As a documentary family photographer, I have the privilege of getting an insider’s view of the real life moments of families living their everyday life in their homes. I encourage families not to clean up before I come, not to dress differently than they would any other day, and not to be on their “best behavior.”

With this new documentary photography project, This Is Homeschooling, I hope to show that same realistic honesty for what homeschooling looks like, giving you a glimpse into the minutes and hours that make up the days of real families doing their best at this alternative educational endeavor. Of course I want to show the love, connection, and fun of homeschooling, but I also want to share a little bit of the mess, hard work, and exhaustion.

I believe that seeing the beauty in others’ imperfect homeschooling lives helps us appreciate our own. And I believe that seeing the differences in our families and styles can help us see how homeschooling can work in many different ways for many different families.

There’s no one “right” way to homeschool, and no single type of homeschooling family. Despite popular opinion to the contrary, homeschoolers are not a cultural monolith.

In this project, I will be pairing storytelling images with short family bios to create a series of photo essays that show the myriad shapes homeschooling can take and the many different types of families who choose to homeschool.

If you would like to be photographed as part of this project, I’d love to hear from you about your homeschooling life. You can reach me by email at homeschooldayinthelife@gmail.com.

As a second-generation homeschooler myself, I am passionate about this documentary photography project, and its ability to increase understanding and awareness about the wide variety of families who choose homeschooling. I hope to soon be traveling the US (and maybe the world!), spending time with homeschoolers and telling their homeschooling stories through photographs of how they spend their days. You can follow along with my broader project on Instagram: @homeschooldayinthelife.