Is Houston a Good Place to Homeschool? Especially If You’re a Secular Homeschooler
I’ve been homeschooling in and around Houston, Texas, for 10 years.
That’s long enough to have a pretty good idea of what works for our family, what doesn’t, what we’ve actually used, and what I would tell another homeschooling family who was considering Houston.
And here’s the thing:
I think Houston is a really good place to homeschool.
In fact, I think it’s one of the more underrated places to homeschool in the country.
I realize that might not be the first thing you expect me to say about Houston.
Texas has a reputation. Houston has a reputation. And if most of what you know about either comes from the news, you might not immediately picture Houston as an especially appealing place for a secular, inclusive homeschool family.
But cities are complicated.
And after living here for my entire life and homeschooling here for a decade, I’ve found that Houston has a lot going for it.
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So, why Houston?
For our family, one of the biggest advantages is simply what is available here.
Houston is huge.
Really huge.
That means there are a lot of people, a lot of institutions, a lot of cultures and a lot of different ways of doing things.
And all of that creates educational opportunities.
1. Houston is incredibly diverse
This is one of the things I value most about living here.
Houston is an extraordinarily diverse city. My kids aren’t growing up in an environment where everyone they encounter looks like them, worships the same way, eats the same foods or comes from the same cultural background.
That matters to me.
Especially when you’re homeschooling, your environment becomes part of your children’s education.
We have different cultural communities, religious communities, restaurants, festivals, museums, neighborhoods and events throughout the city.
And for secular homeschoolers, I think that diversity can be especially valuable.
Does that mean finding your exact people is always easy?
No.
Sometimes it isn’t.
Sometimes you have to look. Sometimes you have to drive. Sometimes you have to be the person who starts the thing and waves the flag so that other people can find you.
But I’ve found that Houston is big enough that your people are probably here somewhere.
You may just have to find them.
2. The museums are ridiculous—in the best way
Houston has a tremendous collection of museums and educational institutions.
And this is where homeschooling becomes really fun for me.
We don’t have to wait for Saturday.
We don’t have to wait for a school field trip.
We can go during the week.
My kids have taken classes at museums. We’ve explored exhibits. We’ve used museums as extensions of what we’re learning at home.
The Houston Museum of Natural Science is one of the places we’ve returned to over and over.
And the Museum District gives us access to an enormous range of experiences.
Art, science, history, culture, paleontology—you can build an awful lot of your education around what’s available here.
And sometimes it is as simple as this:
We’re studying art history.
There’s a Picasso in Houston.
So we go see the Picasso.
My kids have grown up thinking that it’s completely normal to learn about something in a book and then go see the actual thing.
That’s one of the great gifts of homeschooling.
3. The arts are a huge part of the city
Houston has a surprisingly strong arts scene.
There is public art everywhere. There are museums, galleries, performances, installations and classes.
We have the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and a huge range of other arts organizations.
There are opportunities for kids to take classes and attend performances during the school day.
And theater is particularly important to our family.
Houston has a huge theater community, with opportunities for student matinees, discounts and behind-the-scenes experiences.
For a homeschool family, that’s fantastic.
You can study theater and then actually go see theater.
You can study art and then visit an exhibit.
You can study music and go hear it performed.
You can study history and visit the places and institutions connected to it.
The city becomes part of the curriculum.
4. Science is everywhere
Houston is also a pretty fantastic place for science education.
We have NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
We have the Texas Medical Center.
We have universities and research institutions.
We have museums and educational programs.
And because Houston is a major city with a huge scientific and medical presence, there are opportunities to encounter science in ways that go well beyond a textbook.
That matters to me because homeschooling gives us the flexibility to follow those opportunities when they come up.
5. There are a LOT of educational options
Houston has public schools, magnet programs, private schools, hybrid programs, co-ops, homeschool groups, universities and community colleges.
And even if you never intend to enroll your child in a traditional school, I think having that ecosystem around you is useful.
There are resources.
There are specialists.
There are classes.
There are universities.
