When my parents began homeschooling in the 1990’s, the idea was brand new. For years, grocery clerks looked at my sister and I suspiciously when we accompanied my mom to the store during traditional “school hours,” and we learned to ignore well-meaning or even downright nasty, fatalistic (and untrue) comments about missing out on socialization and “never” being able to attend college.
These days, in the post-Covid era, homeschooling is more socially acceptable than it has ever been. Many families who would never have otherwise have considered homeschooling ARE after living through a year or more of Zoom “school” during Covid. Many others feel a sense of camaraderie, or at the very least are much more understanding of homeschooling than they once were.
But still, it is important to ask: why homeschool?
Why I Homeschool
There are many reasons why I love homeschooling and have chosen to educate my children this way. Below, I highlight some of the most significant ones.
However, please remember that not everyone’s homeschooling reasons are, nor need be identical. Homeschooling is highly flexible, and it can suit the needs of family’s in pretty much any shape, size or situation. My “why” might be different than yours, and that is part of the beauty of it!
Time with My Kids
One of my favorite things about being a stay-at-home mom and homeschooling mom is simply that I get to be with my kids.
Almost immediately after my first daughter was born – actually even while I was pregnant with her – people started telling me just how quickly children grow. And you know what? I’ve found what they say to be completely true. Staying home with my children allows me to savor these precious, fleeting years.
Sure, I get tired sometimes and can’t wait for my husband to get home from work. But I also get to be the one who is right beside my child when they accomplish an achievement or milestone. It has been incredible to be the one to teach my preschooler their letters and to be the one next to my kindergartener when they read their first book. On the whole, I wouldn’t trade this precious time spent with my kids for the world.
Consistent, Quality Education
Thanks to my heritage as a successful homeschool graduate, I know that I can provide my children with a quality education at home. This is particularly exciting when I know that test scores at our local public school are not great. With the incredible number of homeschooling resources available these days, I don’t need any fancy knowledge or a degree in education. All I need is a willingness to learn right alongside my children. Moreover, as homeschoolers, my children get exponentially more individual attention than they would in a conventional classroom, each and every day.
Moreover, by homeschooling I am providing my children with consistency that they wouldn’t otherwise have. My kids don’t have to adjust to a brand new teacher every year. Nor does a new teacher have to adjust to them and their unique personality and needs. We also don’t have to deal with the possibility of getting a sub-par teacher one year, or one who just doesn’t mesh with my child. Instead, my kids and I work together and build on our existing rapport, year after year.
Customized Learning
Perhaps one of my favorite benefits of homeschooling is that it is an incredibly flexible educational model. Grade levels are almost moot when homeschooling because you aren’t trying to move an entire group of children forward together. Instead, homeschoolers can move forward and learn from wherever they’re at, excelling in areas of particular talent or interest, and taking more time with difficult subjects as needed.
Homeschooling allows parents to work around – or rather, work with any special needs or learning challenges, like ADHD or dyslexia, without the barriers and limitations that can be present in a classroom setting. Affected children can feel “normal” at home while also learning to work with and through their unique challenges.
Homeschooling eliminates a plethora of classroom downtime spent wrangling the crowd or waiting for certain students to catch up on a particular subject. Homeschooling can often be accomplished in just a few hours per day, making room for other crucial elements of a healthy childhood including movement breaks during study, age-appropriate household chores and responsibilities, extra study and exploration of subjects of particular interest, reading, unstructured play, and ample time spent outdoors.
Additionally, homeschooling can free families from the constraints of the traditional school day and calendar. Practical family outings, like grocery shopping, can be done during the day and turned into learning opportunities. And family vacations, also full of learning opportunities, aren’t limited to the summer months.
Child Safety
Another big reason I’m a fan of homeschooling, especially in our current time, is child safety. When I was a child, my parents worried about keeping my sister and I safe from kidnappers wandering the neighborhood with cute puppies. In our current time, however, the dangers seem to have multiplied dramatically.
Bullies, predators, pornography, school shooters, and others set to steal, kill and destroy lurk close at hand not only on the internet, but in school hallways and bathrooms, in other public places, and on neighbor kids’ phones. Keeping my children close, especially in their younger years, is something I believe strongly in. This reduces their exposures to these dangers and provides more opportunities for me to teach and prepare my children to face future dangers that I will not be able to protect them from.
In Summary
Everyone’s homeschooling “why” can be different, and that’s okay. Homeschooling can provide fantastic opportunities to promote:
- Academic achievement
- Exploration of individual interests and development of gifts and talents
- Strong relationships within the family
- Student-teacher rapport that builds with each grade level (instead of restarting with a new, unfamiliar instructor every year)
- Flexibility with special needs and learning disabilities
- Free-play and imagination growth
- Creative problem-solving, logical reasoning, etc.
- Hands-on, practical learning (i.e. helping mom at the grocery store, cooking, laundry)
- Time spent outdoors
- More free time for reading, exploration of subjects of particular interest
- Social skills with children AND adults
- Child safety and delayed exposure to threats like pornography
- And so much more!
Whether you’re new to homeschooling or a veteran, I hope you’ll join me for the journey.