Over the years, I’ve read or you’ve shared, so here is a list of at least a handful of reasons why some families love to homeschool! ♥
- Freedom to choose curriculum that fits student/parent interests, learning styles, and pace of learning and avoid curriculum that is a waste of time.
- Opportunity to learn new things together – an expression of life-long learning (rather than the traditional lifestyle of parents graduating and not going back to schoolwork).
- More time to develop stronger relationships within the family (e.g. with siblings or a parent who normally works after-school/evening hours).
- There may not be a “local” school if family lives in a very isolated place.
- Time to learn personal and family values, morals, beliefs and/or special interests…
- Opportunity for intensive/focused sports training (or arts, etc.)
- Opportunity for family travel and field trips/off-site learning
- Flexibility of scheduling “school” around family vacations, business or missions trips, medical needs, times of grief and other life changes.
- Safety concerns (e.g. bullying, environmental hazards, negative peer pressure)
- Healthier meals at home; more choice as to how money is spent towards education (e.g. clothing/special shoes or uniforms, clubs, fees, food days, and fundraising versus family vacations doubling as field trips, homemade hot lunches).
- Inflexibility and offensive material: A teacher and/or educational materials may be teaching perspectives that are offensive to the family’s values, alternatives to that teaching are not available in the classroom, and/or the student’s views are not tolerated in class discussions or assignments
- To have more time to teach the Bible and/or integrate moral and/or spiritual principles into academic subjects
- Medical reasons (e.g. severe allergies, frequent treatments/hospitalization, recovery/rehabilitation, low immunity, fatigue)
- The local school might not teach certain practical skills that the parents desire their children to have the time to learn (e.g. homemaking skills, home maintenance skills, farming, environmental care, specialty skills courses in the high school years)
- The local school might not teach certain academic skills that the parents believe are too important to neglect (e.g. phonics, spelling, handwriting)
- One-on-one tutoring or a small group environment, often results in helping a student who learn and retain more than average students in a large classroom environment.
- More opportunity for balanced communication between people of all ages, peers and adults, rather than primarily just the student’s own age group.
- More opportunities for being outdoors (e.g. a natural environment can be healthier)
- Allows more time to develop entrepreneurial and practical work/career skills, especially in teen years.
- Often it is easier to handle special needs of some children in a home environment rather than with a school caregiver.
- A parent might be a classroom teacher but instead of only teaching other people’s children, she or he may simply want to take the opportunity to teach their own child(ren).
- Opportunity to learn new things together – an expression of life-long learning (rather than the traditional lifestyle of parents graduating and not going back to schoolwork).
- Just because they think it will be fun! ♥
Some of these points overlap a bit and I’m sure I don’t have them all yet. 🙂
