Written by contributor Lora Lynn Fanning of Vitafamiliae
Recently, I put a small statement out on twitter and facebook to say that, for the first time, we had actually DONE school in our pajamas. I’d always heard people joke about homeschoolers spending the day in pj’s, but I’d never actually done it until that morning, when the lure of the elastic waistband in my pajama bottoms was just too strong…
My email and twitter stream blew up with responses ranging from, “Really? I haven’t bathed or gotten dressed all week!” to “We don’t wear pajamas outside our bedrooms.”
I was surprised at how strongly folks reacted. A quick informal poll on facebook and twitter revealed that each homeschool family, whether they stay in pj’s or not, has a “system” that works for them. Maybe just Mom needed to be dressed, or only those old enough to do school. Other families were dressed and ready to roll at the same time every day!
For our family, while I don’t have a hard and fast Rule about getting dressed, it is part of my morning routine as well as my children’s. I don’t feel awake or very “with it” unless I’ve had a shower, so I make sure it’s something I achieve before I try to impart any real knowledge or math facts on my children.
Another mom I know actually buys her homeschooled children uniforms, complete with khaki shorts and matching polos. They put on their uniforms each morning, head out the front door, walk down the sidewalk, and then turn around and walk back into the house to officially Begin Their Day.
Ultimately, the goal is that we accomplish learning, not that we put on a bra and brush our hair. But I think this highlights one of the best things about homeschooling: you can do what works for you.
If your kids like to do their math in their skivvies, okay. If your kids memorize multiplication tables better when they are in matching outfits, that’s okay, too! And if, one day, the uniforms aren’t clean, you can give school a try in your sweat pants! Homeschooling offers you the flexibility to make the rules!
So, what works for your family? Are you the sort of family that parses participles in your footed pajamas? Or do you parade the neighborhood in uniforms before you start your school day? Do your rules apply just to your kids or to the whole family?
This post originally published on February 27, 2012.
We wear our pajamas most all the time. With seven, I can’t imagine the laundry we’d have if we all got dressed every day. If I am dressed, the kids ask if I am going somewhere :-). It may have a lot to do with the fact that I have been pregnant or nursing for the past 14 years. I just want to be comfortable in my home. But, to have everyone dressed everyday would thrill my husband. So I should probably work on it.
I have only got 4 and I understand what you mean about the laundry. My kids do that too….If i’m dressed it’s all “Where are you going? Can I come? I wanna get dressed!” LOL
Becky @ Sowing Little Seeds’s latest post: 100+ Picture Books We Love (mostly Twaddle-Free)
We are a pajama family. Well, I am more of a yoga pants and sweatshirt type of person anyways. My husband works from home, and I am home with my babes all day, so unless we are leaving the house we tend to stay in our pjs. Although with the mess that my kiddos make, they usually get new pjs each night as well 🙂 So maybe it is sort of a uniform, just a much more comfortable one. And I am totally envious of you getting a shower in, I don’t seem to be able to get that done. Perhaps because my kids are still so little? At least that is what I keep telling myself…
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We have friends whose kids go to the classical Christian school in town. They stopped by after school recently in their uniforms: khaki pants and polos. I joked that we were wearing ours, too: PJs! 🙂
We don’t stay in our pajamas all day unless we are sick, but that doesn’t mean I think we have to be dressed to learn. We get dressed because we like to play hard and get our clothes dirty– and not sleep in our dirty clothes. I do appreciate that as home schoolers, no one is focused on the clothes we wear as long as they are clean. I have never had a request for a specific brand of pants or expensive shoes just because all the other kids are wearing them. It makes our lives a lot easier.
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We get dressed for much the same reason as Jen – we run/play hard on our farm all day so we’d hate to sleep in those same clothes! Also, we always have people dropping by unannounced so we’ve found its best to have something on our bodies. 🙂
We get dressed too, but, most mornings the kids start off school in their PJ’s. We generally start with our bible reading and some read alouds, so the kids stay in their PJ’s at this point, but, I insist on them getting dressed at “recess”. We live in a busy house, as my husband is a pastor, so quite often people drop by unannounced. I’d rather everyone was dressed when people arrived!
