When I read an article from the New York Times this summer about JOMO, or the joy of missing out, the piece discussed how wonderful it felt to be unplugged when trying to stave unhealthy tech habits. Usually our human nature turns to FOMO, or the fear of missing out. This got me thinking. As homeschool moms, we also tend to experience FOMO, just sure we’re ruining our kids. But what if we turned FOMO on its head and embraced a bit of JOMO instead?
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Considering what we homeschool moms could get excited about missing out on, most of the items fit into one of three big categories. See if you agree.
JOMO for Homeschool Moms
As a homeschool mom, I have great joy in missing out on…
School Schedule & Calendar
Am I ever glad that we don’t have to catch the bus or jump into the car and make it to school on time! We get to embrace flexible school time around here and enjoy a non-rushed tempo to our days. Traditional school mornings are the pits. If we have a late night, there’s no problem with sleeping in a bit and starting when we’re rested. As a mompreneur, I sometimes work late into the night. If I had to wake at dawn to get my five kids out of the house on time, there’s no way I’d be able to get the work in.
What about school lunches? If you’ve had your kids in a traditional school setting for any point in your history, you will say a resounding “Amen” that packing school lunches is not required of homeschoolers!
How about the yearly school calendars that we get the JOMO? We love to take a random weekday and plan a field trip or a visit with Gram. We love that we can take a longer Christmas break than the school district, or a shorter one if needed. When the local district piles on the snow days and extends the school year far into the summer months, we celebrate because we can play in the snow and get a school day in!
As a homeschool mom, I have great joy in missing out on…
Inefficient Teaching & Learning Methods
Homeschoolers hands down have the best learning opportunities. Small class size. Great student-teacher ratio. One on one tutoring. When I was a classroom teacher, I would have loved these options.
When you homeschool, you don’t have to worry about fitting your kids in a box. Who says each fifth grader will do math, language arts, science, and history all at a fifth grade level? No, that hardly ever happens. And when schools try to fit kids in an expected box, learners get frustrated on both ends of the spectrum – the ones that are struggling don’t have the attention given to them to help them along, and the ones that are excelling are bored because their learning horizons are being pulled back.
We have JOMO on comparison in a traditional classroom. Everyone knows who is the “smart kid,” and who is the “dumb kid.” But in homeschool, your child is just who he is. Working on his weaknesses and soaring in his strengths. No comparisons.
The traditional schooling model is inefficient because it doesn’t fit our current needs as a society. It worked really well back in the days of the Industrial Revolution when workers needed to follow orders, perform rote tasks, and learn how to fit into a factory model. These days, we need problem solvers, students who are able to think outside the box and innovate. How will using the same system from the last hundred years equip out kids for this task? Sadly, it won’t.
If you’d like to read more on this topic, I highly recommend Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era.
Not only are the traditional teaching and learning methods inefficient in many cases, they’re also boring! Most of us grew up in a traditional school model. Can’t you remember the boredom on many days?
What about the dreaded homework? I’m sure some homeschoolers work it differently, but in our house, we get our assignments done for the day, then clean up all the school books and assignments, put them away, tidy up the house, and enjoy our freedom. There’s no such thing as homework in our house. Do my kids work hard during the day? Yes, they sure do – especially the high schoolers who have required hours and credit hours, but we don’t keep up the momentum the entire waking day. Everyone needs a break. So we have JOMO on homework.
As a homeschool mom, I have great joy in missing out on…
Negative Social “Skills”
The age-old argument against homeschooling is the tired socialization comment. Have we finally moved past this in the 21st century? We certainly should by now.
How many adults are corralled into a room with 25 of their peers for the day, but told they aren’t allowed to talk. And if they don’t get their work done, they can’t take a break with their peers and enjoy some time at the water cooler (recess). Really? Who ever works and lives their entire life around only their peers?
My kids have great JOMO on these social “skills” at school:
- Bullying
- peer pressure
- distraction from learning
- School safety concerns
Instead of these negative skills that are reinforced on a daily basis, my kids can forge some stronger family bonds than would normally be possible because they are around their siblings so much. As a parent, I know my kids and I actually enjoy being with them (most days).
We can spend the morning at a co-op or gym class, my kids can get together with another friend to work on a science experiment, my high schooler can take a day each week and work for a local business, and my kids can visit with widows at our monthly church lunch. This is real life.
So if you find yourself dealing with homeschool FOMO, change your perspective and embrace JOMO instead! There are more positives than negatives in this homeschool journey. You just have to find them.
Happy Homeschooling with JOMO,
