Benefits of Homeschooling

The many benefits of homeschooling mean more kids and teens than ever are learning at home. Families want the advantages of homeschooling, with the flexibility, academic benefits, efficiency, and opportunities homeschooling can offer. They seek an education and even a lifestyle that’s not based on minimum standards and a one-size-fits-all approach.

• Academic flexibility. Homeschooling can work whether a child is ahead, behind, strong-willed, creative, challenging, quiet, gifted, or active.
• Parent choice of pace and approach. You’re in charge of the schedule, grade level, learning approach, curriculum, and in most places, even graduation requirements. You can prioritize a child’s mental, emotional, behavioral, and physical health.
• Warm family environment. Family is the best foundation for social development as well as values and faith development.
• Community involvement. There’s generous time for service, community activities, volunteering, and entrepreneurship.
• Efficient learning. A low student-teacher ratio, without wasted time and busy work.
• Meaningful learning. Avoid teaching to the test, testing mania in general, and arbitrary minimal standards.
• Time for the stuff many schools cut. You can make time for play, the outdoors, projects, the arts, and real experiments.
• Getting into college. A great transcript with less stress and burnout.
• Accommodating to special situations. Homeschooling works well for military families, families who travel, and families contending with illness and challenging work schedules.
• Legal acceptance. Homeschooling is a way of meeting compulsory attendance laws in every state in the U.S. and in many countries.

more time for physical activity is better for mental health

Homeschooling often involves more time outdoors, field trips, and visits to the playground in the middle of a school day. Even during normal lesson hours, kids are free to get up and move when they need to, or even complete lessons while standing or fidgeting if that feels right for them. Increased physical activity and time outdoors is extremely beneficial not only for physical health but for mental and emotional wellbeing. If you’re homeschooling your children, consider doing lessons in the backyard on nice days, or incorporating concepts into hikes or trips out into nature. Allowing children to move however and whenever they need to keeps them from getting antsy and losing focus. They will find more freedom in the learning process and as a result, more enjoyment. Physical health is a major factor in mental health and homeschooling makes room for that in daily life.

When homeschooling your child, the teaching process is a 1:1 student to teacher ratio rather than one teacher to a room full of kids. Because of this, homeschooled children are directly involved in their lessons, and the learning is solidified while they are in the “classroom” rather than later on through homework. Homework is essentially intertwined within the teaching schedule and it is not necessary to continue formal study after hours. For the same reasons, regular tests and exams are not necessary because the homeschooled children are demonstrating their knowledge during their lesson time, and lessons are particularly catered to move at the pace of their comprehension.

Taking away traditional homework and testing can greatly reduce the stress that children feel about school, and allow them to spend their free hours simply playing and being kids. This also allows for more time learning and engaging in lessons rather than on memorising facts and stressing over marks.

Homeschool Socialization Is Different

One of the biggest myths we shatter is the idea that homeschool socialization does not exist or that homeschoolers are all weird or do not know how to interact with people. The truth of the matter is that there are pros and cons with the social experience of homeschoolers, just as there are pros and cons with public school. Experiences will vary for all children, but the fairest way to characterize socialization in a homeschool environment is to say it is different.

How is homeschool socialization different?

Parents often decide to homeschool because they do not want their child’s values to be defined by their peers or for their children to face social ridicule or bullying. In private or public schools, the pressure to “fit in” or achieve a perceived level of social status among classmates can be quite great.

Homeschooling also means less daily interaction with large numbers of kids in a child’s age group. And homeschoolers can end up spending less time each day participating in organized sports and activities with their peers.

In fact, on average, homeschoolers participate more in their community, are less sedentary, and socialize with a wider mix of adults (especially professionals) than their public school counterparts.

As part of its flexible nature and focus on one-on-one / personalized learning, homeschooling involves more field trips, real-life experiences, and hands-on learning. When it comes to sports, homeschoolers often participate in recreational leagues or homeschool sports classes offered in their community. Some students are homeschooled because their athletic or artistic talents have them engaged in sports and activities at a higher level.

Homeschooling Provides Greater Educational Freedom

If your child is struggling with a subject or a specific concept, you do not need to skip it and move on. Instead, you can work with your child until she/ he has mastered the material. Homeschooling allows you to take all the time you need to ensure learning is taking place. Likewise, if your child is ready to move on, you do not need to waste time on redundant or repetitive lessons. Homeschooling children can move through educational materials at a faster pace than their peers.

In a public or private school, with 20 or more kids in a class, a teacher has to address everyone’s learning style and everyone’s pace. When the majority are ready to move on, other children get left behind. Of course, if your child is ready to advance to other material, she/he often must wait until a sufficient number of students are ready. In both cases, many children often end up feeling bored, frustrated, or both.

Another benefit of homeschooling education is that it exposes children to more unique experiences. Parents and kids often cite how homeschool curriculum encouraged them to get out of the home and learn about science, art, math, and history in the real world. Experiencing things outside of a classroom is often more engaging and leads to better absorption of knowledge and skills.

Of course, with the educational freedom comes added responsibilities. As mentioned above, parents are now required to become teachers and administrators. While we firmly believe every parent is capable of being the best teacher their child will have, it is important to point out that planning and scheduling are critical pieces to the homeschool puzzle. Be sure to take this into account as you consider whether or not to homeschool.

Source:

https://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/benefits-of-homeschooling-2/
https://euka.edu.au/all-resources/mental-health-benefits-of-homeschooling-your-child/
https://www.calverteducation.com/should-i-homeschool/homeschooling-pros-and-cons