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For some reason I have always equated PJs with being sick or being lazy. My kids eat breakfast in the pajamas and then part of their morning chores is to go get dressed. I like seeing everyone “ready” for the day and being dressed is part of that for me…probably my Flylady brainwashing from 10 years ago 🙂
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We are usually in pj’s until around 10:00, when we take a little break. I feel more organized and “on top of it all” if I’ve showered or dressed first thing, but that is very rare.
My crew lounge around for a little while, eat breakfat and maybe watch a show. If they are really into the book we are reading ‘out loud’ together, they might listen to that in their PJs too. After that I start my mantra, “Come on guys, go get ready!” Sometimes it’s me that never seems to ‘get ready’!
We get dressed before we start school, but we have had an occasional pajama day, 1-2 times a year. No uniforms here. We are usually sporting some well worn jeans with holes.
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We don’t get dressed unless we have somewhere to go. Comfy pajamas make for a comfy day. PJ days are often the best days.
We do both. It really just depends on the day. You can almost guarantee though, if I stay in pajamas, someone will be knocking on my door. : )
Thank you for this post. It was very encouraging to be reminded that there’s not one right answer.
We get dressed most every day, but the girls’ morning starts slow since school doesn’t start until 10a. I get dressed because I just feel more sane and ready to deal with whatever comes flying at me. My girls get dressed because of the play hard, get dirty thing, too.
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We are in P J’s for part of the morning too. I have included the kids get dressed in part of their morning chores also. But if it’s a day when we don’t have to go anywhere they will ask if they can stay in their jammies for the day. I don’t mind. There are days when I stay in my PJs all day too. It just depends on what’s happening that day.
My goal is to be dressed & ready for the day before the kiddos get up (because they *will* get into something if I go back upstairs!) Their routine usually is getting dressed when they get up…occasionally they don’t change until after breakfast. I’ve found we are more awake and purposeful when dressed for the day, we also are ready for spur-of-the-moment outings. That said, on deep cleaning days, I stay on my jammies all day to work then shower and chane before bed. 🙂 We have recently instituted “pj days” when we where our pjs, make breakfast foods for all 3 meals, read books about bedtime, pjs and pancakes and play related games. It’s a break from our regular school schedule or a reward after some hard work.
My girls are too young for school. But we do PJs until 10am typically. Occasionally I realize I’ve been in PJs for 2 days, but that’s only happened twice and that’s when my 2.5 year old and newborn (currently 3 mo) decide to have opposite schedules and I have no down time. Good think my hubby is understanding. 🙂
I like to get dressed and ready each day but my son stays in his pjs anytime he is home. As soon as he gets home from something, he immediately puts his pjs back on 🙂
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Loved this! I spend most days in “comfies” I have 4 kids 5 and under and I am constantly getting something on myself. I don’t want to mess up my “good” clothes by wearing them around the house. My kids spend their day in “comfies” as well but are usually in some stage of undressed. The littlest 4 are in just a diaper most of the time. We get dressed only when we have somewhere to go, or just for going out to play.
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Hehe, I like the school uniform idea. I usually make sure the kids are dressed first, even if I’m not.
Every now and then my kids will request a “Jammie Day.” Otherwise, though, they get dressed after they’ve had breakfast. I’m pretty much not functional without a shower, so I don’t have PJ days unless I’m very, very sick.
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Honestly, we spend practically all our time in sweatpants. We also sleep in sweatpants but change before bed…I don’t like denim, it’s too stiff, and I know that’s weird but I don’t care. I think I may actually get some of those pajama jeans someday because I dislike real jeans SO much.
Pajama jeans are AWESOME and totally worth the $40.
Also, if you go with the size chart on the pants, they will be tight like yoga pants. I went a size up, and mine are comfortably loose.
