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When thinking about the importance of your child’s education, homeschooling may have come up in discussion. A lot of people have many preconceived ideas of what that means for the future of your child. They may assume that homeschooling will lead to a child becoming socially awkward and anxious, while others think the environment isn’t one that can be learned and taken seriously in, lacking discipline. While others think that children will not be able to reach the standard grade level, let alone go above it. Well, it’s important that you know that all of this is false. Children still mix with others and learn to engage properly and gain social skills. The settings are always ones to work in without distraction, and vary depending on what subject is being covered. And children are more than capable of reaching well above the regular grade level and go on to do incredible things with the education they have.

So don’t allow yourself to listen to stories and whispers that put you off, because you only know how effective homeschooling is when you speak to someone that has already done it, or of course, try it yourself.

While the academic advantages remain just as good, if not better than the ones from public schools, the lifestyle advantages are a lot more interesting to look at. Here are some examples for you.

You can use time more efficiently.

When homeschooling, you can use time a lot more effectively than a public school. This is because you are able to alter certain processes to suit your child once you understand how they work best, as a pose to following a rigid schedule that is put out to try and cover a whole group of unique individuals. Plus, you won’t be wasting any time from things like administration and nonproduct activities that include waiting around for other children to behave before the class finally begins, as well as going through the register each lesson to make sure all the pupils have attended.

You build a close family bond.

You will begin to spend a lot more time together when homeschooling, and you will naturally build an intimate bond with your parent-child relationship. This is because one to one teaching takes place, and you are able to give one another that undivided attention, rather than it having to be split between 29 other pupils. This makes the child feel heard and cared for, as a pose to having the option of fighting to be listened to, or giving up and staying quiet in the corner.

Your child has a lot more opportunities at hand.

When a child is homeschooled, they learn quite early in the beginning how to learn, act, and think independently. Because they are not bunched up in a classroom with others who can mold their thoughts into becoming their original ones, they will not fall victim to becoming a sheep; a follower who isn’t able to think for themselves and prefers to just do as everyone else does. But when homeschooled, you rule all of that behaviour out, and they have no choice but to think freely and make choices after evaluating a situation and basing the outcome on their own decision.

You can influence them correctly.

Children learn about maturity from others that are mature, and they take the positive traits that come naturally. Public schools often influence children to act out and be silly and talk back, and that all comes from the other children that show their age, and while kids will be kids, the environment they are in can tarnish the innocence and instead replace it with bad behavior in order to fit in with the other kids. But when homeschooling, you as the parent are the ones who influence them, and that is an extremely big power to have. You are able to teach them what’s right and wrong, along with tones of life skills that will better them as a character as they get older in life.

You can give them more experiences.

You are the teacher when homeschooling, so you decide how you go about that. You can read more here to teach them with the help of textbooks and get the guidance you need. But you can also teach them through showing them things, like what the purpose of field trips are for. And you can do that as often as you deem fit. Sometimes it’s not all about sitting in a classroom and filling out papers. It’s about seeing the world and visiting places with history and art and science, giving your child a realistic outlook of what there is out there, and benefiting from the experience it provides.

You can promote physical activity.

When homeschooling, your child doesn’t have to remain a prisoner within four walls until break time. You can give them as many opportunities for physical activity as you wish, and this can come in many different forms. Be it through exercise, like playing some sports outside to burn off steam and relieve stress, or even performing household chores to supply discipline and responsibility. And this system works a lot better, not only on the body, but the mind too, compared to sitting in the same setting all day every day.

You can create a safe environment.

Your child can enjoy knowing that they have constant protection from you as they learn, and in this current climate of school shootings, this is of utmost importance. They’re in an environment that is secure, where they can’t get hurt. There are no nasty children there that may tease your child and make them feel uncomfortable or self-conscious. Homeschooling allows them to be vulnerable when they need to be without having to worry about what their peers are going to think of them. You can give them a safe foundation that prepares them to deal with challenges that arise in life, without any embarrassment or fear.

So now you have a better understanding of how homeschooling can have such a positive impact on the lifestyle of your child, you may want to consider it as a serious option rather than putting them in a public school. Nobody can make the choice but you, so think about whether it will work for you and your child. 

Moment of truth: I always enjoy sharing my personal thoughts on this blog, along with carefully researched material. One of the reasons why I started this blog and my Website and Branding Consultation Services was to allow me to earn a full time living from home, so that I can home school Bella. I am not a fan of the Common Core curriculum, the emphasis on state testing as opposed to enrichment, and the lack of preventative measures to ensure the safety of the children. Now, before I get a million comments from teachers who will disagree with the reasons I choose to home school, let me add that these issues might not be the same in every state (I’m in NC). But I can tell you that as a former social worker, I was able to walk into so many schools without being questioned, stopped, etc. I would often mention this to the front desk staff (as they buzzed me in with nary a question as to my name or purpose for wanting to enter the doors) and my concerns about safety issues. That was a big “no no” for me, as keeping my child safe is priority number one. I am not concerned about socialization: she’ll get plenty of that through church, ballet, sports, girl scouts, etc, and maybe I’ll mainstream school her when she gets older, and her core value system has been established, but for now, I am firmly pro-choice with regard to homeschooling!

See you next time!