Jewish Homeschooling

Homeschooling from a Jewish Perspective

Choosing to homeschool your children is largely a religious decision. While there are certainly numerous secular homeschooling families now that homeschooling has become more mainstream, traditionally, many families switched to homeschooling for religious reasons. These reasons are often rooted in the desire to offer a unique education with a priority on religious values. After all, most religious families will view these values as the most important aspects of life. It makes sense, then, to craft an education reflecting these priorities.

The choice to homeschool as a Jewish family hinges on the same philosophy. Jewish families have an innate desire to instill these traditions and activities into their children’s lives and what better way to accomplish this than by offering an individual education model? Whether you are looking for a Hebrew homeschool curriculum, homeschooling Torah, or you’d simply like to connect with other Jewish homeschooling families, homeschooling offers the chance for both and everything in between.

On this page, you’ll find several resources for homeschooling as a Jewish family, websites to connect with other Jewish homeschooling families, and advice for getting started.

Getting Started with Jewish Homeschooling

Regardless of your reasons for switching to homeschooling, it’s a massive decision. There can be a lot of trepidation involved with choosing an alternative education method. Additionally, the number of homeschooling resources and advice can be overwhelming. This is why, before jumping into choices such as curriculum and homeschooling methods, you’ll want to ensure your children and partner (if applicable) is on board. To get started homeschooling as a Jewish family, a few of these ideas may help initiate the process.

  • Write down your reason for homeschooling.
  • Notate your goals. Work down a hierarchy: general → that year → that semester → that month.
    • It may even be applicable to specify goals per child if you feel like that approach will best serve your needs.
  • Have a family discussion. It’s important to move forward with everyone on the same page. Discuss your “why,” your ideas for curriculum, and ideas about how homeschooling may work specifically for your family.
    • For example, is it a priority to find Hebrew for homeschoolers programs? Or, perhaps you’d specifically prefer a Hebrew Israelite homeschool curriculum? These are factors that will shape your research process.

Take That First Step!

Getting started is commonly the most challenging step for new homeschoolers. Beyond researching your preferred homeschooling approach, you’ll need to understand your state’s legal requirements and how to choose a curriculum. To help, we’ve outlined a series of steps with links to our related resources.

Looking For More Jewish Homeschooling Resources?

Learn First-Hand About Homeschooling from a Jewish Perspective

You’ll want to hear what Bethany Mandel has to say about homeschooling and homeschooling Torah within the Jewish culture. Bethany Mandel is a homeschooling mother of four living in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C. She is also an editor at the political site Ricochet.com and a freelance writer on politics and culture. Bethany says:

Much to my confusion and chagrin, homeschooling isn’t very popular in the Jewish community. I think it’s a bit of the chicken and the egg situation: Nobody homeschools because nobody else they know homeschools. Someone always has to go first, and in every Jewish community, there are a few brave souls who have chosen to do so. What goes into the decision to homeschool for Jewish parents, especially those on the more observant side? …click below to read more!

Read Bethany’s Blog on Jewish Homeschooling