We just started homeschooling about 2 weeks ago and we have stayed in our PJ’s every day. 🙂 I’m loving it and the boys are too!
It depends on the day for us and how we feel. I find in the winter that we don’t get dressed as much unless we are going somewhere. But during the rest of the seasons we are dressed because we like being outside.
I get up and shower and get dressed. The kids usually stay in pajamas unless the weather’s nice enough to go outside and play. There are occasions where I realize (usually on a rainy week) that a kid or two hasn’t bathed or changed in a couple of days.
We have places to go just about every day so my three (ages 9, 6, 4) kids change into their “uniforms” (worn-out jeans and a probably-stained t-shirt, but clean underpants and socks are a must!) after breakfast. I find it very frustrating when it’s time to leave for co-op Monday morning and we’re all waiting on someone to get some clothing on!
I usually feel much more with it when I shower & ‘dress’. My mind just focuses better. But being ‘dressed’ takes on different meanings, depending on the day. I have a couple pairs of comfy pants that I’ll kick around in if we aren’t going anywhere. Not quite PJs, but not nice enough to leave the house in.
I usually ask DS to get dressed as well, although it just depends on how the day is going. As it gets nicer, he’s getting dressed more so he can play outside!
I was thinking today about how I love the fact that we can still be in our PJs and cuddled under a warm blanket as we watch all the public school kids head off to school (in the cold!)
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Really glad you weren’t tough on that bra thing. We will remain friends forever.
It’s fun to hear what works for different families — from PJs whenever possible to the “school” uniforms & march out the door (that’s a new one!). We do a little bit of both: PJs on low-key days and getting dressed first thing when there’s an activity or outing on the daytime agenda. I’m not naturally a morning person, but I also don’t associate getting dressed up with mental clarity or feeling awake — for me personally, it’s more about a morning shower and/or cup of coffee.My girls shower/bathe at night, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference in their behavior or attention span to be in comfy PJs or jeans/tees while we’re doing schoolwork. It’s more of a practical decision for us. I’m also in favor of keeping the laundry manageable by not changing clothes unnecessarily.
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I’m pregnant again and maternity pants just don’t want to stay on my hips. So if I am going to be home all or most of the day, I’ve been wearing sweats, yoga, or lounge pants. My kids wear real clothes if we’re going somewhere or if we’re expecting someone, otherwise they are free to wear “comfy” clothes (sweats or lounge pants). I actually prefer it-it keeps their real clothes stain free. I do try to get them out of their pjs though. It makes me feel better if someone pops by if we’re all dressed-however casually.
It’s really interesting what works for different families…I have 5 kids 8 and under and, my kids would probably freak out if we were ready to start school and Mommy was still in her pjs 🙂 I have to be really, really sick (not just pregnant sick) to stay in pjs all day and that hasn’t happened in years. My kids are the same: get up, get dressed, make bed, eat breakfast. We’ve just always done it that way. The tutorial where my older two go usually has pj day the last day that they meet before Christmas break. My kids do wear pajamas that day, but not the ones they slept in. They change from their “night” pajamas into a pair of “day” pajamas. They were appalled when I suggested that they just leave the other ones on!
We brush our teeth and wash our face first thing in the morning. We keep our jammies on while we do school work and then get dressed for the day. Usually we are finished with school work around lunch time, so we get ready and head out for any errands we have to run.
We get dressed in the morning because we spend lots of time outside, taking walks in the neighborhood, and getting together with friends. But in the winter my kids usually wear their pjs as “long underwear” so when they get up we just throw some fleece pants and a sweater on top. Then at night we change into a fresh pair of pjs. 🙂
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I love that learning can look so different in each family! I’m definitely a get up and get dressed sort of person. I find I get much less accomplished when I’m not dressed!
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We are in our pj’s ALOT! LOL! 🙂 I have admitted this openly on my blog a few times.
