“Did you know, Minneapolis was colder than Mars last week?”
This conversation came up at a newspaper staff meeting at some point in November. This fact stunned me- after all, isn’t Mars supposed to be really, really cold?- and I spent the next day or two starting conversations with the same statement. I’m a homeschooler, and through homeschooling, I’ve met many friends who share my interests: books, philosophy, and of course, nerdy facts like the one above. You can’t beat a homeschooler when it comes to nerdy facts.
It did leave me wondering, though: if these kinds of cold snaps start happening more often (looking at you, climate change), how will we go outside without freezing? You could stay inside, but sometimes you have to go out, such as when you’re heading to school.
Here, I think homeschoolers have the perfect solution: going to school just means finding the best place in the house to set up with books and a laptop (and maybe snacks). It doesn’t require braving the cold, as fun as that can be. When homeschoolers do end up outside, our ‘schools’ are more likely to provide hot chocolate. Either way, we win, because of the gourmet opportunities.
Clearly, homeschooling solves most of the world’s problems. Students don’t like homework? Solved. Modern families don’t spend time together? Solved. No one understands homeschoolers? Solved...
Sure, there can be drawbacks. I expect all of us can remember a time when we were asked how we socialize if we’re ‘always at home’. That question is a great opportunity to explain our busy lives: school, friends, sports, clubs- and somehow, we still find time to relax (hopefully) and send in submissions to newspapers.
If we have so much community already, why do we even have a homeschool student newspaper? Perhaps the reason is in the question: we have a newspaper because we have such a strong sense of community. None of this would exist without the support of the AP Homeschoolers board, the newspaper staff, and everyone who reads or submits to the newspaper. It's a group effort.
Community? Definitely.
Luisa Ensslin, Editor-in-Chief
Brought to you by the PAH! staff --- enjoy!
How is the Internet changing the way we speak? Gaia reviews Algospeak by Adam Aleksic.
Luisa interviews PAH alum Skylar Gaertner, college student and actor.
Favorite extracurricular experiences, courtesy of Hope and other PAH students!
Is procrastination always what it seems?
Hope surveyed fifteen PAH students --- here's what she found!
Meet the child of sudoku and tic-tac-toe!
Hope and Samantha explore practical ways to live sustainably for all our sakes!
How historically accurate is Hamnet, and why are audiences so divided on it?
2025 was a jam-packed year. Here Samantha examines just a few of the things that went down in its last month.
Gaia and Eva share writing publications and contests of all kinds for industrious wordsmiths!
Here are some samples of the amazing work and achievements that AP Homeschoolers students produce!
Packed with awesome work from students across all kinds of AP and Honors classes, from writing on history and scientific research to personal essays and poetry, these pieces show the results of students exploring subjects they're passionate about and pushing themselves in challenging courses. Enjoy reading through all the different perspectives and ideas AP Homeschoolers students have been working on this year!
Classwork submissions for this issue were curated by Jireh Bell. Jireh draws, plays racquet sports, and competitively shoots pistol (national champ!); she's taking AP Calc, AP Lang, and AP Art History with PA Homeschoolers this year.
We welcome submissions for the winter issue (February 2026) from currently enrolled AP Homeschoolers!
Types of submissions we're hoping to see:
SPRING 2026 ISSUE: For the next issue of PAH!, we want to know what you think about social media. Do its benefits outweigh its drawbacks, or vice versa? Feel free to give your opinion on this increasingly relevant topic! Deadline: March 14th
Ongoing: Share your AP Homeschoolers classwork with a broader audience! We would love submissions from all classes, including STEM and humanities classes. For example, we'd love to see you submit that research paper, essay about an economist, psychological study report, personal essay, novel analysis paper, history interview project, or exam-style essay you're particularly proud of! Any length (and work produced in previous years) is fine. Deadline: March 14th
Ongoing: Tell us about your accomplishments! For example, if you won a competition, performed in Carnegie Hall, got your novel published, performed Hamlet onstage, or climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, tell us about it (and share a photo if you wish). We'll share some of the most interesting submissions in each issue! Deadline: March 14th
Ongoing: Show us what you look like when you're "in class"! Share a photograph of yourself in some way participating in an AP Homeschoolers class along with a description of what you're doing. For example, you might be reading AP Lit books in your hammock, participating in a Zoom session, doing AP Chemistry experiments, or touring a AP US History-related site. We'll print some of these images in an upcoming issue, and AP Homeschoolers may also permanently feature a few on their main website! Deadline: March 14th
You can send in your contributions on our Submissions page.