 |
| ID 150714829 © Arloofs | Dreamstime.com |
If you’re questioning whether homeschooling is the right choice for your family, check out some of these unique benefits and then see what you think! Of course you’ll have challenging days, but you’ll have a whole lot of fun alongside your kids, too!
1. Free time. If it seems like your child is coming home with endless hours of homework in addition to being in school 35 hours a week, free time is a big benefit of homeschooling. You can teach what is necessary and once your child “gets it” you can move on to something else. Also, I doubt you are trying to keep 20+ kids under control, which does take a lot of time for a teacher at school!
2. Great education. You can offer an education comparable to that of a costly private school, even if you don’t have a college degree. When you homeschool, your child won’t be bored while the other kids in her class are learning things she already knows, according to homeschooling dad of one, Tom Kliethermes. Likewise, she won’t be frustrated trying to keep up with something she’s not ready for.
3. Teaching freedom. Do you want to homeschool lightly year-round? Or would it suit your family better to homeschool several hours a day for seven months, taking off a week or so here and there, as well as taking off the summer? Are you a curriculum-loving person or do you like to create your own lessons? Further, maybe you are an unschooler and just go where your child’s interests take you (check out unit studies if this is you!). You are free to take off a day for a funeral or family function.
4. Focus on something cool. Remember loving a certain subject in school and really getting into it, but when the bell rang, it was time to move on and get in a new frame of mind for a new subject? Homeschooled kids have time and freedom to pursue their passions, like music, writing, acting, sports and more.
5. Works great with any schedule. Forget about the vision of a homeschooling mom teaching her kids at the dining room table. Sometimes it’s Dad teaching English when he gets home from work and Mom teaching other basics in the morning, leaving the afternoon/early evening free for other activities. If Dad travels, the whole family can tag along. If Mom and kids are night owls, so be it! You can stay up late talking, reading or watching educational shows.
6. Socialization across the board. You won’t hear many homeschooled kids saying they can’t play with a kid who is younger or older than they are. Homeschooled kids in urban communities these days have friends who are homeschooled, friends who are unschooled, friends who attend public school and friends who attend private school. “Love the one you’re with” certainly rings true here!
7. Healthy kids. We’ve all heard about how schools are cutting recess time, and Tom K. says one benefit of homeschooling is that your child won’t be sitting at a desk 6 hours a day. As a result, your kids may be healthier because they are likely getting more regular exercise, more fresh air, more sleep, etc.
8. You learn, too! This one might be a little selfish, but one unique benefit to homeschooling is that you learn as much as your kids do! In teaching things to your own kids, it might seem like you’ve lost 90% of what you learned in school. Now that you don’t have that pressure to memorize and perform on a test, you’ll soak up what you pre-read and read to your own kids and can really teach it to them in a relatable manner.
9. Do what you want, when you want. Another selfish benefit is that you can go on vacation anytime you want and get a cheaper, off-season rate. “We can take breaks/vacation whenever we want to,” says Jennifer Bentley of Jonesboro, Arkansas. Field trips are by far not as crazy on a weekday as they would be on a Saturday. Parks and other fun kid venues are less populated.
10. Trickle-down learning. Think about how much easier your younger children will be to teach since they are learning already from what you are teaching their older sibling(s). Learning truly does filter down in a homeschooling household!
11. “Quality family time” is a big homeschooling benefit given by Jill Connors, mom of five. “It’s easier to be my child’s moral guide” was a reason given by Tom K. Those random conversations and life questions can happen any time of day when you’re together for most of it.
Kerrie McLoughlin, homeschooling writer mom of 5, can be found at TheKerrieShow.com and would love to connect with you!