Thanks for posts like this! It’s nice to be reminded of the diversity… that WORKS. We always get dressed… well I guess the kids always get dressed. Occasionally I change while they are working on something.
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While I like to get dressed before I go downstairs in the morning (it makes me feel ready for the day as so many before have stated), I don’t make the kids get dressed until anywhere between 9am or 1pm. We do life learning and that fits well with our lifestyle. Although I’m the one who makes the kids get dressed (if they had their druthers, they’d stay in pj’s all day long), I am pretty relaxed about when they do it. And I’ve never let the kids go outside with pj’s although I know others who do.
My belief is with most things in life: live and let live.
I think our philosophy is comfortable. We don’t necessarily wear pajamas all day, but yoga pants and a t-shirt for Mom, and a t-shirt and jeans or stretchy pants for the kids. If it’s clean, we’re happy. Our only official pajama day is the first day of school every year, and it’s more of a day long party to celebrate the awesome year ahead of us.
Wow! I never knew jammies were so popular. Personally I like to be dressed and ready for anything. I usually ask my kids to be dressed before breakfast, but they are usually up 45 minutes to an hour or more before breakfast time. The only time I’ve let the kids stay in their jammies is if I know they aren’t feeling well.
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By dressed I mean t-shirt and jeans/pants or a skirt if that’s what I feel comfortable in for the day.
Suanna’s latest post: The Hidden Art of Homemaking – Music
I like to get dressed most days, it makes me feel ready to tackle the day (I’d most likely sneek back to my bed if I didn’t). And except for designated pajama day I usually ask the kids to get dressed before lunch. 😉 So sometimes school happens in pjs and sometimes not! It truly is oneof the many great things about homeschooling!
I really just depends on the day for us. If we don’t have to go out of the house for any reason that day (which isn’t as often as I’d like!), we usually stay in p.j.s. We all stay up later at night, so it’s not always easy for me to get up before the kids. If they’re is something we’d like to do together, it helps if we get to it as soon as possible, so we usually stay in p.j.s until we need to get ready to go.
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We do both. Sometimes we get dressed and sometimes we wear PJs. It just kind of depends on the mood we’re in and how busy we are. Sometimes showering just takes too much time. 🙂
I do not….but sometimes I let my kids, but I prefer they get dressed. It helps their minds wake up and mine!
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My daughter LOVES the days when she gets to stay in her pjs (and so do i)! It does not happen every day, maybe only once a week or once every two weeks, but we do like those days and love the freedom. 🙂
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We don’t homeschool yet because I have little bitties, but our general rule of thumb is dressed by eight. Mostly that is because I always want to be ready in case an opportunity arises. Just this December my mom called at 8:15 to let me know her 1st grade teachers were taking their classes to a student showing of the Nutcracker and did I want to bring the girls? It’s a thirty minute drive so if I had had to get everyone dressed we wouldn’t have been able to go.
Also even though they are little mine are showing signs of major extroversion (like their mama) so while we make a concerted effort not to be busy and to stay home I need to be ready to make a break for a more crowded place when all of our natures are screaming for it!
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If we are going to go somewhere out of the house, my kids (3 and 6 years old) get dressed right before we leave. If we are staying home all day, they stay in their jammies all day. This really saves on laundry, plus I don’t mind if they get their jammies filthy and stained up; so if they go outside and get their jammies dirty, then they change into clothes for the rest of the day. I get myself cleaned and dressed for the day about halfway through the morning, but if we are staying around the house I usually wear a comfy skirt or yoga pants.
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On “normal” days, I expect my kids to get dressed and put their pj’s under the pillow when the make their bed- then they can come to the kitchen for breakfast. For us, it just gets everyone into the “ready to work” mode. Once in awhile, when I know we aren’t going anywhere, I’ll announce that it’s a pajama day, which most of them LOVE, but some still want to get dressed. Funny thing is, they often sleep in their clothes- the rule is, if we didn’t go anwhere and you didn’t get dirty playing outside, then yes, you can sleep in your clothes.
