Day: August 24, 2025

• I started homeschooling my two kids six years ago. This year, my oldest is a high school senior.
• Homeschooling high schoolers has been different, but incredibly rewarding.
• There are things I wish I’d known when I first started homeschooling a high schooler.

I started homeschooling my kids six years ago, when one was entering 7th grade and the other was going into 5th grade. The task felt daunting, but I did lots of research and made the switch, mostly to lessen the pressures my kids were feeling in the public school classroom and increase the amount of learning we could do together through travel.

Homeschooling my kids has paid dividends: My son started his senior year of high school dual-enrolled with a local college because, on our own, we were able to work through his lessons more quickly. My daughter, now a sophomore, uses most of her free time to work with elementary-aged kids in local theater programs and hopes to become a teacher. I’ve watched my kids blossom into little versions of who their adult selves will be, and I feel a sense of pride knowing I played a hand in shaping who they’re becoming.

Homeschooling during high school is just different

Still, homeschooling high schoolers requires more work than the middle and elementary years. There’s record-keeping, transcript-making, SAT-taking, and more. And, without the support of a school system to successfully get my kids through high school and off to college, I’ve been learning right along with them. At the end of the day, homeschooling a high school student isn’t hard, necessarily, it just requires extra work beyond simply following a homeschool curriculum.

The biggest advice I’d give to parents about to start homeschooling for the high school years is to do a lot of research about the graduation requirements within your state and county. In Florida, where we live, homeschool students do not get a standard high school diploma from the state.

I keep detailed grade records and transcripts myself instead. When my son graduates at the end of this school year, I’ll issue him a diploma I create and keep on file, along with his high school transcript and a notarized affidavit saying he completed the necessary coursework.

Homeschooling opens up so many opportunities for learning

My favorite thing about homeschooling is that I have some say in what counts as school for my kids. Our high school curriculum primarily comes from online schooling programs, but we also use things like community theater and group fitness classes at our gym to fill elective credits like performing arts and physical education.

Travel also makes its way into the mix: This year, my son fulfilled a language credit by studying Italian, and then we took a family vacation to Italy to further his knowledge. One year, when my kids studied marine biology, we took a whale-watching cruise in Baja California, Mexico, to make the experience feel more real to them.

During my son’s junior year, I learned a great deal about taking the SATs and tracking volunteer hours for college scholarships. My husband discovered through his employer that we had a college counseling benefit and an SAT tutoring benefit, so we utilized those to get a little outside help.

One of the best things parents of high schoolers can do when homeschooling is to research what support groups and community programs exist in their area, because, like anything, it takes a village to raise a homeschooled child.

Homeschooling can feel overwhelming, but it’s been worth it for me

The year before we started homeschooling, I was at dinner with a friend whose twin daughters were about to graduate as homeschooled high school seniors. As she regaled me with tales of her girls being fluent in Mandarin and headed to college on full academic scholarships, I remember saying, “I love that you did all of tha, but I could never. I’d be too overwhelmed about where to get started.”

Months later, I found myself checking out books (one was literally titled “Homeschooling for Dummies”) and digging deep into how to homeschool.

Now, I’m about to graduate one kid and two years from repeating it with the other, I can say the biggest thing I wish I’d known about graduating a homeschooler before I started is this: Like anything, it isn’t overly complicated if you find out exactly what’s required in your state and county and work your way through it, checking the boxes as you go.

Sure, homeschooling has caused me to take on titles I never imagined for myself, from principal to record-keeper, but it’s also given me precious time with my kids that feels even more fleeting now that we’re almost finished with our homeschooling journey.

• I’ve long struggled with the limitless questions that arise while parenting five kids.
• I’ve adapted Mel Robbins’ 5 Second Rule which allows me to consider a problem for just five seconds.
• The rule has helped me come to decisions faster, which helps my family and my job.

Should I hire a nanny? Should my kids go to a different school? Should they be packers or buyers? Should I teach them to get the mail? But the road is right there!

This is just a tiny, tiny fraction of the six zillion (actual number) decisions busy parents like myself make every day.

Micro decisions crowd my mind, and in 10 years of parenting five kids, not much has helped. But recently, I learned a trick that’s significantly changed this burden: Mel Robbins’ 5 Second Rule.

Five seconds to more bandwidth

You know that dopamine hit when your desk or kitchen counter is cleared off? That’s what the five-second rule is all about. The concept is about counting down from five, and giving yourself just that much time to think, ruminate, decide, or wonder about the outcome. When you hit zero, you have to act.

For example, I recently asked myself: Should I go to the gym or pick up the kids a few minutes early? I could easily spend 20 minutes debating it, during which I’d miss my chance to grab my workout clothes and make it happen. With just five seconds to consider, I make a decision.

Christina Granahan, a licensed social worker and therapist, told me, “Often, people think that something outside of them is causing the stress or suffering, but more often than not, it’s the open loop that is stressful and accumulating in their mind, draining their physical and mental energy.”

How to give it a try

This hack works best with two answers that are both “OK.” For example, recently, I had to let go of a babysitter who was having trouble managing one kid’s tantrums. I was getting calls throughout the day, causing a similar stress level to if I had no sitter while working. The reason I couldn’t make the decision is that neither answer was a great solution.

