Homeschooling is when children are educated from the comfort of their own homes rather than a traditional school environment. But what are the benefits of homeschooling? And is it worth doing?
There are lots of advantages associated with homeschooling, such as flexibility, learning efficiency, and mental health benefits.
The homeschooling process can be tailored to the individual student, and there is a freedom to choose whether to strictly follow or deviate from the curriculum to provide a holistic and individualised approach to teaching and learning. Read on to find out about homeschooling and it’s multiple advantages.
What Are The Benefits Of Homeschooling?
Differs From Traditional Schooling
Students enjoy a different approach to learning than that offered in a traditional school. Parents who homeschool their children can unlock the full potential of their child instead of the minimum standards imposed by schools.
The learner avoids standardized tests, exam pressure and rigid assignments. Homeschooling can be tailored to the individual learner’s needs and is flexible enough to deviate from the curriculum and concentrate on a student’s strengths and interests more.
Homeschooling schedules are also more flexible and allow timetables to be structured around the individual’s lifestyle.
Incorporate Important Life Skills
Because students being homeschooled spend a lot of their time at home, they can spend more time learning a variety of skills which will serve them well in adult life, such as cooking, cleaning and budgeting.
These activities can be incorporated as part of the curriculum, which is not an option at traditional schools where the timetable is rigid and subject heavy. This is just one of the benefits of homeschooling.
Students Can Focus On Diverse Interests
Students who are educated from home have more time to pursue other passions such as sport and music, and many students who have been homeschooled have managed to turn their interests into a career due to the flexibility of homeschool timetables giving them more time to lend to their passions.
College Applications
Students who are schooled at home have more time to prepare for college admissions, by focusing on strengthening their abilities in certain areas and interests and making their applications stand out.
Creating An Entrepreneurial Mindset Or Encouraging Vocational Pursuits
Lots of homeschoolers end up pursuing entrepreneurial goals because of the added time and flexibility they have with their schedules.
This is one of the benefits of homeschooling as it gives them more experience in business ventures when finishing school than their public school peers.
Similarly, students interested in a specific vocation have more time dedicated to building their experience and knowledge.
Mental Health Benefits
Homeschooling ensures that the stress of traditional schooling, as well as social factors such as peer pressure and bullying, do not adversely affect a student’s mental health.
Students who are already suffering from mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety (specifically social anxiety) are given the reprieve they need to focus on improving their mental health with homeschooling. This enables students to prepare for adult life by having the time they need to focus on their mental health.
Physical Health Benefits
There are also many physical health benefits to homeschooling. Homeschoolers with physical illnesses may find being educated from home far more tolerable.
Those who suffer with chronic pain conditions or who are managing a disease will find things much easier to deal with from home.
Also, because of the flexible schedule, students have more time for exercise and maintaining a good diet.
Students will also find that due to their flexible timetables, they will have an improved sleeping pattern, which is crucial for the healthy development of children and teenagers.
Fosters Independence And Curiosity
Students who are homeschooled have greater freedom in choosing what they would like to study, which increases their independence and curiosity markedly.
Being able to study your interests in more depth allows for stronger knowledge and appreciation of the subject area to be developed, as well as a greater desire and enthusiasm to learn.
Less Negative Peer Influence
Homeschooling removes the adverse effects of peer pressure. Lots of teenagers abuse drugs and alcohol and engage in risky behavior due to peer influence, and can also experience strong emotional reactions and even mental health disorders from social factors such as rejection or bullying.
School environments are an optimal condition for peer influence, and homeschooling ensures that peer relationships are managed effectively.
You’ve read about the many benefits of homeschooling for kids, but what about the adult’s that stay home to teach them? There are lots of benefits to being a home-based educator, too. Keep reading to find out more.
Benefits Of Homeschooling For Parents
In addition to the benefits of homeschooling to individual students, there are also advantages of homeschool for parents.
Continue And Reignite Learning
Parents who homeschool their children can continue learning and reignite the passion for learning as they teach their students.
Homeschooling parents can revisit their favourite subjects and learn new things, too, such as during the language classes they teach, or parts of the modern curriculum they never learned at their own school.
Flexible Timetable
It’s not only the student that benefits from the flexibility of a homeschool schedule. Homeschooling means that parents can make their own timetables and do not have to adhere to traditional school timings.
No more frantically packing lunches in time for the school bus or forgetting to pick the kids up. Homeschooling also allows for more family time, hobbies, and household activities.
Learn New Skills
Homeschooling parents, just like their students, learn lots of new skills from the homeschooling process. Because parents need to take responsibility for their student’s education, they develop new social and emotional skills, experience increased creativity and problem-solving skills, and form deeper bonds with their children.
Cost-Effective
Traditional schools tend to mount up a variety of expenses over the years; such as school uniforms, field trips, and lunch fees. Homeschooling allows parents to have more control over their budget for the academic year.
They can choose whether to incorporate field trips and how much to spend, no school uniforms are required, and they can decide what their children eat for lunch.
Tips For Homeschooling
Structure each day – while you have the freedom of flexibility, it’s important to follow some sort of structure each day to make sure you stay on track.
Be flexible – remember, you have the advantage of being able to tailor classes to your child’s individual needs and ability level. Learning to be flexible with homeschooling and try new things is important in determining success.
Have a separate area for school – whether it’s the spare room or the kitchen, use the same place for school each day and keep it clean and organized to promote efficient learning.
Motivate your student – as a parent, you know what motivates your child to do their very best. School can become frustrating, especially when a student is struggling with understanding a concept. Remember to be patient and motivate your student as best you can, because as a homeschooling parent you are responsible for their success.
Reduce distractions – make sure your learning environment is distraction free. Having the TV on in the background will greatly reduce your student’s attention and focus.
Set clear goals and expectations – your home environment is your student’s classroom, so you need to have similar rules and expectations to a normal classroom in order to keep your student focused and motivated. Always have set goals to work towards to enhance your student’s productivity.
Conclusion
There are lots of benefits to homeschooling, including flexibility, social and emotional development, increased independence and autonomy, and a range of mental and physical health advantages.
Homeschooling can greatly benefit parents too, and strengthen family bonds. It’s no wonder that home-schooling is becoming more popular, as in a lot of ways it is superior to traditional schooling.
However, the effectiveness of homeschooling versus traditional schooling is highly dependent on the preferences and needs of the individual student, as well as theirs and their family’s lifestyle.
My name is Joyce Bailey, and I am a mother of two wonderful children. When I had my first child five years ago, at first I struggled to know which method of parenting I wanted to adopt. Traditional parenting just did not seem right for my family.
