Homeschooling was once (stereotypically) the domain of Christian families with a working dad and a stay at home mom. Today, as homeschooling becomes more mainstream, that stereotype no longer fits most modern homeschooling families. More and more, working families and single parents are making the choice to homeschool their children.

I made the choice to homeschool my children more than 10 years ago. I was a single parent, faced with a public school system that simply could not provide the educational environment my children needed. I did it without a support system, at a time when most people thought homeschoolers were akin to religious zealots, bent on sequestering their children from anything other than total religious emersion. Secular homeschool resources were hard to come by and single parent homeschoolers were nearly unheard of, at least here in the South.

Even now, I’ve had countless parents tell me they “can’t” homeschool because they’re single and they have to work. But you see, that’s the really cool thing about homeschooling. You CAN do it, even if you have to work for a living. Unless your state has specific laws regarding the time of day your children must be doing schoolwork, you can set any schedule that works for you and your family.

If you’ve ever thought of homeschooling your child, but think you can’t because you’re a single parent and have to work for a living, think again. Check with your specific state to find out the rules for homeschooling. Don’t limit yourself to thinking only within the confines of the stereotypical 7am-3pm, Monday thru Friday school week. Don’t think you have to sit with your child, physically teaching the whole time. There are tons of resources and self-directed curriculums that focus on teaching your child how to learn, rather than how to listen and memorize.