21 Sep 14 Things I Love About Homeschooling

Four years ago, I started homeschooling my eldest daughter. When we began, it was “a holy experiment” of sorts. We weren’t yet sold on the schooling options in our area and a friend of mine suggested that I give homeschooling a try.

It’s four years later, and we haven’t looked back. Now, don’t get me wrong – we have certainly had our share of tears shed on difficult days!

To be sure, as a teacher I have had days when I feel that I can barely keep my head above water (in particular the seasons after I have a new baby). In spite of these challenges, we’ve continued on for some very important reasons that I will outline below.

If you are considering homeschooling as an option, I hope this list will inspire you to give it a try. If you have already decided public or private schooling is the way for your family, I hope that it will help you understand why someone would be crazy enough to try homeschooling 🙂

Without further ado, here are some of the things I find most valuable (and honestly thrilling)  about educating my children at home:

14 Things I Love About Homeschooling

1. Plenty of Time Together – I seriously love being with my kids. I know I’m their momma so I’m especially keen on them, but they are pretty cool little people. I’m excited that instead of spending 7-8 hours a day, 5 days a week apart from them, we get to spend our days together.

2. No Rush for the Bus (or Carpool or Commute to School) – my kids and I can wake up around 7 or even sleep a little longer if we had an evening event the night before. No big deal. I have plenty of time to go for a morning run and take a shower before our school day starts at 8 a.m. with breakfast and morning devotions.  There is no rushing them out of bed and hustling them out the door. We can take our time.

3. More Sibling Time – trust me, my kids each have their best buddies outside of our family, but the majority of every day, they are each other’s primary companions. They learn to resolve conflicts and rely on each other multiple times throughout the day.

4. Less Time Doing “Desk Work” – my older two girls are in 3rd and 1st grade and we have worked out a very manageable schedule of getting most of their “desk work” done in 2-3 hours a day.

5. More Play Time – With only 2-3 hours of “desk work” a day, they have ample time to play and just be kids. We go to parks and on walks. We explore nature. We meet others for play dates and, when I’m in an adventurous mood (I have four kids, remember?) we go visit a museum in D.C. or do some other fun field trip.

6. More Time for Music and the Arts – My kids each play an instrument and have plenty of time each day to practice. They also study another language, do gymnastics classes once a week, and have plenty of time to draw or color. I often wonder if they would have sufficient energy or motivation for these areas of study if they were already in school all day at long.

7. More Time to Pursue Hobbies – my eldest daughter wants to learn more about sewing. Fine – she has time. Both my older daughters want to learn how to cook. Plenty of time for that, too.

8. Lot of Social Time – I suppose it is highly possible to homeschool your kids completely at home and avoid people, but that would make me pull out my hair. So we plan visits with other people, usually including kids, most days. They are learning to make friends with people of all ages (kids and adults alike, babies and elderly neighbors) and grow from the wide variety of these relationships.

9. One on One Learning Time – my kids have different learning styles and I am studying them to discover how they learn best. Since I have three kids to teach (not 15 or 20 others) I can give them sufficient attention and teaching time (unless the baby spilled out an entire box of rice and I have to clean it up, of course 🙂

10. Lots of Reading Time – there is plenty of time to read in our home each day and as a bookworm myself, this thrills me! It is beautiful to watch my children enjoying quality literature.

11. Tailoring Our Schedule – dentist appointment at 10? No problem. Trip to Chicago for a family visit? No big deal. We can take “days off” when we need to and tailor our schedule around our lives – not force our lives to fit other people’s schedules.

12. Working at Their Own Pace – one of my children may learn a subject slower or faster than the others and that is ok. I can work with each child to discover the pace that works best for them and help them establish a good routine.

13. More Time to Impart Worldview – all parents impart their worldview to their kids and homeschooling just provides more time for that. I get to plan out what Scripture we will memorize, what curriculum we use, and what books I read aloud to them. As their teacher, I can incorporate a Christian worldview in all that we study.

14. More Time for Discipleship – I strongly believe that every parent who is actively engaged in their children’s lives is a “home educator”, whether full or part time, because every interaction we have with our kids is teaching them something.

In summary, while homeschooling is not for everyone, there are many benefits to home education if you believe it may be the right choice for your family.

I am personally grateful to have stepped, trembling at first, onto a path that has opened doors of inspiration, knowledge, understanding, and deepened relationships – not only for my children, but also for myself.