School's Out (maybe) Forever

Homeschool, Hackschool, Unschool: What Even Is School Now?

Somehow I blinked and my kid is about to be in pre-K. As the child of two overthinkers, he’s in trouble because what used to feel like a no-brainer (just fill out the forms) now feels like a multi-tab deep dive into pedagogy, policy, and the occasional existential crisis. Eek.

Do kids even need to learn anymore? Or just learn how to prompt an AI?

College students are cheating their way through group projects. Harvard’s at war. The Department of Education is flailing. And between Lemme promos, Kourtney Kardashian is saying the quiet part out loud: “I don’t know what the system is like now. I just don’t love it.” Same, Kourt.

Because while some parents are filling out preschool applications, interviewing toddler teachers, and Googling “Montessori vs. Reggio Emilia,” others are quietly opting out. Starting co-ops. Homeschooling. Unschooling. Or just deciding that maybe the system wasn’t designed for their kids in the first place.

It’s not a crisis—it’s a conversation. And it’s getting louder.

Let’s get into it.

Homeschool, Unschool, Opt-Out: By the Numbers

Turns out, opting out isn’t just happening in trad wife threads. Homeschooling is on the rise—and the numbers don’t lie.

• Homeschooling has doubled since 2020.
  Many families stuck with the setups they created out of necessity. In 2019, just 2.7% of U.S. kids were homeschooled. By 2022, it was 5.4%—and rising. → Newsweek

• Black homeschool families increased 5X between 2019 and 2021.
  This isn’t just a white, rural, religious movement. Many parents cite racism in schools, lack of culturally competent curriculum, and a desire for identity-safe learning. → Black Enterprise

• The fastest-growing homeschool group? GenZ
  A 2024 study found Gen Z parents are 74% more likely than other generations to consider homeschooling. Less into worksheets, more into curiosity. → Upworthy

• Microschools and pods are becoming more of a thing.
  Startups like Prenda and KaiPod Learning are betting on small-group learning as the future. Even public funds are getting redirected via vouchers and education savings accounts. → Washington Post

• Preschool enrollment is declining.
  According to the National Institute for Early Education Research, preschool enrollment hasn’t fully recovered since COVID. Parents cite cost, flexibility, and a desire to keep kids home longer. → NIEER Report

• Public funds are following families—for better or worse.

  In 2024, more than 20 states expanded private school voucher or ESA programs, allowing families to use public money for homeschool expenses, microschools, or private education. In Arizona, nearly 50% of ESA recipients are homeschoolers.→ K12Dive

Meet the New School Dropouts

Today’s no-schoolers don’t fit one crunchy mold. Some are skipping circle time for sourdough. Others are rejecting systems altogether because their values (or vaccination status) doesn’t match up. Here’s who’s shaping the shift:

• The Trad-Mom Turned Educator
  Think: linen everything, hand-lettered schedules, phonics at breakfast. This isn’t just school—it’s a lifestyle. → Signal shift: Domesticity meets educational control. Homeschooling isn’t fringe—it’s become aspirational and content-rich.

• The Nature-Schooler
  Outside is the classroom. Think forest schools, barefoot learning, and zero screen time.→ Signal shift: As screens become standard in even the youngest classrooms, more parents are looking for unplugged ways to help their kids learn.

• The Unschool Everything-er
  From standardized to self-directed. No worksheets. No clocks. Just questions, experiments, and a lot of free play.→ Signal shift: As schools double down on assessments and benchmarks, some parents are ditching structure in favor of curiosity and autonomy.

• The Educated Opt-Out
  They saw the $48K preschool tour and politely declined. This group is rethinking the cost—financial and emotional—of elite early education.→ Signal shift: As the link between brand-name schools and future success feels less certain, parents are choosing alignment over aspiration.

The New School Supply List: Brands + Platforms to Know

Where parents go, brands follow—and this shift away from traditional early education is no exception. From curriculum kits to creator-driven classes, here’s who’s helping rewrite the playbook:

• Wild + Free: What started as a homeschool hashtag is now a full-blown movement—part marketplace, part identity. It’s making homeschool feel less fringe, more aspirational brand.

• Outschool: A live, online learning platform where kids can take everything from reading comprehension to Pokémon strategy. No core curriculum, just lots of options—on demand and à la carte.

• Lovevery: Known for their Montessori-inspired toy kits, Lovevery has quietly become a go-to early ed resource. Their recent expansion into reading kits signals a move from “playtime” to “pre-K prep.”

• Prenda + KaiPod Learning: Microschools powered by tech and community. These platforms help parents or local educators launch small, pod-style schools with flexible curriculum and built-in tools.

Momstincts: Where This Is All Headed

No one’s saying school is over. But it’s no longer a given. What we’re seeing isn’t just a trend in homeschooling; it’s a bigger reframe of what it means to raise, teach, and prepare a child for a world we can’t fully picture.

• Content ≠ Curriculum (But It’s Close)
  Let’s be honest: kids are learning through content. Ms. Rachel, Khan Academy, Duolingo… these aren’t just distractions, they’re becoming real-ish learning tools. But when learning lives on YouTube, it raises new questions: What’s incentivizing the content? Are we measuring growth—or just watch time? Proof point.

• Emotional Over Educational
  The future feels pretty fragile ATM. What parents want most isn’t memorization—it’s regulation. Nervous system tools, emotional literacy, the ability to stay calm when the world is not. In a destabilized world, connection becomes the curriculum. Proof point.

• Robot Teachers, Real Kids

  AI isn’t coming—it’s already here. Schools are piloting AI tutors, automating grading, even experimenting with chatbot “teachers.” And IDK what this is. Meanwhile, kids still need eye contact and connection which will force more parents to ask—is this the type of learning we want? Proof point.

• More Standardization → More Opting Out

  As public education becomes more politicized and rigid—from banned books to test-obsessed classrooms—expect even more parents to step back. Not because they can, but because they feel they have to. Proof point.

TL;DR: Preschool used to be THE plan. Now it’s a pivot point. Homeschooling, unschooling—it all circles back to one big question: What is school even for anymore? And maybe the better (harder) one: What kind of human are we trying to raise?

Research Department…Everything Worth Linking About

• Mom Wins Ultramarathon 6 Months Postpartum
  She literally ran 100 miles. Still breastfeeding. I have no words or punny comments. → Motherly

• She compared motherhood in four countries. The US isn’t exactly looking like a frontrunner for raising children. → The Guardian

• This is the kind of hard-hitting journalistic research we need. → NYMag

• OpenTable for kids activities. Whoever lead their seed round—smart. → Recess

• You heard it here first (or second): Parent wine is trending and this article is pure buttery cask-aged divorce-mom bliss. “Just wow. → Bustle

  

Thanks for being mom friends :) now back to my regularly scheduled preschool re/soul search.