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Proof of how different we all are! I have been nursing the last two years and am headed on year three and I dream of the day I can burn those nursing Cami’s! My yoga pants? Now that’s a different story…
I wouldn’t knock the way anyone else rolls, but man I do love my comfy clothes. I stopped nursing a year ago and I still wear nursing camis with my yoga or pj pants, because they are full coverage and more comfy than a sports bra LOL! I just have to throw a shirt on if I need to step outside. My toddlers have an arsenal of play clothes that if they don’t dirty them up I can put them to bed in them. I save the actual pjs for when they will only sleep in them or for when we travel. haha! More than anything I just want to do what makes them most comfy…me too XD
Oops my reply to the above comment really was for this one!
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I fiercely love my jammies. Maybe I missed my homeschool calling? Couldn’t resist! 😉
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We get dressed before school (after breakfast), but only because I have to take them out to their grandparent’s house after school work for the morning and the grandparents go places – and they DON’T want to take kids in PJs to the store.
One of our goals in raising our children, and thereby in homeschooling, is to grow children into responsible adults, ready for whatever God has in store. As such, we understand that it is very likely that most, if not all, of our children will work outside the home at one time or other. As such, we want them to learn that there are schedules that must be kept and confines in which we must work whether we want to or not. So for us, having our children dressed and ready for school at a certain time each morning is preparation for that day in the future when he/she will need to do so, for a boss, a teacher, a professor, etc. We have seven children, too, and I don’t find that it’s all that much extra laundry. You can wear your PJs more than one night at a time. When you have that much laundry already, a few PJs aren’t going to break the back. 🙂
Our family is of the all day PJ wearing type. Although our PJs are mostly sweat or yoga pants and a t-shirt.
I could live in my pjs!
The pre-school/pre-k that my two daughters attend does a monthly pajama day and it is their favorite! I have also seen the elementary students that have the daycare as a before/after care location in their pajamas on occasion…so even public schools do it every so often. Not a big deal…whatever works!
This is always a fun discussion! When we announced to the girls that we were going to start homeschooling a few years ago, one of the first requests I got was “so can we stay in our PJs all day?” (This from my daughter who preferred to wear “soft pants” to school whenever possible, even on cold, snowy days!) Personally, I love the comfort of my flannel PJ pants over my denim jeans too. However, my husband, who also works at home and does get showered & dressed before hitting his desk, does want to see the girls dressed and ready for the day too. Most days, that’s exactly what we do, especially if we have an afternoon enrichment activity on the agenda. But if we’re going to be home all day and it’s cold, snowy, gray, someone’s not feeling well, or any other reason why I think it would be fun to stay warm and comfy, then we do!
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I hope to get dressed everyday… and I probably succeed about 1/2 the time… Lots of days I am the only one left in my pajamas because I have started a project and just don’t want to stop and get real clothes on.
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I love that we don’t -have- to get out of our PJ’s if we don’t want to! We are pretty relaxed around here, so there are days that we change into real clothes right before we head out the door. We like to walk down the middle between structured and unstructured. It works for us.
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Yeah, we get dressed most days. After noon the pjs get a stale, tired feeling to them and then you’re stuck at bedtime trying to decide whether to put on clean pajamas or to go to bed in the dirty, worn ones. My kids do love a Pj Day, though, so on those winter days when we’re not going any place, I’m ok with saying Yes. It’s just not the high point for me that it is for them.
I have discovered if I or my kiddos don’t get dressed it seems as if we have never started the day. So most days find us dressed, but it can really vary from day to day when that happens but usually it is by 10:30. Funny story, when my husband taught at private classical school with uniforms he as a teacher thoroughly disliked pajama day. He said they were always just off days. I don’t think that the uniforms made the kids better students necessarily just having something so different threw them off.
We get dressed if we are going out. Otherwise we are in pj’s or outside play clothes. We live out in the country on a small farm so our “town” clothes don’t have dirt stains….
