Can homeschool parents really pursue a master’s degree? It’s a question many Classical Conversations families quietly ask as they juggle lesson plans, laundry, and Latin declensions.
In this article, CC mom and recent graduate Aimee Smith shares not only her inspiring journey of earning a CC Plus master’s degree while homeschooling her four children, but also five powerful truths she discovered along the way.
For parents who long to keep learning—and wonder if it’s even possible—Aimee’s story offers both practical hope and spiritual encouragement. Through the CC Plus master’s degree program, Classical Conversations makes it possible to grow in knowledge and wisdom without stepping away from your calling to home education.
My Journey Through the CC Plus Master’s Degree
I stood in line, nearing the stairs as I reached the end of my journey. Hundreds of graduates surrounded me wearing red and black regalia representing Southeastern University. I looked before and behind me at the other Classical Conversations parents, all CC Plus master’s students who had completed this journey together. After years of Zoom classes and Canvas discussions, we finally gathered to celebrate our graduation.
We had cheered as hundreds of undergrads walked across the stage to receive their first college diplomas. Now, those of us earning graduate degrees approached the platform.
More Than a Homeschool Parent Degree
People may have assumed I was thinking about the significance of completing a graduate degree while homeschooling four children. And they’d be right—it was a different kind of school experience than I had known two decades earlier.
This time, school deadlines were accompanied by the responsibilities of motherhood and the realities of home education. Our kitchen table often held an assortment of assignments: a partial essay on classical pedagogy sitting next to a science fair journal; notes about The Odyssey underneath a mock trial notebook; academic journal articles mixed in with an Essentials keyword outline.
I often stopped mid-sentence when writing my own essays to tend to the unexpected, momentary needs of my children. I posted discussion replies while waiting at sports practice. I annotated books in the park. I submitted many assignments late at night, after everyone was asleep.
Completing graduate school while homeschooling was quite an accomplishment. But that wasn’t the thought I held as I waited to cross the stage and receive my master’s hood.
Trading a Master’s Degree for Motherhood—Then Finding Both
I remembered a moment as a young wife, barely finished with my undergraduate degree, when I surrendered something good for something unseen. Three classes into a master’s program, I gave up my dream of graduate school to embrace my dream of motherhood.
I chose to relinquish opportunities in academics and career and instead stay home and homeschool my children. Could I have done both? Maybe. But that wasn’t the calling God gave me. He asked me to surrender something good so He could offer something better.
A Wandering Homeschool Journey, Like Odysseus
For years, I felt like Odysseus wandering across the seas. The journey of home education often contradicted my expectations. Unforeseen obstacles appeared. Isolation crept in. Insecurities whispered: Are we getting anywhere? Am I really the best teacher for my children? Have I lost myself in the seas of motherhood?
The first seventeen years of that journey deserve their own story. But in short:
- Yes, we accomplished more than I realized—one faithful step at a time.
- Yes, I was the best teacher for my family—even in struggle.
- And yes, I discovered my identity through the wandering.
Standing in my graduation line, I saw how God had accomplished something far better than I could have planned. That realization reminded me of five truths about pursuing a graduate degree that might encourage other homeschool parents.
1. Education Degree for Homeschool Parents: A Journey of Small Steps
My graduate journey began during our early Foundations years, though I didn’t realize it. I struggled to understand the grammar I was memorizing with my children. I once asked my Essentials tutor how she knew so much—only to be reminded that I, too, could read the guide.
I wrestled through my oldest’s first Faces of History paper. Each step prepared me in ways I couldn’t anticipate.
Like Odysseus, I didn’t start with the heroic return home. I started small, and each challenge reshaped me. When starting to homeschool, I had a grand picture in mind of our destination. I grew disillusioned when obstacles occurred, but God is focused on a better work than we realize. He’s building our character, not just our children’s, through the steps we take. He’s transforming us more into His image.
2. Building Capacity Through the CC Plus Master’s Degree
Four years ago, when I began directing Challenge IV, I had never read The Odyssey. All I knew was that it involved a long journey home from war.
Now, that same text became the subject of my master’s thesis.
My growth was gradual: I wrestled with the ideas alongside my Challenge IV students, my master’s cohort, and finally, in my thesis. Somewhere along the way, I stopped asking if I knew enough. I started trusting God to lead me as a learner, too.
He isn’t just equipping us to teach our children—He’s building our own capacity and passion for learning.
3. The Graduate Degree Homeschool Parents Pursue Together
My diploma displays one name, but the journey belonged to many. My children enjoyed editing my papers. My friends discussed classical ideas. My husband analyzed deep ideas and edited papers, along with supporting the household.
The strength of community ran deeper than help with tasks. Like Odysseus with King Alcinous, I needed others to hear my story. For fourteen years, I found that strength in Classical Conversations communities. And through the CC Plus master’s program, my peers became iron sharpening iron—challenging assumptions, calling me to deeper thought, and reminding me of purpose.
If I had pursued a graduate degree earlier, I might have done it alone. But in God’s timing, I learned something far better: learning is never solitary. We need one another in our journeys of learning.
4. Our Lives Are Lessons: Earning a Master’s Degree as a Homeschool Parent
We know our lives aren’t just our own—our children are always watching. As a student again, I found myself learning alongside them.
The journey of being a student was certainly not lost on my children. We met deadlines, proofed each other’s work, and shared struggles and triumphs. In The Odyssey, Odysseus doesn’t fight his final battle alone—he does it with his son, Telemachus.
Likewise, I didn’t pursue my degree alone. We were CC Plus students together.
God reminded me that this journey wasn’t just about academic achievement. It was about showing my students an example of how to live with perseverance, diligence, and grace under trial. It was about learning empathy for my students and modeling how to face hardship with courage.
5. Waiting on God’s Timing for a Classical Conversations Master’s Program
Unlike Odysseus, who couldn’t rely on the Greek gods, we walk with a faithful and sovereign God. We can trust His goodness when the path looks uncertain.
Proverbs 3:5-6 assures us that when we lean not on our own understanding, He will make our paths straight. We can patiently wait on the good work that He has been accomplishing throughout our homeschool journeys.
As I stepped onto the stage, I was overwhelmed with gratitude.
Grateful I surrendered what I thought I wanted.
Grateful for the years at home with my children.
Grateful that through every step, God was doing something far better than I could have imagined.
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