Everyone has their own reasons for homeschooling. It is even normal and common for these reasons to change and evolve over time. There is no way I am able to go into every single reason to homeschool so I thought today I would share with you my reasons for homeschooling our children.
It’s a Faith Thing
First and foremost this is the main reason. We are a Christian family, more specifically we belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We believe in and trust in God’s plan for us as parents and for our children.
Before we had children I always felt called to homeschool. I had no experience with being homeschooled and only knew one person who had been homeschooled…and he was a little weird but in a cool way. As our oldest started to near school age I knew we need to make a choice.
When we prayed about what direction to take for our children’s education this was undeniably the answer. Despite wanting to homeschool this was still a big undertaking that honestly overwhelmed me. However I know that who the Lord calls, he qualifies. So with a big leap of faith we sent in the registration form and have never looked back.
I know for us that we know that when we follow what the Lord will have us do we reap the rewards.
Children Can Learn at Their Own Pace
When Auron our oldest was five he was not doing a lot of the things the average five year old would be expected to be doing in their first year of school. He had zero interest and was happy to just play. Auron didn’t speak until he was three, not even Mama! However what he lacked in academic he made up for in his imaginative and creative play.
I felt like I was a failure. I tried over and over to get him to count to five. I tired to get him to read. It was a painful process for both of us. There were tears and their were tantrums. It seemed that no matter what I did he just wasn’t learning. I reached out to fellow homeschooling forums asking other mom’s what I was doing wrong. Every single one of them told me “he just isn’t ready”. How could he not be ready? He was five almost five and a half now, this is what school kids were doing!
So I took a chance and stepped back and put the books away. I was terrified. For two months we didn’t do any formal learning. We played, we visited, we did crafts and relaxed.
Once he started showing signs of being ready we got back into it. Do you know what? he soared! He went from not being able to count to five to being able to count to 100, and skip count by 2’s 5’s and 10’s. He could do double digit addition and subtraction. He was reading well past he age level and was finding so much joy in learning. By the time we finished the first year on homeschool he was well ahead of the game.
Had he been in a school he would of likely been flagged as slow, and been put in remedial help classes. He likely would of misbehaved because of being lost in what what going on and not being able to keep up.
At the present time Auron is not 1-2 grade levels ahead in most subjects.
Children who are homeschooled can take their time to understand a new concept.There is no need to rush or to work at the same pace as the rest of the pack or what the teacher schedule says. If a concept is mastered then they can move on, there is no waiting around for others to be ready.
When children are permitted to learn at a pace and level that is appropriate to them as individuals their love of learning increases as does their confidence.
Individualised Learning Plans
One of the great benefits of homeschooling is that you can create a learning plan to suit your child. You can take into account your child’s strengths and needs and work with them to create a program that will help them to reach their potential.
This particular aspect of homeschooling I find is quite beneficial to children who have special needs when it comes to learning. This may be things like dyslexia, autism or ADHD. These are three of the most common challenges that children and parents deal with in the school system.
The average child is usually able to adapt to what ever kind of learning program is presented to them. However children who need something a bit different can benefit hugely from being able to learn in such a way that makes sense to them.
My third child is a hands on learner. He needs to be able to touch and do. There is no point trying to teach him something if he can not interact with the material. He will just zone out like a zombie. It is for this reason we use a lot of manipulatives and and hands on learning. The will be times that he will spend hours building elaborate creations with magnetic tiles or blocks or even just toilet paper. The toilet paper thing is pretty annoying but I am just impressed with his creativity so I let him do it.
Family Comes First
The world is becoming a crazy and scary place. I wanted my children to have their strongest and most meaningful relationships to be within the walls of our own home. My husband told me I was crazy to think that our children would want to be each others best friends, but they are. This seems to be a common result even as children get older and head into the teenage years.
Homeschooling allows to have that time to build the memories and the relationships that will see them through the hard times that will surely come. I want my children to be able to turn to us as their parents and siblings first.
I didn’t want to send my children to school to have them be influenced by a bunch of other children and teachers who may not have the same beliefs, morals or attitudes that I agree with for seven hours a day.
The Freedom to Learn Who They Are
One of the prevailing stereotypes that surround homeschoolers is that they are weird and unsocialised. While I disagree with that almost entirely, part of it I feel is somewhat true.
Homeschooled children aren’t as likely to become caught up in society norms or fads. They aren’t subjected to as much peer pressure or social pressure. This frees them up to really discover who they are, what they like and what they want to stand for.
It is wonderful to witness a child really fall in love with something because they are truely passionate about it and not just because it is the cool thing of the day.
There are times that my children are totally the weird homeschoolers. They are confident and unafraid to share their thoughts and ideas. This sometimes comes as a shock to many adults. Homeschooling has done this for them, I have no doubt about it.
I love that homeschooling lets them be who they are without being ridiculed. It gives them the confidence to stand up in the crowd and not be a sheep. This gives me so much strength as their mother knowing that they aren’t going to be so easily swayed down dark paths.
Freedom From Schedules
Homeschooling allows for all kinds of spontaneity! We plan out our school year so that we can take advantage of cheaper holiday prices, and less crowded beaches. Did you know if you go on holiday during the middle of the school year it is almost half the price?!
This freedom also carries through to being able to use your time in how you feel is going to be most beneficial to your family. Homeschool lessons don’t take nearly as much time as a full school day in the school system. This leaves you hours and hours of extra time each week to dedicate to serving others, developing talents, following their passions, or working on projects.
There is no homework! Children in the school system are being driven to the extremes with the amounts of homework that is required each day. We are wondering why there are so many mental health issues surrounding our children today and I have no doubt that this is part of the problem. There are children who have almost no time left in the day to be children and just relax. Children need to be children.
Lack of Bullying
Yes bullying can still happen when a child is homeschooled. Social media and technology make it so easy. However it is much easier to control and address when a child is at home. If a child is being bullied relentlessly at school then it is not a safe place for them to be.
Homeschooling a bullied child is not giving in, it is protecting your child and allowing them to protect themselves.
Developing Passions
When a child is in the school system there is a curriculum that they are required to learn. They have very little say or input into what they learn. Homeschooling let your child find different topics or interests that they want to delve into deeper.
At the moment our eight year old is passionate about being an aerospace engineer. He loves to learn all he can about space crafts and how to build and design them. There is no way that he would be taught all that he has learnt in homeschool in a traditional classroom. Teachers can not even be expected to cater to every child’s interests and hobbies.
There just isn’t time in a traditional school day to go go deeper into topics that really interest certain kids. The learning is very surface level. Homeschooling let’s the children go as far into that topic as they want. They can extend their learning beyond what is required.
When the children are really invested in what they are learning it becomes a part of them. They are not just learning it to pass a test but they are learning it to know it fully and completely.
These are just some of the many reason that we homeschool. I love this life for our children and our family. It has been one of the biggest blessing in our lives. I love the joy of seeing something just click for a child. I love that I get to be there for all the big moments. Our children are excelling in not only academics but socially and emotionally too.