We do school in our pjs! When my daughter went to public school, we always bought a special outfit for the first day of homeschool. Now we buy a special pair of pjs that she wears the night before as her special outfit.
We do expect our girls to get dressed with hair brushed, teeth brushed right after breakfast…. As we think of the pattern we are starting and putting them into their frame of mind for their adult life. Even if we aren’t up and ready as early as those around us who ride a bus, we usually start are school day by 8am, it is important to my husband and I that we build their life rountine as active participants for their future… As we believe these habits are only harder to teach, once other habits are already ingrained. We don’t see many working adults in their pjs, so we ask our kids not to be in theirs, but we aren’t against a fun pj day either… it just isn’t are everyday norm.
Well our pjs consist of sweats generally, actually all I sleep in is a t-shirt, so I do put on more clothes lol. My husband is from a farming family. His dad changed from his dirty farm clothes to sweats, so he does the same, even though he doesnt always get dirty at work. My girls usually change clothes at some point in the time during the day. But we only mandate getting dressed to go out of the house and you can’t wear something for more than 24 hours. I prefer to take showers in the afternoon, then put on clean sweats if I am staying home. We don’t shower every day in the winter though, it is too dry. The rest of the year we change clothes a lot because we get dirty working outside most days, which is another reason we tend to shower in the afternoon or evening. If I have jeans or regular pants on my girls or husband will ask where we are going. We are otherwise disciplined and hard workers, we just don’t identify with it through our clothing. With farming work often involves wearing old worn clothing anyway.
We do pj’s as well as regular play clothes at our hpuse. It isn’t a big deal either way….only if they want to go out to play..they have to be dressed. Fun either way….my kids are young…
I feel like my day hasn’t started until I am showered and dressed. I do my best to do this before the kids wake up or as soon as possible each morning.
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When my daughter turned six this year I found myself forcing the “get dressed” issue a little more. It does seem to help her focus, some days. Other days the pajamas are a saving grace… a relaxed start to our day. We also have “home” clothes and “around town” clothes. My girls love to get dirty in the backyard, so when it’s time to head to the library, co-op or just the store I try to remember to brush their hair and have them pick something without stains, lol.
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We start out in Jammie’s! My 14 yo daughter will do half her studies, shower, lunch, then the other half. The boys? Pajamas all day if I let them. We get dressed at different times, but I know I’m dressed before my husband s home and I’m starting dinner!
I bought my son uniforms to make it seem more of a thing, like we are really doing this! He thought it was fun and doesn’t like to wear them unless he is “working”… Which, at four years old, means building rockets and trains in the backyard, with the occasional sit down to practise writing his name 🙂 It was nice to be able to share pics on fb of him in his uniform while all his other little friends are heading off to prep too. We like the fact that he can have the freedom to wear bright coloured outfits, and just a pair of shorts, barefoot, if he likes too. Having attended a private school myself, I like the values I learned for proper presentation though and it has stood me in good stead in my life so far.
We have nothing formal at all. I usually try to get my kids dressed simply because three of the four are three and under and they usually manage to get themselves quite and nasty after breakfast!! Some days I never get dressed but I do try to pop on a jumper because I like to take my kids outside for recess but not in my pj’s!! Also my husband is working and going to school right now so I feel kind of bad if I lounge around in pj’s while he has to get dressed and go out. Some days though I have two little boys running around in nothing but diapers, two little girls wearing princess dresses, and comfy pj’s for mom! Our dress does not seem to affect our productivity so that’s good!