There are people doing interesting things.
You don’t have to use all of them.
You just get to choose.
That’s one of the things I love about homeschooling generally: I don’t need one institution to provide my child’s entire education.
I can build something that works for us.
Houston gives me a lot of pieces to work with.
6. Houston is relatively affordable for a major city
Is Houston cheap?
No.
Nothing feels particularly cheap these days.
But compared with many other large American cities, Houston is still relatively affordable.
Housing, transportation and the overall cost of living can make it an appealing option for families who want access to major-city amenities without paying the prices you see in some of the country’s largest coastal cities.
And that matters because homeschooling is easier when your entire budget isn’t being eaten alive by simply existing.
7. You can get out of the house year-round
Let’s talk about the weather.
Houston is hot.
Houston is humid.
Houston has hurricanes, flooding and some genuinely miserable weather.
I’m not going to pretend otherwise.
But we also don’t have the kind of winter that shuts down outdoor activities for months.
We can visit parks. We can go to museums. We can visit the zoo. We can take field trips. We can swim for much of the year.
A homeschool schedule can be incredibly flexible, and Houston’s climate gives us a lot of opportunities to use that flexibility.
There are downsides, absolutely.
But I like being able to say, “It’s a beautiful Tuesday morning. Let’s go do school somewhere else.”
8. There’s always somewhere to go
This might actually be my favorite part.
Houston is big enough that you can keep finding things.
The Houston Zoo.
The Children’s Museum.
The Houston Museum of Natural Science.
The Houston Arboretum.
The Houston Botanic Garden.
Hermann Park.
Memorial Park.
Theater.
Art.
NASA.
Universities.
Festivals.
Restaurants.
Cultural neighborhoods.
Public art.
And then there are all the smaller things that don’t necessarily make a list like this.
Those are often my favorite.
The random museum.
The little festival.
The class we didn’t know existed.
The restaurant we’ve never tried.
The exhibit that suddenly connects to something we’re learning.
That’s the beauty of homeschooling in a city like Houston.
But is Houston perfect for secular homeschoolers?
No.
And I think it’s important to say that.
I’m not interested in pretending Houston is some magical utopia.
It isn’t.
Texas has political and cultural issues that I don’t agree with.
Houston has problems.
There are parts of the surrounding area that won’t feel like a good fit for every family.
And finding a secular homeschool community can take some work.
But that’s not the same thing as saying that secular homeschoolers don’t belong here.
They absolutely do.
In fact, one of the things I’ve learned after 10 years is that sometimes the best thing you can do is stop waiting for someone else to build the community you want.
Start the thing.
Wave the flag.
Find your people.
They’re often closer than you think.
So, would I recommend Houston for homeschooling?
Yes.
Especially if you value diversity, educational opportunities, museums, arts, science, cultural experiences and the ability to build an education around your actual child.
Houston isn’t the answer for everyone.
But if you’re looking at Texas and wondering where a secular homeschool family might fit, I would absolutely put Houston on the list.
And if you’re already here?
Get out of the house.
Seriously.
One of my favorite things about homeschooling is that school doesn’t have to happen at home.
Use the museum.
Go to the zoo.
Take the class.
See the play.
Visit the university.
Walk through the garden.
Try the restaurant.
Go find the weird little thing your city has that nobody else knows about.
Your city can be part of your homeschool.
That’s really what this video was about for me.
Not convincing everyone to move to Houston.
Just remembering to appreciate where we are.
I’ve lived here my entire life, and sometimes I forget how much is right outside our door.
So this is my Houston tribute.
Now tell me about yours.
What’s the thing in your city that makes homeschooling better that people might not know about?
Because I want to hear it.
And maybe the rest of us need to know about it, too.
More Homeschooling Resources
If you’re interested in secular homeschooling, intentional family life and what homeschooling actually looks like after a decade—not just the pretty parts—stick around.
That’s what we’re doing here at Making Everyday Magic.
We’re figuring it out as we go.
And we’re making everyday magic along the way.
