I’m sure the list of why homeschooling is awesome could be endless. But here are just a few if you need some encouragement to take the homeschool plunge! Or, if it’s been a hard day and you need to remind yourself why you are homeschooling in the first place.
1. To Be Active Outside
Children need a minimum of 3 hours outside a day to have fully developed vestibular systems. Our current local public school offers one 20 minute recess per day and PE one time per week. For those of us with active boys, this was a HUGE reason.
2. To Offer a More Individualized Education
Is your child an auditory learner, visual, or kinesthetic? It is much easier to teach a couple of kids versus a class of 30! You can tailor your teaching style to how your child learns best.
3. Learn at the Child’s Pace
The ability to go slower or faster depending on the child is invaluable. Some kids need more time to digest math or read proficiently, others can move at lightning speed through certain subjects and then move onto something else.
4. Time to Explore Personal Interests and Passions
There is a whole world of things to learn that many public schools don’t offer, such as American Sign Language, foreign languages, homesteading, gardening, taking care of animals, snow sports, athletics, etc. It’s nice to not have to squeeze the fun stuff all in just the couple hours after school and on weekends, when everything is crowded and more expensive. This is the most fun and exciting part of homeschooling!
5. Flexibility
Eat when hungry, go to the bathroom when nature calls. This is self-explanatory, but how nice is it for kids to be able to actually eat when they’re hungry and not just because that is the scheduled time to eat. Also nice to not have to ask permission to go to the bathroom.
6. Time for Learning Life Skills
Homeschooling provides the time to learn about cooking, outdoor/indoor chores, caring for pets, personal finance, car maintenance, home maintenance, and other “adulting” skills that they’ll need in the real world but can’t learn at regular school.
7. More Time for Fun Elective Classes, Field Trips, and Sports!
Being able to do all the field trips and visit the local museums during off-peak hours is amazing. There’s more time to experience all the cool places and time to try new things. Homeschooling can be so much more enriching than being in the same classroom every day and having just 1-2 field trips a year.
8. No Homework, or Busywork!
This can be such a struggle for some families. Parents know if their kids have mastered a subject or not. No busy work for bored kids who may already know the material. And if your child needs more time to work on difficult stuff, it’s best to work on that difficult subject while fresh in the morning and not after a long day at school when they’re probably tired and not as focused.
9. Sleep
Precious time for sleep. My kiddo needs a solid 11 hours, if he went to school 5 days a week we would hardly see each other. Teens naturally wake up bit later, so it’s nice for their school hours to match their body wake/sleep cycles.
10. Quality Time as a Family
Quality time together without the rush. Of course, I know plenty of homeschooling families that are go-go-go nonstop, and that’s great for them. But at least we can choose how busy or not busy we want our schedules to be.
11. Flexible Scheduling for Vacations and Field Trips
Ditch the crowds of summer and spring breaks and save money by going during shoulder seasons or whenever you want. All those vacations to Florida and Arizona will be enjoyed best if not taken in the heat of the summer.
12. Less Stress = More Learning
I have a friend whose kiddo is in a class of 30 second-graders with one teacher. I feel for the teacher, but as a student in such a large class, I have to imagine it being a difficult learning environment, especially for the kids that might need more attention or quiet time to process. Some kids would learn better in a more peaceful environment with less distraction.
13. Less Competition and Comparing
It’s easy to compare kids that are being graded. The kids that can sit still for a long time and are auditory learners may do a lot better. Those that need kinesthetic learning or are right-brain dominant may suffer and feel less than by being put in “Special Education” classes. In Sweden, students aren’t given personal grades until 6th grade. Wouldn’t it be great if learning was more collaborative instead of competitive? If kids were given time to develop at their own pace? How great it is for those kids who aren’t made to feel like failures in elementary school, and can still maintain confidence in themselves, and know that they have the ability to learn.
So, What are Your Reasons to Homeschool?
If you enjoyed reading Why Homeschooling is Awesome, check out Sassy Responses to the “What About Socialization? question we all get tired of hearing.