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I’m surprised no one else has said this yet: we’re nudists, so putting on clothes in general is only for when we plan to leave the house. My boys will put pajamas on if they’re particularly cold or pretending to be superheroes, but other than that, we all lounge around au naturel. This helps us tremendously with cutting down on laundry because we don’t have regular access to a machine – aside from a small, 5 lb, hand crank machine. I can see how having a uniform for schooling would help get them in the right frame of mind though. Maybe I should look into making them each bow ties to wear as a signal that we are schooling now 😀
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we have started in our pjs several times but I always feel more successful if i get ready for my day. today my kids got ready before me and i must say it’s time to get ready for my day!
on a side note I think having intentional PJ days would be fun.
lana
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We have come up with a happy medium on this topic. If there is snow on the ground, we stay in pajamas. Living in KY, this is only a few times each year… except for this year!!! The novelty has worn off and we would rather get up and dressed. 🙂
I like what Therese said. As it is currently FEbruary and we have about 14 inches of snow outside, we are in our pajamas. One is reading under a blanket, one is building a ferris wheel from K’nex and I am considering a shower as we have karate/gymnastics/girl scout cookie pick up tonight. It’s 11 am and we are quietly moving through our morning. I hate to disrupt the peace simply to get them into clothing that they will need to change OUT of so that they can get dressed for sports tonight. I am not a fan of unnecessary laundry!
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I am of the “relaxed” approach to homeschooling. Life is stressful enough for kids, so why add to it. If they are comfortable in their pajamas then let them be in them. They know the difference between wearing pajamas out of the house vs. at home. It isn’t like they are going to go to a formal dinner as adults in footed pajamas because I let them do there math lesson in them as a child. A child will still understand structure not because they where pajamas while learning but because you taught them. There are bigger fish to fry. Now for all you folks who think, “Oh she must not be very strict about her kids education,” all I have to say is my eldest, a 10th grader, will be taking his first year of college classes next year. He isn’t a savant, or have an IQ of 150, he (and I) has just worked hard on education. Yes, and all while in our pajamas.
I am just way to relaxed to worry about if they are dressed and I’m sure not going to have them walk down the sidewalk and turn around and come back. I have one who gets dressed before he starts school and I have another who will stay in his underwear all day.
Think of it this way. Would you, yourself or wild you want your children to go out in public or go to work inappropriately dressed? There’s statistical evidencethat how you dress has an impact on both performance and outward image. It has been strongly suggested that those who work from home should dress like they would has they went to an office. Dressing children for success is no different and it prepares rhem for the future. Just because my kid can wear flip flops to public does not mean he should, nor will I let him. I also don’t let him wear raggedy clothes to school. It’s a matter of self respect and respect towards learning, and later the respect towards the company you work for. Parents teaching children at home should also dress like they would teach others’ kids. It doesn’t matter if it’s just your kids; there should be separation between school and the rest of the time. Maybe, a dress down day once in a while is nice to have, but it shouldn’t be daily.
We are pyjama family. When we are at home we always wear pyjama or tshirt& yoga pants. When we come back home from outside (school/work/going out) we always change to “home clothes”. Each of us has different set of clothes for going out, for special occasions and for staying at home. So if there is day when we don’t go out we stay all day in pyjamas.
My son when he was going to school developed Selective Mutism and phobia so I prefer that when homeschooling it is for him as much comfortable as possible. In this way he feels well and has no stress while learning.
My kids don’t wear pjs for sleeping after about age 6, it seems. They each have a pair for sleepovers or for when we have company overnight, but that’s it. We wear normal “home” clothes all day, put on “town” clothes if we go somewhere. Most of that is because we live on a farm and if you go outside something will probably stain or rip your clothes, so it doesn’t make sense to wear anything good here. We literally have never done school in pjs.
No hard and fast rule here. My daughter has done school in everything from pjs and unbrushed hair to fully dressed and hair neatly done. I’m a PJ wearer (technically lounge pants and a baggy shirt….so in theory I could go out in my pajamas and no one would “know”) and unless I’m going somewhere I rarely get dressed at home. The closest I come to a rule about clothing is my daughter has to be dressed to go outside to play.
We have four children, two in diapers. At times my better half proper conveys two or three diapers, a scarcely any wipes, a join of invalidate baggies and a pacifier promptly in her tote. We keep some additional garments in the ass of the minivan. Everything else is sauce.