler is variable. For me, I define homeschooling as education without oversight, and as having the freedom to choose what to learn and when to do it.
You can still be a “real” homeschooler even if you don’t know a second language or advanced math.
You can still be a “real” homeschooler even if you can’t name the capitals of all 50 states.
And, by the way, even though it doesn’t change my status, I did buy myself a laminator. One of my first pages to laminate was a blank unit circle to allow my high school students to practice.
