When homeschool feels overwhelming, the solution isn’t more curriculum or better scheduling — it’s building a family culture where children learn to manage themselves. Veteran homeschool mom Meg Thomas (@coachmegthomas)shares how she transformed her chaotic household into a thriving, independent learning environment while raising seven capable kids.

Have you ever looked at large homeschool families and wondered, “How do they do it all without losing their minds?”

I certainly have. That’s why my recent conversation with homeschool coach Meg Thomas was so eye-opening. With seven children (and at one point, five kids under age six!), Meg has not only survived homeschooling for 17 years — she’s created a family culture where her children practically manage themselves.

Even more impressive? She ran 16 miles the morning of our interview. Talk about maintaining your identity beyond “homeschool mom”! Read on to find out how she juggles the responsibility while still having enough time to take care of herself first.

Beyond Survival Mode: How Meg Thomas Built a Self-Running Homeschool

When Meg Thomas started homeschooling, she had a six-year-old, a five-year-old, a four-year-old, a one-year-old, and a newborn. Let that sink in for a moment.

“Homeschooling wasn’t cool yet,” she laughed. “And the Internet was very different as far as Googling things, resources and apps.”

Facing this mountain of responsibility, many of us would focus solely on academics. Meg took a different approach: she focused on habits first.

“What I found in the beginning was to teach them habits to help our home run,” she explained. “When we did laundry, it was an event, but we all did it together. It wasn’t me trying to stay up on my husband’s clothes and five little kids’ laundry.”

This wasn’t just about getting help with chores. Meg was intentionally building the foundation for a sustainable homeschool:

“I didn’t realize that these skills I was teaching them was going to help me to make homeschool feasible long-term because I basically am working myself out of a job.”

The “Successful Six” Framework

Over time, this focus on practical life skills evolved into what Meg calls the “Successful Six” — six areas of proficiency her children master before leaving home:

1. Financial: Understanding basic economics, tracking spending, using credit wisely
2. Emotional: Taking responsibility for feelings, navigating frustration, processing challenges
3. Mental: Pushing through difficult tasks, academic skills, and home management
4. Physical: Cooking, cleaning, hygiene, exercise, grocery shopping
5. Social: Being a good friend, serving others, community involvement
6. Spiritual: Building a foundation in faith, meditation, or connection to nature

This framework transformed her approach to education. Rather than seeing homeschool as separate from life skills, they became integrated aspects of the same goal: raising capable adults.

“So when my kids are moving out of the house, they could navigate these things,” Meg said. “They knew how to cook for themselves, clean for themselves… they also knew how to overcome [challenges].”

The “Levels of Liberty” Approach

One of the most fascinating aspects of Meg’s system is how she teaches responsibility through what she calls “Levels of Liberty” — a way of helping children earn the freedoms they desire.

“As they enter these teenage years and they want liberties… you could go and drive your car, you could go to the store and get what you wanted,” she explained. “But you also have the understanding if you blow your whole paycheck, maybe you don’t have enough for groceries.”

Unlike many parents who simply give teens privileges based on age, Meg creates personalized responsibility pathways:

“If you’re my kid and I want you to win, it’s not me like, ‘I’m going to bury you in all of this hard work.’ But instead I want you to win. So maybe you are 13 and you’re like, ‘Mom, I want to be able to go to the mall with my friends with no adult.’ I would say, ‘That sounds stinking fun! So let’s make sure you’re responsible.'”

She then works with each child to master specific skills that demonstrate they’re ready for that liberty — creating a system where privileges are earned through demonstrated responsibility rather than simply granted by age.

Maintaining Your Identity Beyond “Homeschool Mom”

Despite her commitment to homeschooling seven children, Meg never lost herself in the process — something many homeschool parents struggle with.

“When I started homeschooling, I remember reading these Yahoo groups with moms in their 40s saying, ‘I’m done homeschooling and I’m so depressed. I don’t know what to do with myself. I’ve lost my whole self,'” she recalled.

“And I remember thinking, ‘That will not be me. I will always keep a hobby, I will always keep something that’s mine.'”

For Meg, that “something” was running. Even with seven children, Saturday mornings were hers for running groups and personal time.

“I just knew that you can get depressed so easy,” she said. “I knew I needed to make myself still a priority.”

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The Heart, Habits, Home Philosophy

When I asked Meg for her best advice for new homeschoolers, she distilled her approach into three simple elements:

1. Heart: Focus on connection and building relationships first. “If you guys have a crappy relationship, homeschool will be hard.”
2. Habits: Build strong daily routines that support learning and home management.
3. Home: Create an intentional family culture where education becomes a natural extension of who you are.

“When you have those three things functioning,” she explained, “school is just another extension of your family. Of course we read books, of course we study, of course we finish things that we started, because that is the culture that we have intentionally created in our home.”

Finding Your Path with OpenEd

What I love about Meg’s approach is how perfectly it aligns with OpenEd’s philosophy of personalized education. She tailors each child’s learning path to their interests and goals, while providing the structured freedom they need to thrive.

When her children reached high school age, Meg leveraged OpenEd’s partnership with Southern New Hampshire University to help them earn college credits, giving them a significant advantage when entering adulthood.

“When other kids are graduating from high school and you are both maybe trying to get just a basic job, you get to put on your resume that you are a college graduate,” she noted. “And they did it without any debt.”

Your Homeschool Journey

Whether you’re just beginning your homeschool journey or looking to refine your approach, Meg’s wisdom reminds us that successful homeschooling isn’t about doing more — it’s about building a culture where learning and responsibility become natural parts of family life.

As she beautifully puts it: “Parents don’t need to dive into the details of every decision because the culture almost as an agent of management is present in the details of every decision.”

What aspects of your family culture do you want to intentionally develop? How might focusing on “heart, habits, and home” transform your homeschool experience? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Connect with Meg Thomas:

Website: https://www.coachmegthomas.com/

Instagram: @coachmegthomas