The Real Reason Ree Drummond Chose to Homeschool Her Children

Ree Drummond is a mother, a friend, and a Pioneer Woman. She’s most well-known for her Food Network show and popular blog, both titled The Pioneer Woman. Drummond shares recipes on her television show, but she also dives into her daily life, explaining how things work in her household and gushing over her four growing children. But Drummond chose to homeschool her kids, and there’s a reason for it.

Drummond’s four children have been homeschooled their entire lives

Drummond first began homeschooling her children after her oldest child, Alex, finished kindergarten. Years later, she has gotten used to having the kids on the ranch and often mentions on her show how much she wishes those that are college-aged would come home. On her blog, Drummond wrote that she homeschools the children herself, and she challenged stereotypes about children who are homeschooled. “That I educate my children outside of the regimen and routine of a school classroom does not mean they’re without peers, have dandruff (though again, not judging), spend all their spare time memorizing presidents, or wear pocket protectors…” she wrote. The process has become second nature to her and her children.

Initially, homeschooling wasn’t Drummond’s intention

Drummond also said on her blog that she and a friend had met with a group of couples from the city to smooth over some details for a new project that they’d all be working on together. She learned that those couples homeschooled their children, which is how she got the idea. When Drummond began sending her oldest child to school, homeschooling was something she had never even considered. However, with the support of her best friend, she decided to put it to the test with her older children. She ended up nailing down a curriculum for them and has been doing it ever since.

She said that the transportation problems proved to be her main reason for teaching the kids at home

The reason Drummond considered homeschooling in the first place was because of transportation. She said that while her daughter was in kindergarten, she was spending an average of three hours each day on the bus, since the Drummond ranch was so far out in the middle of nowhere. She essentially felt bad for keeping her kids on the bus for so long but knew she didn’t have the time to spend all those hours in the car bringing them herself. “While transportation was my primary motivation for choosing to homeschool, every day I realize more and more advantages to this unnatural way of life,” Drummond wrote on her blog. She mentioned the flexibility of the schedule worked perfectly with their busy ranch life.

Today, the children still have solid friend groups and participate in sports, giving them plenty of social interaction

Drummond stresses that her children do have plenty of social interaction. She noted in her blog post that the kids actively participated in sports, which helped them meet plenty of other kids their age. The Drummond children are also close with their cousins and spend plenty of time with them. Plus, some of the kids took art classes in the city growing up, which also allowed them to meet new people. Drummond doesn’t have any regrets about homeschooling and said despite teaching the kids at home, life was always still chaotic (in a good way, we suppose).   

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