Homeschool moms are not all the same.

We are not following some secret handbook.
There is no group chat where we all agree on how to teach fractions or what counts as "enough" for the day.

We are just moms… who chose a different way to live and learn with our kids.

And somehow, that turns us into a public discussion topic.

So before you ask questions, make assumptions, or tilt your head slightly and say, "I could never do that," here are a few things you should know.

Most homeschool moms have had to answer the same questions, defend the same choices, and explain the same things more times than we can count.

The Homeschool Mom is, to many, a strange, elusive being. There are 10 {at least} things you should know about this fascinating creature. It should go without saying – but it probably doesn't – that I don't speak for all homeschool moms. It just seemed more fun to me to write in the "we" voice. You know, as if I were speaking for me and my posse.

So, if you're a homeschool mom and some of these don't apply to you, that's okay. I'm really not speaking for all of us. If you're not a homeschool mom, don't think these ten things apply to every homeschool mom because they don't. And, you homeschool dads? Well, you're even more elusive a being than us homeschool moms, so you'll have to speak for yourselves, but some of these may apply to you, too.

Oh, one last crucial point – this is supposed to be fun and slightly amusing. If you get offended you read this list, you're probably taking it too seriously.

1. We don't have superhuman patience.

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: Homeschool moms do not have super-human patience. This patience thing is a MYTH. Yes, in all caps, as if I am yelling at you from the other side of my computer screen. Not true. False. Stereotype.

We have limits.

We have moments where someone asks the same question again, and we briefly consider walking into another room and starting a new life.

We have days where nothing lands, no one listens, and we are absolutely done by 10:42 a.m.

Patience isn't something we were born with.

It's something we rebuild… over and over… because we're still here.