10 Apr Embracing the Homeschool Adventure – The Benefits of Homeschooling

Maybe you’ve been weighing your options – should I homeschool or keep my kids in school? Or maybe you’re a homeschool parent trying to decide, “Should I keep doing this?” There are so many great benefits of homeschooling, but of course, it isn’t the right fit for everyone. If you need a little push to go all in and say, “Yes! I want to try this!” or if you’re already in the thick of homeschooling and need a little reminder of why you’re here, read on for a few perks that make it all worth it.

Homeschool Gives Your Family Flexibility:

With homeschooling comes the freedom of schedule. Your kids can sleep in (and maybe you can, too!), or you can start early and be finished in time for lunch. (Check out our other post here about when to start your day!) Got doctor’s appointments or dentist visits? You can go whenever without having to plan around the school schedule. I think one of the best parts is being able to vacation or take a day off without worrying about making up work or missing something important.

I was homeschooled in the ’90s and one of my favorite parts about it was studying something like Ancient Egypt and then being able to take a day off of school to visit a museum and see mummies and artifacts. It really brought the learning to life!

Socialization is the Easy Part of Homeschooling:

A lot of people worry about homeschoolers getting enough socialization. That’s understandable, considering it is such a different setting and often away from large groups of kids. However, modern homeschooling has so many great options that make socializing easy and fun. There are co-ops, tutorials, and tutors to give your students access to learning with others. And depending on your area there are often groups of homeschool families that meet together. Check out Facebook and just search for homeschool and your city and you will find ways to connect! 

My family is new to Murfreesboro and one way that we’ve gotten connected is through Facebook. We have been following the page Homeschooling in the Boro and have made friends through that. Blackman Homeschoolers is another great homeschool group to check out on Facebook. Finding a church is also a great way to make connections!

Another way we’ve gotten plugged in is by joining sports or extracurricular activities. Our favorites are Phoenix Martial Arts in Murfreesboro and the Tennessee Robotics Center which offers classes in computers, coding, and robotics! 

Personalized Learning and Academic Success:

Homeschooling can be as rigorous as you want it to be, and your children can learn at their own pace. Kids that need one-on-one attention are more likely to get it at home – even if you have an 8 to 1 ratio or more like some families! Compared to a classroom of 25 or more, your kids are going to get more help at home, especially once older kids are able to help out with the younger ones or are old enough to work independently!

The National Home Education Research Institute shares, “The home-educated typically score 15 to 25 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests (Ray, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2024).” So if you’re concerned about their ability to achieve, take heart!

Time, the Ultimate Luxury:

Homeschooling offers not only flexibility but more time in your day. With homeschool academics, most work can be completed in a few hours. Only an hour or two of work is recommended for younger students and that gradually increases as they get older. But it still saves a lot of time compared to a full school day.

We like to work in the morning and save the afternoon for park visits, library outings, playdates or errands. This also allows us to do extracurriculars, like taekwondo, during the daytime instead of taking up precious evening family time.

In addition, homeschooling gives you that treasured time with your children! One article said that about 14,000 hours are spent in school over a child’s life (naesp.org). Think of getting all that time back to be with them, teach them, and influence them!

Meeting Individual Needs:

No one knows your children better than you do. You can assess what they need and focus on getting them help when you’re seeing them each day one on one. And on top of that you can allow them to focus on what is important and special to them. If you’ve got a science kid you can gear your lessons toward STEM. If your child loves animals you can plan farm days or vet visits and build units around their favorite creatures. 

Mine love learning about the ocean. (Our last name is Fish; we can’t help it.)  We did Apologia’s Zoology course on ocean creatures and have had the chance to visit several aquariums together. It’s wild hearing your five year old talking about the difference between benthos and nekton – I was learning new words right alongside him! There is so much versatility with homeschooling that enables you to customize your plan to your child and get them started on a path of something they truly love.

Cherishing the Perfectly Imperfect Moments:

You know there is no perfect way to school your children. Of course, homeschooling comes with its cons too–less time for yourself, more planning, fewer breaks, maybe more money spent. There are days you just want to tear your hair out. There are lots of articles that can share with you more about the cons of homeschooling. But today is just a pick-me-up! This is what we love and why we do it. If we can help you on your homeschooling journey, that is what we’re here for so please feel free to reach out!

For even more perks (and some cons too!) check out these great websites: