Homeschooling is unique as an educational option for your children. Putting aside all of the perks and benefits embedded in the model, homeschooling offers some amazingly unique qualities that simply are not possible in other educational settings. Have you ever really thought about it? Consider this:
1. Family Oriented
Homeschooling builds strong families who value one another. The togetherness inherent in the model builds robust sibling bonds and positive parent-child relationships. Homeschooled kids learn to work together, bear with one another, and help each other out. The home education model teaches appropriate socialization between adults and children within the family setting.
2. Authentic, Independent Learning
Students learn material for content mastery, NOT to simply pass a test. If the child has not mastered content, you can slow down or speed up to accommodate. Learning is authentic and personal, not reduced to a test or a number in the data. It’s not about a passing grade, rather, “what did you learn?”
3. Opportunity to Teach Your Values
Parents can incorporate lessons about godly character and Biblical instruction naturally into subjects such as science, history, and language arts. What a gift to have time to pass on your values to your child! There’s ample time in the homeschooling model to teach your kids wisdom and spiritual values when you, “sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deut. 6:7)
READ: Should I Homeschool? 10 Key Questions to Help You Decide
4. Self-motivated Learning
Homeschooled kids learn to self-pace and to be highly independent. Learning is cherished and nurtured leading to high levels of self-motivation. The home setting eliminates the need to wait on other kids or waste time, so a student can simply keep going, and going, and going.
5. History Rather than Social Studies
Homeschool is unique in its approach to teaching history. Most homeschool curricula focus on ancient history to modern history rather than social issues. We dive into this subtlety more deeply in other posts, but there are a host of benefits to your kids possessing a deep understanding of history.
6. Traditional Math
Traditional, tried-and-true math is taught rather than the new-age math popular in public schools today. Unless, of course, you are a fan of the new math. If so, then you can go right ahead. However, no one mandates Common Core in your own personal homeschool. You get to decide and the old math is just fine.
7. Less Stressful + A Gentle Pace
Due to the home environment, there is greater safety, calm, and peace throughout the homeschool day. Homeschool is a bully-free zone! No worries about peer-pressure here, either. You can design school to be whatever you want, so if you want a loving, gentle, positive, encouraging scholastic environment, you’ve got it!
READ: How to Do Homeschool Planning
8. Less Testing & Performance Pressure
Little focus is given to test performance or even grades, especially in elementary. In most homes, students are not pushed to perform or measured by a number. (Here I refer you back to #2). So, there’s no test-stress or anxiety to perform. The cool part? This gives you freedom to get creative and think outside of the box in both your teaching and learning. The possibilities are limitless.
9. Caters to a Student’s Interests & Talents
When you’re home educating, there is time to chase rabbit trails that interest the child. A student’s unique talents can be nurtured and developed with special attention and devoted time. And guess what? When the child gets to chase some rabbit trails, they suddenly realize that learning can be delightful.
10. Puts the Needs of Each Individual Child First
Families can evaluate the unique individual needs of each child and specifically tailor the lessons and materials to address learning challenges. Plus, kids receive the personalized 1-on-1 attention they need to help them thrive. Extraordinary children? No problem. Homeschool is not a one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter approach.
READ: Why I Homeschool My Kids
Homeschooling is Unique
So, it turns out that homeschooling is unique as an educational option. Quite unique. In fact,there’s no other educational system that can boast all of these perks. Perhaps you might find one or two combinations of a few of these distinctive attributes in a private school. Or, perhaps, a trait or two in your rare public school setting, but there is something uniquely appealing and exceptional about homeschooling that starts in the home. Nothing else is like it or even comes close.