There are many key benefits of homeschooling. That isn’t to say public school isn’t right for some parents and children, by any means, but we love homeschooling!
Which is why today we are going to talk about the benefits of homeschooling. Sometimes there are rumors circling around (like the old “socialization” myth) that make homeschooling sound like it isn’t as beneficial when in reality it can be as beneficial or more beneficial than public school.
7 Key Benefits of Homeschooling
Learning never stops with homeschooling.
Children never stop learning, period, but in public school, it seems they’re told when to learn, and how to learn. When they do a math problem and get the right answer, but it wasn’t completed the “right” way, it gets marked as wrong! That isn’t beneficial for some, especially for those of us who like to “think outside the box” a bit more than others. Instead of having to stop learning to take an hour break for lunch and recess each day, homeschooled kids can keep learning while they’re eating if they want to. You want to make a sandwich and do some schoolwork on the back patio while you’re studying nature or math or video games? Go for it!
You’re in control of your homeschool.
There’s always things going on at school that we as parents don’t approve of. Whether it’s a teaching style, a curriculum (hello, Common Core!), or just how interactions take place, we have very little control over how things go down while our kids are in public school. When we homeschool, we have control over our schedule, curriculum, and what our children learn. Now don’t take that the wrong way, we want our kids to learn what they want to learn. We don’t want to force them to learn things that go against our core principles and values either.
Homeschooling is flexible.
If something isn’t working for you or your child, you have the power to switch it up! We don’t have that power when we send them to school. Often, the teacher doesn’t even have that power, unfortunately.
Need to change your schedule around to accommodate a work schedule change? Feel like taking a two-week vacation in the middle of March? Want to take a week off from school in September? No problem! Homeschooling is so flexible, it allows you to make all of those choices for your family rather than having to follow the schedule that was designed to fit the masses in public school
Homeschooling is personalized.
Have you ever had one of those kids that just gets on a history kick for months and months on end? Or maybe you have a child that’s obsessed with butterflies. No need to wait until that unit comes up at school; you can create those lessons at home right now! Your child has the freedom to learn what they want to learn, within reason. Homeschooling is the most personalized option for your child’s education.
Homeschooling is affordable.
School supplies and clothes cost families a hefty $300 (or more!) each year in public school. You can homeschool on a shoestring budget, almost completely for free. Yes, you’ll need to buy pens, pencils, notebooks, crayons, you know, the usual – but you won’t be buying for the entire class. You’ll be buying for your child and your family. This saves quite a bit.
School clothes are fun to shop for, so don’t cut that out completely… but you don’t have to do it in August while everyone else is. You can go shopping for school clothes whenever you want to!
Homeschooling in inspiring!
Do you know how many people went to public school their entire lives and their passion and creativity was killed because of it? I’m not saying public school is horrible, by any means, but it’s created for large groups of children, not for your individual child. Your child may be passionate about something they don’t do in school or won’t ever cover in school. If they keep having to push those passions and inspiration to the side to do the rest of the schoolwork, they may forget their passions or become uninterested altogether.
Homeschooling allows you to follow along as your child leads with their own, unique aspirations. Do they want to be an astronaut? Awesome. Sounds like a trip to a live shuttle launch is in order. Your child wants to be an artist? Oh, the places you’ll go!
Peer pressure isn’t as tough.
Peer pressure is a little different now than when we were kids. While I feel it is important for kids to learn how to work through conflict, the amount of bullying that leads to suicide these days is just too much for me to handle. It’s critical to talk to our kids about real life situations and help them navigate, but on smaller scales (such as in small groups of other kids rather than a middle school of 500). Conflict resolution is a skill we all need to master, even as adults in the workplace. There are many ways to help get through these issues outside of public school.
There are many benefits to homeschooling, but that doesn’t mean a public school isn’t a great option for some families as well.
What’s your favorite part of homeschooling? Let us know in the comments! Don't forget to pin this 7 key benefits of homeschooling article to family and friends too!