So, one day, I counted down from five and hit “call” on my phone to let her know we needed to take a break. By just picking something, I could move forward with other problems occupying brain space.

“Mel’s practice can be helpful when there is either low risk or when a perfect decision would be impossible to make. It’s a great practice to cut through the messiness of overthinking and move to action,” Granahan said. “The fine line the practice walks, though, is with impulsivity or with higher risk decisions [where] you want to make sure you are taking in all relevant information.”

I’ve found it’s easiest to start with daily tasks, like the day’s plans or meals. But then, I get the most impact from this rule by applying it to situations I’ve been overthinking for longer than I know I should.

The paralysis of making the “right” decision

Emily Oster, a parenting data scientist, once wrote, “There is no secret option C.” An imperfect decision is better than the paralysis of making a perfect decision.

I had no idea that having five kids meant each decision carried such weight, with little lives and futures depending on making the “right” one, that I’d constantly be scanning for that better option C. Often, usually, there just isn’t one.

So, next time I find myself searching for the right choice, or a better choice, whether it’s been minutes of analyzing or weeks, the countdown begins. After all, my kids — and the life we’ve already built together — are waiting for me to enjoy it.

• Soho House is going private after a few difficult years on the public market.
• The company was founded in 1995 and helped usher in a private club boom, but has itself struggled.
• It appeals to “creatives,” but has a noted presence in the corporate world.

True to its status as a members-only club, Soho House is once again going private.

Soho House, a self-described members-only club for “creatives,” announced in August that it’s ending its yearslong stint as a publicly traded company. The London-based company has helped sparked a private club boom and has more than 40 houses across the globe, which have been the site of pivotal networking connections.

While the company caters to the wealthy, its own finances have faltered. After going public in 2021, Soho House’s stock dipped sharply as it struggled to turn a profit. It was valued at $2.7 billion at the time of the August sale to investors, which include actor Ashton Kutcher and Apollo Global Management.

Wenjia Han, an assistant professor of hospitality management at Purdue University Fort Wayne and coauthor of a paper on Soho House’s strategic management, said that Soho House faces a “paradox.” On the one hand, she said, the company wants to grow its brand and membership, but growing it too much risks undermining the exclusivity.

Here’s a brief history of the company and its role as an especially chic networking hub.

Soho House was founded in 1995

Nick Jones, a British restaurateur, opened the first Soho House in 1995 above his London restaurant. The club was in a Georgian-style house in the Soho neighborhood, hence the name, according to the club’s website. Today, houses can include restaurants, bars, gyms, coworking spaces, and pools. There are 46 houses across the globe, with more in the works.

Dues cost thousands

Membership pricing varies based on age, location, and access level, but can cost upward of $5,000 a year. Han said that Soho House’s long waitlist and intentionally subtle marketing help enforce its image of exclusivity.

Soho House offers networking opportunities

Though it’s technically a social club, Soho House also offers networking opportunities for those in both the corporate and creative worlds. Some use the clubs to type away on their laptops or take business meetings, while others have forged invaluable career connections there. The brand has created Soho Works, a network of office spaces that anyone can join, even if they’re not a member of the houses.

Tech venture capitalist Fred Wilson, for example, posted on his blog about a meeting at Soho House London that finally convinced him to invest in SoundCloud. And various directors, writers, and actors also told the Hollywood Reporter about how often they use the space for work.

It courts successful creatives

The application-based club caters to the artsy elite, like designers and musicians. On Instagram, it recently posted about events with the actor and DJ Idris Elba, ASAP Rocky, and Milan Design Week. In 2010, a Soho House in Manhattan purged at least 500 members who it said were too “corporate.”

“When I went there, it didn’t have the right feel anymore,” Jones, the founder, told the New York Post at the time. “It has always been a creative, friendly place with a relaxed feel. If there are too many corporate types around then that atmosphere doesn’t occur.”

Privacy is part of the draw — the clubs don’t let members take pictures while there. As of the end of June, Soho House had more than 270,000 members worldwide, according to its second-quarter earnings report.

Soho House went public in 2021

In 2021, Soho House went public at around a $2.8 billion valuation. At the time, its IPO price was $14 per share. The billionaire Ronald Burkle acquired a majority stake in Soho House in 2012 and remains the largest shareholder.

The club’s finances and image struggled, and other clubs popped up

Soho House continued to expand, but its stock fell during its time as a public company. Despite reporting profits in the second quarter of 2025, it lost money most of the time. Shortly before it went private again in August, the stock price was down 45% from its first day on the market, with shares trading at $7.64.

Meanwhile, other private clubs have popped up across the country and globe, including Ned’s Club, a spinoff of Soho House.

In August 2025, Soho House went back to private ownership

In August, Soho House put its publicly traded problems to rest and went private yet again. The company agreed to sell itself to investors at a $2.7 billion valuation, it said in a statement. Investors, led by hotel operator MCR Hotels, paid $9 per share, which is 18% higher than where shares closed on the weekday prior. It’s still, however, less than the $14 share price during its 2021 IPO. The stock rose after the announcement of privatization.

Other investors include Marc Rowan’s Apollo Global Management and the actor Ashton Kutcher, who will join the company’s board. Existing shareholders, including Burkle, will roll their holdings into the new company.

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