10 Reasons to Homeschool

10 Reasons to Homeschool Your Child- in no particular order:

1.     Being responsible for your child’s education allows you to focus on all aspects of his/her development, not just academics.

2.     Learning can be integrated into everyday tasks such as meal planning and cooking, and hands on experiences can be planned according to what is being studied.

3.     Being involved in the daily activities of the home and caring for siblings means that life skills are learned before the required high school Home Ec. course. 

4.     Your time with your children extends far beyond the breakfast rush and dinner madness.  When I taught fourth grade and took care of my 1 year old during my husband’s deployment, I saw my son as we rushed through morning prep., and again as we gobbled down dinner and crashed.  Not much quality time with such a full schedule.

5.     When you spend the majority of the day with your child, you know them- their personalities, likes and dislikes, who their friends are, etc.  You also know exactly where they are academically and how to best help them.

6.     Homeschooling also allows children to be home when the working parent is home.  My husband works 24+ hour shifts, and the traditional school schedule would severely limit the time our children would be able to spend with him.

7.     Most schools purchase and expect teachers to use very detailed curricula for each content area.  This makes it difficult to use thematic units and to connect multiple content areas.  When homeschooling, you have control over what is taught and how, and you can be as creative or as structured as you like.

8.     Homeschooled children can be taught at exactly the level that they need, whether they are below, on, or above level.  They can also move at their own pace, spending more time on difficult topics and moving on when a topic is mastered.

9.     Despite the general public’s concern regarding the socialization of homeschooled children, there are plenty of opportunities to socialize such as sports teams, homeschooling communities or groups, community activities, organizations such as Pioneer Clubs, church programs, etc.  Homeschooling also allows parents to help build their child’s self-esteem and responsibility so that they can better face peer pressure or negative influences.

10.  Learning can take place in a variety of environments depending on the child’s age.  Parks, libraries, nature museums, aquariums, while traveling to see family- very important to a military family, and with fellow homeschooling families are just a few examples.

I feel I’m barely scratching the surface with these 10 ideas.   

What motivated you to begin homeschooling?