As parents we all worry about our child’s schooling. Whether it’s a safety concern, a social concern, or strictly an educational one, we are faced with fork-in-the-road decisions not once, but several times in our child’s school life.
Although the public school system has been the general go-to for most working parents, the truth of the matter is that our American school system is gravely lacking in meeting the needs of both students and teachers.
Funding is low, student and teacher initiative is lower, and unbelievably rigorous testing requirements have stolen children’s availability to actual grade level education and teacher’s ability to creatively teach.
I home-schooled my four children on and off for many years. My reasons for finally, permanently extracting them from the school system were multitudinous.
The benefits we enjoyed with being at home for school overshadowed any negative experiences we had prior in other school situations.
Perhaps you are having second thoughts about having your child return to general population in their current school due to Covid concerns or you want to explore other learning ventures for your children. Maybe you just see the need to spend more intimate time with your children.
Whatever your reason for considering schooling your child at home, consider these compelling reasons to follow through with the idea:
- Homeschooling students have the highest scores on Sat’s and are more college-ready than their public-school counterparts.
- One on one instruction geared for an individual student’s learning needs far outweighs the ambiguous result of rote methods of information delivery in a public-school setting.
a) If your child has sensory issues, learning disabilities, social anxiety, ADHD or, just simply could benefit from more time with you (and that is all kids), homeschooling offers a much higher level of focused, intimate education with higher rates of information retention.
3. Family time is congruent with learning time. Any home task can be used for real-life learning and bonding:
a) Shopping together: list-making, price calculations, independence in choosing foods and household items, food groups, etc. b) Dinner prep: manners, etiquette, cooking, etc. c)Teaching body care/health: CPR, exercise, care of siblings.
4. Homeschooling lessons foster and prioritize independence and critical thinking beginning in Pre-K curriculum.
5. The homeschooling family is on no one’s time but their own:
your school schedule need only be one hour a day with toddlers, two hours a day with Pre-K and three to four hours a day with school-age. This is the most time needed per day to acquire fantastic educational gains. That time/curriculum can be incorporated with trips, vacations, or lazy days at home.
One of my sons was diagnosed with Central Auditory Processing Disorder and had a terrible time fitting in and learning at the pace and in the environment of a public school. When he began homeschooling in his 10th grade year he soared and excelled.
He loved the quiet and independence to think and work out his learning issues away from the drama and chaos he had experienced all through his public-school years. He went on immediately to college and has excelled there as well.
As a homeschooling mom for 15 years, I highly recommend the choice to school at home or to un-school, especially in the current times. Children today need a closer relationship with their parents and homeschooling offers so many positives for their education, personal development, and self-esteem.
Think about it. Explore the alternatives and really brainstorm how to make it work for your family if you feel that tug in your heart as all homeschooling moms/dads have before committing to the lifestyle.
The benefits are immeasurable, and I know you will not regret a decision to educate your child at home.