The Secret Reason So Many Homeschool Moms Are Starting Microschools

The Secret Reason So Many Homeschool Moms Are Starting Microschools

As a homeschooling parent, you’re already doing amazing work. You’re juggling lesson planning, managing daily schedules, and pouring yourself into your child’s learning every day. Some days are amazing, some days are hard, but you love what homeschool offers your family and how it stretches you as a parent.

Is it exhausting? Yes, it is. 😴

Do you worry about your kids learning what they need to learn? Yes, you do. 😅

Are your neighbors and in-laws very concerned about the socialization of your children? Yes, yes they are. 😂 Bless their hearts.

So with all that going on, why in the world would you want to start a microschool?!? Let me tell you a little secret.

Shhhhh... microschooling is easier than homeschooling. 🤫 Don't believe me? Let's dig into it...

No Mom is an Island

When I was homeschooling one of the biggest impediments to my personal wellbeing was the feeling of isolation. I had to work really hard to find community and support. I had to go out of my way just to feel like I had mom friends that had similar struggles and priorities. Luckily, I was able to get plugged into an amazing group of like-minded families that gave me and my kids the community that we would have automatically found had we been enrolled in our neighborhood school. However, not all homeschoolers are that lucky. It's often very hard to find other like-minded homeschooling families nearby who can offer the friendship and community that we all naturally want in our lives. Homeschooling can be a lonely journey.

How the heck does starting a microschool solve this? Microschooling brings more kids into your orbit and with them come their parents and siblings! Each morning as you greet your microschool kids, your own kids are embedded into what can become a tight-knit group of friends. The guides of my children have become some of my dearest friends and I can't imagine our life without them. Not to mention the hundreds of other microschools guides you'll be connected to through the Prenda microschool network.

Microschooling makes it easier to find community for you and for your kids.

The Single Income Blues

Homeschooling is a full-time job. Between planning lessons, teaching all the subjects, keeping track of progress, and running a household, you're already doing the work of a teacher, counselor, administrator, janitor, and coach all rolled into one but unfortunately you don't get paid to do anything you're doing. Plus, all that curriculum, the field trips, the craft supplies (specifically all the dry erase markers that get the lids left off😤) are not free. It can be hard to watch your two-income friends go on vacation while your family scrimps and saves so one parent can be the home educator. Is it worth the sacrifice? 1000%. No Lululemon leggings can ever outweigh the relationship you are building with your kids.

However, I wouldn't be a very good friend if I didn't tell you that when you flip your homeschool into a microschool you can earn an income doing what you're already doing. How much can you earn as a microschool guide? That's entirely up to you (check out the income calculator on our website) but on average, you can make 40,000 per year if you serve 10 students (including your kids). Most microschools operate for 16-20 hours per week with a normal school year schedule August-May. That comes out to about $56 per hour. Not too shabby for a gig where you can stay with your kids and wear your pajamas (or expensive leggings). 😏

Microschooling makes it easier to help support your family without giving up home educating.

Choice Overwhelm

One of the best things about homeschooling is the freedom to do things your way. You’re in charge of your child’s schedule, curriculum, and how your days unfold. This can be an amazing gift - it can also be overwhelming. There are thousands and thousands of homeschool products, curricula, and pedagogies out there. Will you unschool? Will you Charlotte Mason? Will you go faith based? What's the best math curriculum? Spelling? Writing? Social Studies? Not to mention putting together your daily schedule, managing everyone's lessons and workbooks, and fighting with kids who aren't super jazzed about getting their math done. While I'm one that loves looking at all of these things and getting a new curriculum in the mail 😍 I also know what it's like to wonder if I've made the right choice, regret spending so much money on something that didn't end up working, and end up collapsed in a heap of exhaustion from the daily power-struggles.

Microschooling (with Prenda, at least) removes a ton of this complexity. We've done the hard work of collecting the best resources, curricula, and learning formats so you don't have to. Our learning approach is rooted in human connection, mastery, and inquiry because that's what the last 40 years of psychology, learning science, and neuroscience says kids need to learn and develop (check out our research alignment here). We provide daily schedules and learning frameworks that elicit every child's intrinsic motivation so you're not hitting your head against the wall in a power struggle. You can have confidence that your kids are getting the best of the best while still retaining the flexibility and autonomy you enjoy as a homeschooler. Also, you'd be shocked to hear how many homeschoolers have told us that their own kids love learning and don't put up any kind of fight around school now that they have a peer group to learn with.

Microschooling streamlines your options and helps kids find their intrinsic motivation.

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Ready to Start Your Own Microschool?

Does the idea of running a microschool sound complicated and overwhelming? Don't worry- that's where we come in.

Prenda has helped hundreds and hundreds of homeschool parents flip their homeschools into microschools. We provide a mastery-based, inquiry-led K-8th grade curriculum and research aligned learning approach (this means no grading, no lesson planning, and no losing your marbles trying to school kids of different ages and levels). We've got that all worked out for you. We also provide step-by-step training, support, community and we even take care of all your business backend like invoicing and payment. You're welcome. 👍 You maintain the autonomy and flexibility you love about homeschooling, but now you’ll have the support, structure, and income to make it even more sustainable.

It’s time to turn your homeschooling journey into something even bigger—without losing all the things you love about home education.

Check out our mini-course The Beginner's Guide to Microschooling or get immediate access to a free intro webinar that explains everything you need to know...

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