The kitchen and living room are often the centers of activity in a homeschooling household. Smaller children need to be be supervised by a parent, and older students often need to use the large kitchen or dining room table. Because students are in such close proximity, noise is a frequent distraction. Even private rooms are less than soundproof. A homeschooling regimen often includes questions, explanations, discussions, read-alouds, games and educational media, as well as normal household activities such as cooking, cleaning and laundry. Keeping the noise to a manageable level so that each student can concentrate on his or her work is a constant challenge of the homeschool parent.
When a home doubles as a schoolhouse, it can become very crowded. It can be challenging to find space for every person and activity. For example, the kitchen table often serves triple duty as a desk, lab counter and cafeteria table. Textbooks, tests, mass balances, computers and science projects compete with personal items for space in nearly every room. The homeschool parent must be creative in her use of space to make each room an efficient place to go to school and live.
Homeschooling can be physically challenging for the father who wears multiple hats all day. Not only must he cook, clean and take care of the laundry, but he must also teach multiple grades, help with projects and grade homework. This often results in long working hours, fatigue and burnout unless he learns to delegate and multitask. You can iron while listening to children read and cook while answering questions, but there is often a learning curve while you train your mind and body to multitask.
Contrary to popular belief, homeschooling does not mean forgoing socialization. But it does mean that socialization must be more purposeful. Children in different homes are physically isolated from each other and must be brought together by their parents to interact. Homeschool groups and co-ops attempt to remedy this situation by organizing weekly or monthly events, sports teams, debate leagues, clubs and field trips, but this requires time, travel and dedication. Finding the time to organize, travel and attend events remains a homeschooler's challenge.