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Why We Love Homeschooling

Writer's picture: Niki LavinNiki Lavin

We initially started homeschooling because my daughter was not quite ready to go to a room full of people away from us every day. We wanted to give her another year to practice being in groups of people and cooping without getting overwhelmed. We also wanted our kiddos to have solid thinking and problem-solving skills. And while we support the public school system, we knew that they would not be getting as much practice with that as we thought would be best.


As a result, we decided to homeschool for one year. And then we fell in love! Homeschooling just fit for us. No early mornings (which we hate), freedom to travel with my husband when he needed to for work, and being able to have simpler, slower life.


Over the years, we have found more and more to love about homeschooling. So, I've created a list of all the reasons we love homeschooling. I've broken everything down into five categories:


Freedom

If you were to ask me what my number one reason for homeschooling is, I would answer FREEDOM! That is the best gift that homeschooling has given us.


We have freedom to live the life that best suits us. We have the freedom of schedule. We can get up when we want, school when we want, take as long as we want to finish a meal, to take sick days or mental health days when we need them. We have freedom to travel when we want and how often we want.


We have the freedom to learn the way the best suits each of our children. We can go at the pace they need. We can adapt the material to their learning style. We can allow them to choose what they want to learn or dive deep into an area of interest. We are able to be flexible and that allows us to create the most ideal learning environment for each and every individual child.


Missing Out

Yes, you read that right. I like that my kids get to miss out on somethings by not attending a brick-and-mortar school. Things like trying to "keep up" with or "being held back" by their classmates. Exposures to things they may not be ready to know or able to understand. Bullying, active shooter drills, social media pressures, maturing too fast, and more. They also miss out on peer pressures during a time in their lives where they are determining who they are as a person.


While we don't want to shelter our kids, we would like for them to hear about things from us rather than their peers who may be miss informed. We want them to like they things they like because the genuinely like them, not because it's the "cool" or "in" thing (or whatever word these kids are using to mean popular these days. LOL) We want them to learn about the world, but in a safe environment build on trust and safety, not following the crowd.


Opportunities

This category is a big one! There are so many opportunities we get as homeschooler. More opportunities for field trips and learning experiences that happen during the times other children are in school. We can also visit popular education locations (like museums) in the "off-season" and a lot of times that means the workers/educators can give our children more one on one attention. They can shadow people at their jobs and learn about roles they can hold in the future.

But my favorite opportunity my kids get is the opportunity to be themselves. They are not able to be carefree. They are learning how to interact with the world as it truly is. They are getting genuine socialization, not just socializing with people their own age. They are able to really find where they fit in the world.


And as a homeschool mom, I get the opportunity to be more involved in my children's lives. I get to see them succeed. I get to see their faces when the light bulb clicks. I get to watch them grow into the adults they will be. I get too be there for the good times and the bad. I simply get more time with my kids. And selfishly, I want as much time as I can get.


Do I get frustrated being with them all of the time? Of course I do. I just make sure that I am factoring in time away every once and a while. Or playdates where my kids can go play with their friends and mom can get some adult chatting time in.


Time

As homeschoolers, we get so much more free time than our brick-and-mortar counter parts. School days are filled with lots of extra time that is not really learning time. It's not their fault. It takes time to get so many kids settled and ready for learn, or to move them one from place to another. We get to avoid all of that in homeschooling. So, it frees up our time to do more things that we want to do. We get to take life slow and live a more relaxed lifestyle. We get time to eat. That may seem like a weird thing to say, but it is nice that our kids don't have to rush through their meals. They can enjoy them.

We also get to take more time with our learning. We are able to dive deep into topics that my children are interested in. Our kids who do sports and arts are able to dedicate more time to practice those skills than their brick-and-mortar counter parts. Learning can be richer rather than just scratch the surface and moving on to the next thing.


We also get to spend more time together as a family. When Dad has time off from work, we take that that time and spend it together. The kids get time to play together and just have down time. They are not rushing from one thing to the next. Our lives are just overall more relaxed.


Optimal Learning Environment

Brick-and-mortar schools really try their hardest to create the most ideal learning environments. They simply have too many restrictions and regulations, and frankly too many students per teacher, to make that an actuality.


As homeschoolers, we can allow our kids to learn through play and nature. They can explore the world around them and work on problem-solving skills because they have the time to do so. They can run and climb and explore. They can take their schoolwork outside or to the couch rather than being confided to a desk or table. They can change things up often to prevent burnout or boredom.


We get to tailor their learning experience to best fit their learning styles. We meet them where they are at in the learning instead of having to move at a predetermined pace. We can encourage independent thinking and independent learning in a safe and supportive environment much more easily.


Our kids get to learn with kids of all ages. Meaning they get to work together with the older students helping the younger students. The younger students are learning, and the older students are teaching. Did you know that you retain 90% of what you teach to someone else. The most out of any other method of receiving information. There is a reason their were one room schoolhouses for so long, and it did not have to do with the number of students or available resources. It is actually a better learning environment for all.


And best of all, our kids get to be emersed in life skills. Something that unfortunately is getting pushed further and further out of public schools. They get to learn how to budget, grocery shop, do house chores, learn housekeeping skills, and so much more. They are home and they get to be a part of that processes. We are able to teach our kids what it takes to be a successful adult.


Homeschool provides us with so much and we are so grateful that we are able to provide this for our children. If you would like to hear me chat more about the reasons we love homeschooling, check out this video:


What do you love about homeschooling? Did I miss anything? I would love to hear from you down in the comments!


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