Home is where the school is : the logic of homeschooling and the emotional labor of mothering

**Explores the experiences of homeschooling mothers** Mothers who homeschool their children constantly face judgmental questions about their choices, and yet the homeschooling movement continues to grow with an estimated 1.5 million American children now schooled at home. These children are largely taught by stay-at-home mothers who find that they must tightly manage their daily schedules to avoid burnout and maximize their relationships with their children, and that they must sustain a desire to sacrifice their independent selves for many years in order to savor the experience of motherhood. __Home Is Where the School Is__ is the first comprehensive look into the lives of homeschooling mothers. Drawing on rich data collected through eight years of fieldwork and dozens of in-depth interviews, Jennifer Lois examines the intense effects of the emotional and temporal demands that homeschooling places on mothers’ lives, raising profound questions about the expectations of modern motherhood and the limits of parenting. Mothers who homeschool their children constantly face judgmental questions about their choices, and yet the homeschooling movement continues to grow with an estimated 1.5 million American children now schooled at home. These children are largely taught by stay-at-home mothers who find that they must tightly manage their daily schedules to avoid burnout and maximize their relationships with their children, and that they must sustain a desire to sacrifice their independent selves for many years in order to savor the experience of motherhood. Home Is Where the School Is is the first comprehensive look into the lives of homeschooling mothers. Drawing on rich data collected through eight years of fieldwork and dozens of in-depth interviews, Jennifer Lois examines the intense effects of the emotional and temporal demands that homeschooling places on mothers' lives, raising profound questions about the expectations of modern motherhood and the limits of parenting. - Publisher. Cover 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction 12 1. Homeschooling Mothers 34 PART I. THE EMOTIONAL CULTURE OF GOOD MOTHERING 52 2. Coming to a Decision: First- and Second-Choice Homeschoolers 56 3. Defending Good-Mother Identities: The Homeschooling Stigma 80 PART II. THE TEMPORAL-EMOTIONAL CONFLICT OF GOOD MOTHERING 100 4. Adding the Teacher Role: Domestic Labor and Burnout 104 5. Losing Me-Time: The Temporal Emotion Work of Motherhood 125 PART III. HOMESCHOOLING MOTHERHOOD OVER TIME 142 6. Looking Back: The Homeschooling Journey 144 7. Taking Stock of the Present: Perceptions of Success 162 8. Looking Forward: Empty Desks, Empty Nests 177 9. Savoring Motherhood 191 Notes 206 Bibliography 228 Index 236 A 236 B 236 C 236 E 236 F 237 G 237 H 237 I 237 L 238 M 238 P 238 R 238 S 238 T 239 U 239 W 239 About the Author 240 Mothers who homeschool their children constantly face judgmental questions about their choices, and yet the homeschooling movement continues to grow with an estimated 1.5 million American children now schooled at home. These children are largely taught by stay-at-home mothers who find that they must tightly manage their daily schedules to avoid burnout and maximize their relationships with their children, and that they must sustain a desire to sacrifice their independent selves for many years in order to savor the experience of motherhood. This book is a comprehensive look into the lives of homeschooling mothers Introduction Homeschooling mothers Part one : The emotional culture of good mothering. Coming to a decision : first- and second-choice homeschoolers Defending good-mother identities : the homeschooling stigma Part two : The temporal-emotional conflict of good mothering. Adding the teacher role : domestic labor and burnout Losing me-time : the temporal emotion work of motherhood Part three : Homeschooling motherhood over time. Looking back : the homeschooling journey Taking stock of the present : perceptions of success Looking forward : empty desks, empty nests Savoring motherhood About the author Home Is Where the School Is is the first comprehensive look into the lives of homeschooling mothers. Drawing on rich data collected through eight years of fieldwork and dozens of in-depth interviews, Jennifer Lois examines the intense effects of the emotional and temporal demands that homeschooling places on mothers' lives, raising profound questions about the expectations of modern motherhood and the limits of parenting. --from publisher description "Home Is Where the School Is is the first comprehensive look into the lives of homeschooling mothers. Drawing on rich data collected through eight years of fieldwork and dozens of in-depth interviews, Jennifer Lois examines the intense effects of the emotional and temporal demands that homeschooling places on mothers' lives, raising profound questions about the expectations of modern motherhood and the limits of parenting."--Résumé de l'éditeur