I kind of already spilled this in the post title but: we love homeschooling!

I had actually decided to make this a post about the ten best things about homeschooling before I realized I could have made the list a lot longer. Oh well, these are the ten best reasons, not the only ten! (I did still manage to squeak in a bonus reason though).

 

 

If you have been thinking about homeschooling but have some reservations I hope this post will help put some of those to rest. And if you currently homeschool I hope you can nod your head and agree with the majority of these and it will serve as a reminder to why you have chosen this life.

Oh, and did I mention I’ve got a giveaway too? How does a gift card for $100 in books sound? Keep reading to find out how to enter!

 

OTHER POSTS YOU MAY ENJOY:

• Ten Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Library – and Saving You Thousands
• Twenty Signs You Are a Homeschooler
• Ten Funny Picture Books That Will Have Kids Laughing Out Loud

 

 

TEN OF THE BIGGEST BENEFITS OF HOMESCHOOLING

 

BEING THERE FOR THE MILESTONES

While homeschooling takes a lot of hard work there is almost nothing as rewarding as seeing the metaphoric light bulb go off when a concept you were trying to teach finally clicks. I’ve found this to be true when teaching reading especially. It is something we slowly work on for months and months and then it just seems like it all makes sense in an instant and they are off and reading. Putting the effort in means that I get to be there to watch them hit these milestones instead of having it happen while they are at school where the teacher gets the reward of seeing the sparkle in their eyes and the big toothy grin, call me selfish but I want that for myself.

 

 

TONS OF FREE TIME

To be honest, I used to think that play based learning was a joke. Now I have swung to the other side and realized how vital play and imagination are to a child’s development and learning and I highly encourage it in my children.

This free time allows them to follow their interests, read lots of books, develop their sibling bond and work on problem solving, just to name a couple of side benefits.

At the beginning of the summer I often hear parents of schooled kids talk about how much they need to entertain their kids during the summer and I always quietly think to myself how summer is like our everyday, year-long life and my kids are completely able to find ways to entertain themselves.

 

I GET TO LEARN RIGHT ALONGSIDE THEM

This is one benefit I have really started diving into even more so these last few months. If you are going to teach your children anything first you have to learn it, so I am constantly learning new things. We are currently taking a relaxed notebooking and mini unit study approach to our weeks and I’ve been working right alongside my kids, researching a topic that interests me and making a relaxed notebooking page about it.

Learning alongside them is also a great way to model that learning never stops, no matter how old you are!

 

 

NO ONE IS TELLING US WHAT TO DO

Chalk it up to my rebel personality but I enjoy being able to do our own thing. The year Raeca was in school I didn’t like that she had to be at the bus stop at a certain time or the variety of things the teacher expected or wanted me to do, none of it was wrong or even that high of an expectation, I just balk at following other people’s expectations. #rebel Hmm, this is starting to sound a lot like my daughter . . .

 

I CAN GO ON EVERY FIELD TRIP

Let’s be honest, field trips are one of the best things about school and when you homeschool you can go on every single one! And you don’t have to worry about anyone telling you the preschooler can’t coming along too. Plus, you can actually plan the field trip so you can skip out on boring tours of McDonald’s (I worked there for two years in high school, I don’t need a tour) and go straight to fun field trips like going for a hike with a bunch of homeschooling families, exploring local parks and getting a tour of a dairy farm.

 

I GET TO SEE MY CHILDREN WHEN THEY ARE AT THEIR BEST

This one is a big one, especially if you have a child who is prone to a lot of emotions or is highly sensitive. The year that Raeca went to kindergarten it felt like she kept up her attitude at school and then by the time she got home she was exhausted and done trying to hold it together and she would just come apart. I felt like I always just got the leftovers and they weren’t very good, I wanted to see my little girl at her best. My kids are not perfect all day long but I do get to see beautiful snapshots of them getting along and carrying for each other and all sorts of high points in the day and that is really encouraging as a parent.

 

 

WE CAN TRAVEL WHENEVER WE WANT

As someone with a to-travel list a mile long and who also dislikes crowds, this one is important to me. Being able to travel whenever we want means we can miss the peak travel seasons, avoid the crowds and save money (which in turn leaves more money for seeing other places).

This applies to local travel too, we can go to different stores and events when they aren’t so crowded and we have a better opportunity to get a close look/a better tour/a more personalized experience.

 

WE CAN TAILOR THEIR EDUCATION TO THEM AND THEIR INTERESTS

I did okay in school from K-12, based on my grades I would say I was average. It wasn’t until I went to college for something I was very interested in and started applying myself (aka trying) I found out I was actually pretty smart! I won two scholarships for having the highest grades in the program: one that paid for my books and another that paid for my tuition!  It’s amazing how much different education can be, and how much more learning takes place when a child is actually interested in what they are learning.

We take a very interest-based approach to our homeschooling these days. Right now, since both my children are in elementary their interests are very diverse, each week I ask them what we want to learn about and we spend the rest of the week learning about those topics, it’s that simple. Sometimes they find they want to study that topic for more than a week and sometimes they feel done with it by the time the week is up. It is my hope that by continuing this we will slowly start figuring out where their true interests lie and find ways they can contribute to society and make an income as they get older.

 

 

LESS PEER INFLUENCE

Who was it that ever decided that sticking 20+ kids that are the same age in a room for 6-7 hours a day would result in good “socialization”. Like many have said before me: “I’ve seen the village and I don’t want it raising my children.” I would rather my children have more influence from older, mature adults than a room full of same aged peers. I am not against them having same age friends but I don’t like the idea of their peers affecting their decision making process so much, especially during the teen years.

 

A CLOSE KNIT FAMILY

One of the benefits of spending so much time with each other is that we are forced (in a good way) to develop a close relationship. As my children grow into adults I hope we can continue to be a close family that likes each other. I say “likes” instead of “loves” on purpose. A person can love their family without really liking them, I hope my kids will be able to say they both love and like their family as they get older.

 

BONUS: SECOND BREAKFAST

 

This one is meant to be a funny one but as someone who eats pretty much all day long I remember this being a struggle in school! It must be my inner Hobbit.

 

What are your favorite things about homeschooling?
Something on this list or something completely different? Let me know in the comments!

 

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Okay, are you ready for a giveaway? How does $100 in books from AwesomeBooks.com sound?! That would help to build your homeschool library, wouldn’t it?

Awesome Books ships worldwide for a great price so this giveaway is open worldwide. You can enter the giveaway below and the winner will be chosen and contacted once it closes. Good luck!

All the entries for this contest are Pinterest based because Pinterest is amazing and where I find so many homeschool resources, well, that and Instagram, and hopefully I’ll have an Instagram contest in the near-ish future!

The giveaway is now closed! And the winner is . . . Amy Weaver!