5 Great reasons to homeschool

For some families, the decision to homeschool feels straightforward and logical. For others it is a longer, more complicated process. It can take time to weigh up the pros and cons to determine the right choice for your lifestyle and your children.

Knowing the clear reasons and our ‘why’ for home educating has helped keep us focussed and steady in our parenting journey. It has anchored us when we’ve felt wobbly or overwhelmed. It’s also been helpful to build confidence answering random questions about our family.

We always wanted to homeschool because of the benefits it would afford us, not out of fear or a desire to wrap our children up in cotton wool. So here, in no particular order, are 5 great reasons to homeschool. I promise you we’re just scratching the surface with these so stay tuned for the next in the series!

Spending hundreds of hours with my children means I’ve had a front row seat to their growth and development. The quirks and characteristics evident as toddlers and preschoolers often continue on because they are part of who they’re created to be!

In the school system, there are benchmarks for students across the board. Teachers are required to assess individuals in relation to one another. A set curriculum and the restriction of lesson times also prevents opportunities for focussing on individual strengths.

In contrast, homeschooling has allowed us to lean into and champion each person’s strengths. Each of our children functions differently. Some are strong in maths, others speed through spelling lists. Some are naturally creative, others far more logical.

I love that we can celebrate these strengths in the safety and joy of family life. There’s no teasing or peer pressure to hide what we know we’re good at. I can’t wait to see how each of our children will use their God-given skills and talents to excel in their chosen life path!

One of the best things about homeschooling is that we can not only notice our children’s strengths, but we also give them the precious gift of time to explore and pursue them.

I am a firm believer in making space in our days for the children to entertain themselves, practise skills, and be on their own. Many people looking at homeschooling from the ‘outside’ assume that our days look a lot like a traditional school day. I think as the years have gone on, I’ve realised how far from reality that assumption is.

For us, we aim to have the bulk of our formal bookwork done in the morning 3-4 days a week. In the afternoon we either have planned activities, or time to relax at home. We aim to have rest time (you can read all about the benefit of that here) and our children have the opportunity to use their time more freely.

Our children have also had the chance to try many different activities run by the homeschool community. Sailing, cooking classes, art classes, chess, sports, and a myriad of courses. This exposure has been a wonderful experience and means of discovering hobbies they can then choose to pursue. It has also given them the chance to make friends based on interests and common skills, not just based on peer age.

I’ve found that the things that our children gravitate towards in their free time are often the things in their natural skill set. For example, some children come back to woodworking and making, others play instruments, and others write stories, read, and draw. Homeschooling gives them TIME and this, in turn, is the foundation for them to acquire skills, find their strengths, and excel in their chosen fields.

As a bonus, staying home with our children has also given me the freedom to develop skills and try new things. I’ve had the time to grow alongside them and model a lifestyle of learning.

In many ways, this is my number one reason to homeschool. But it’s also the area that requires the most time and energy!

I can’t imagine not having the hours and days and weeks we’ve had with each of our children. Yet it’s also the intensity of our lifestyle that has challenged us over the years. It’s hard work, but it’s good work 😊

So, learn to embrace the challenge of helping your children develop strong, close, honest bonds with one another. A lot of what we do in homeschooling is a ‘slow burn’. We aren’t going to see the fruits of our labour or the harvest from our sowing for many years to come. But we are trusting the Lord that it will come!

Homeschooling is such a refining process for us as parents, too! It is a sanctifying work because we are fallen humans who wrestle with our own humanity and sinful nature! It is tough to engage rigorously through each stage (or simultaneous stages) of raising a family.

But, I know that even thought it’s challenging, we will never regret the time we’ve had together as a family.

Being with our children every day gives us the chance to grab hold of ‘teachable moments’. This spontaneous learning is so rewarding! I love being able to take an incident or a moment and use it to explain an important lesson to our children.

Looking back, so many of the conversations that could have felt awkward or tough to tackle have been made SO much easier by making the most of a real life situation and taking a few moments to emphasise a life value or correct wrong thinking.

We’ve covered all sorts of topics while driving in the car, reading a book, or during our morning devotions. Even watching a reel on Instagram and having an older child ask me a question about it has led to some great chats about significant issues and perspectives.

I think the reason homeschooling is a catalyst for these conversations and the spontaneous learning is partly because our children are so used to us chatting with them and sharing our views. They are around us and other adults as we talk and exchange views. They engage in conversations with people from various walks of life as they participate in various social activities in different groups.

Another unexpected benefit of homeschooling is the way our children have friendships with those who are younger and older than they are. Often we get together with other families who have lots of children and everyone hangs out or plays together in a big group.

In a traditional school setting, many children spend almost all of the day with peers who are, give or take a few months, the same age as them. And not only that, but they basically continue with the same cohort throughout their school years!

Homeschool co-ops or groups (and even families) with a cross section of ages give young children older people to play with and look up to. I have loved and appreciated the way that our younger children have been ‘scooped’ up into the fun with big kids that they truly admire. For older children, they have the chance to lead and be positive role models. As our teenagers have grown, they’ve had the chance to ‘stay young’ and to bless other families by caring for littles and including them. What a beautiful picture of a healthy, functioning community!

One last point on this is that there have been times in my parenting journey when I’ve longed for adult conversation and connection. I’ve needed to learn to be gracious with my growing children and allow them to ‘sit in’ on conversations with my friends and this hasn’t always been easy. It is such an important part of their (and my!) growth and development, though.

The whole idea of homeschooling their own children feels foreign to many parents. It was explored as a viable option by my parents, but I was never homeschooled and didn’t grow up knowing anyone who was, either.

As I think about all the reasons why we’ve chosen to homeschool, I keep coming back to one significant fact.

For almost every other culture around the world, raising children in the family environment is a very natural way of life. Communities across the globe raise their children without sending them to school. Institutionalised education is actually a very recent concept in Western society!

So maybe I love it because it feels natural to want to be around the people I’m closest to and adore most in the world! I know I am so very grateful that we have chosen this path and I’d love to hear about your journey, too.