The Top Three Reasons to Homeschool

Each time I think about the reasons we decided to embark on this homeschool journey, I can’t help but reflect on the positive aspects of homeschooling and the benefits it brings to our family. Homeschooling hasn’t always been perfect, but the benefits for us have far outweighed the negatives.

Flexibility

Homeschooling has given us a generous amount of flexibility. I’ve found that no matter our educational philosophy or outlook, we’ve always been able to be a lot more flexible in our scheduling than our public and private school counterparts.

Each year our homeschool looks a little different, but no matter the changes or the curriculum we choose, we still have a great amount of flexibility in how and when we complete school work.

Being flexible with school means we have time to travel more often. With a military spouse who often has travel orders, some of which may be accompanied by family, it’s nice to know that we can work around school commitments and still plan to be together.

The best flexibility that homeschooling affords is being able to tailor my children’s lessons to fit their needs. When one of my kids develops a sudden interest in a new topic, I can shift our school time to allow for greater exploration. If one curriculum isn’t working out for us, we can switch to a program that does work.

Freedom

The flexibility that a homeschooling lifestyle brings also gives us freedom to make space in our world to relax. Rather than packing our days full of afterschool activities, we can enjoy the rhythms of relaxation through hobbies. On the occasion that we do choose extracurriculars and outings, we feel that we have more control over what we do so that those activites blend seamlessly into our family goals. We love being together, and for this temporary season of our lives, I’d like to see this time spent in enjoyment and not a rushed frenzy of busy-ness.

Fun

Homeschooling has been fun for us. Yes, homeschooling can be a lot of work, but it’s also a ton of fun (depending on how you look at it.) I find it fun, not because I particularly enjoy picking out curriculum, but because much of what I do with my kids is interesting to me. If it’s not interesting, I typically don’t teach it. Instead, I outsource.

The topics that both and I and the kids enjoy learning about are the ones that I’m more apt to be involved in. And of course, that’s always fun. Whenever we’re having a slower school day, we might break out a board game (another example of both flexibility and fun homeschooling can bring). Additionally, we’ve met a lot of wonderful people on our homeschool journey, gone on many field trips, and developed lifelong relationships with other families as a direct result of homeschooling.

Choosing the route to home education is a life-changing decision for your family. Although it won’t always be easy, there are definitely many benefits to homeschooling that may very well outweigh any negatives. Flexibility, freedom, and fun are the three attributes that make homeschooling worth it for us.