Is it stamped on my forehead?

Today at the gym the gentleman on the Stepmill next to mine asked me if we homeschooled. I assured him we did, and he informed me that he subbed at the local high schools. He then went on to talk about how awful it was at the schools and that despite complaints to administration they are hesitant to make changes which is a whole other topic.

He is not the first at the gym to ask me that question and okay I can see if we are there during normal school hours, which we sometimes are, that would be a clue. But it is summertime. We are also the only family that I see come in together, but surely there are other families that do things together. And just to clarify not all of go together; usually it is just the youngest two, the DH and me although sometime the 19yo will go with us.

Several times the DH and I have been complimented on our older children [21, 19, 15]. How mature, polite, what good workers etc. I always wonder if they are talking about the same children that live in my house or if pod people take them over when they are away from home. The youngest [12] doesn’t do too many things yet without a parental close by. He is to me a quintessential youngest child in that he is not near as mature or responsible at this age as the others were, and still needs firm supervision. I just wonder if we really appear that different or if it is stamped on our foreheads “WE HOMESCHOOL.”

What would cause you to look at a family and think they homeschool?

Oh and btw, my side of the conversation was somewhat monosyllabic. Like I can talk when I’m on that torture machine? I’m up to a whole six minutes at level 4 – 46 steps per minute, but talking is not really an option when I finish.