We have entered our 10th year of homeschooling! It is so hard to believe that we have walked this road for so many years. We didn’t start out with a plan to homeschool, but circumstances that occurred when my daughter was in Kindergarten forced us along this path. While I used the word “forced”, we would not exchange the homeschool experiences we have had over the last few years for anything. So, why do we continue to homeschool?
5 Top Reasons We Homeschool –
1. Hanging out together as a family and feeling comfortable in our surroundings as we study our lessons… Our home is truly a bully-free zone, more so than any school can say or be. This is not to say that our children are sheltered from reality. No, they have had many chances to experience the “real world” and how cruel some children (and teachers) can be. However, they have also been able to be a part of homeschool groups to socialize with other children.
We also have the opportunity to travel in the fall and winter when schools are in session. It is our preferred time to travel and allows DS11 the opportunity to get out and do things when the weather is cooler. The cooler temperatures allows him to be more comfortable and enjoy vacations more.
2. Following on the feeling comfortable in our surroundings… If we want to do our school work in our pajamas and crazy socks, we can (and do)! We don’t have to live by a timetable or dress code, so our school clothes vary from day-to-day. If we get up and want to stay in our pajamas, we do. Of course, we can only do this if we are planning on staying home that day. The only timetable we have is the state requirement of either 180 days or 990 hours of schooling every year.
3. Choice of curriculum… We are not tied to any specific curriculum, and if what we are using, we can ditch it and try something else. We went through so many types of math curriculum before finally finding one that worked with DD14 when we first started homeschooling. Yes, it was expensive doing that, but we wanted her to succeed. The only way for that to happen was to find what worked, no matter the cost. Unfortunately, the school district can’t do that. This is one of the main areas that homeschooling shines!
4. Lichen does not grow in the classroom or my house… At least, I hope lichen is not growing in my house. We love to get out in nature to see things up close and in real life. At times, this doubles as our PE and our science. Would you rather sit in a classroom looking at pictures in a book or be out on a trail looking at it on the log?
5. Living history… This past weekend, we went on a field trip with CHAP. We went to Eckley Miner Village to see some of the local mining history in the state of Pennsylvania. First Pennsylvania state history to document for the 2014-2015 school year… I’ll be writing a blog post on it shortly, but our trip was just amazing! It gave the kids the opportunity to see how poor the miners were and how hard the life was. We were even able to enter a couple of the homes and see how small they were and were able to imagine how hard it would be to live in one of the homes with maybe 15 people living there as the miners were required to take in boarders. I firmly believe that it is better to visit a site than to just read about it in a book or on the computer. And homeschooling allows us to incorporate historical site visits into our schooling experience.
These are just the top 5 reasons we homeschool, and there are others, too. Are you a homeschooler? What are your top reasons for homeschooling?
We homeschool for many reasons, including the ones you listed. One big plus for us is doing school at our own pace. If you have a student with learning differences, homeschooling allows for time to stop and review when needed. With math, this is especially helpful. If our son were in a typical classroom, he would have been struggling in math class to keep up with everyone else. While homeschooling, we can stop and repeat lessons and find extra practice problems when needed.
Every year, we reevaluate our decision to homeschool. Every year, we decide it’s the best option for us. We have asked the kids if they want to enroll in the public high school, and the answer is a loud no. They enjoy being homeschooled and learning at their own pace. They also have a joy of learning, and that is refreshing to see!
We reevaluate every year, too. Like your kids, ours always answer with a resounding no.
Some awesome reasons/positives for homeschooling. I agree with all of the above for our Homeschool too. 🙂