More Families Are Choosing to Homeschool Their Children
The homeschooling movement in the United States began in the 1970s, similar to the old one-room schoolhouses. Since then, more and more families are choosing to homeschool, with over 3.7 million students being homeschooled today.
More Families Are Embracing Homeschooling
More families are choosing to homeschool their children for many reasons.
The most common reasons include unhappiness with the public schools and the desire to provide a religious or moral education for their children. No matter the reason, many families see homeschooling as the best choice for their family.
With good planning and commitment, homeschooling can give your children a strong education and help them succeed in the future.
Our Story on Homeschooling
We began homeschooling our children in 1989, which is now over 35 years ago, when this educational approach was relatively rare.
Homeschooling worked well for us! Our children are well-adjusted adults. Many have graduated from college with associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees.
Some have started their own businesses, while others have built careers or found jobs to support themselves. It’s rewarding to see their excitement for learning, creating, and growing!
We remain very close with all our children and still enjoy strong family ties.♥
I will continue adding and updating homeschooling information as I am able, so please check back in once in a while. Thanks!
Main Reasons for Homeschooling
As previously mentioned, parents are choosing homeschooling for various reasons. Here are the main points:
Quality Education
Some parents believe they can provide a better education at home. Others want to shield their children from negative aspects of traditional schools. And, yet, fall in the middle of both of these.
Learning at Their Own Pace
Many children benefit from self-paced learning where they work at their own speed. This can work both ways with advanced learning as well as with slower learners. Depending on the type of learning style your child/children have, the vast array of educational materials that are available today will be most helpful.
Tailored Education
Many parents choose to homeschool because of their beliefs. They want to tailor their children’s education to reflect these beliefs; homeschooling allows for this. In the past, we used a variety of textbooks and programs in our homeschool. We used textbooks, workbooks, audio classes, and video classes.
Today, there are many more options available, such as charter schools and online learning. Although there are more choices now, it can still be challenging to find the right programs or curriculums.
More Family Time
Many parents homeschool to be more involved in their children’s education and to spend more time together.
Flexible Schedule
Homeschooling offers flexibility. Families can create a schedule that suits their needs. Some homeschools run year-round, some follow the traditional school calendar, and others mix and match both methods.
This type of flexible scheduling may help families travel together while parents work away from home. Some families choose to travel to learn about different countries, customs, and cultures. The possibilities are exciting and seem endless!
Make sure to have some type of Day Planner to Stay Organized!
Pros of Homeschooling
The many resources that are now available are one of the biggest advantages for today’s homeschooling families.
Homeschooling offers parents a multitude of options from structured, online classes to completely nature-driven, interest-based curriculums. Make sure to look at this type of curriculum that is being offered across our county: The Barefoot University!
The benefits include customizing education to fit each child’s needs, spending more time with family, and having the flexibility to travel or pursue unique learning opportunities. can be very educational and extremely rewarding.
Homeschooling allows you to personalize your child’s education. You can choose materials that match their interests and adjust the pace of learning to ensure they understand before moving on. If your child struggles with a subject, you have the freedom to spend extra time on it. You can also explore topics more deeply for a child who shows more interest.
Available Opportunities
Our kids had an abundance of exciting and fun opportunities. Please think outside the box. There are so many opportunities available, but you must seek them out. We lived and still live in a remote area, but our kids were involved in a variety of activities and had numerous experiences.
Our kids were not overprotected from the world. We exposed them to different experiences. They learned to think for themselves and face challenges. We encouraged them to explore and be curious. This approach helped them grow into confident and independent individuals.
Brief List of Opportunities:
- Learned how to raise and care for chickens
- Raised dairy goats & milk cows
- Raised a few ducks, geese and guinea hens
- Raised Dwarf Rabbits for fun and the learning experience
- Learned how to gardening
- Built forts and even life-size trebuchets (that really worked!)
- Helped Planted Over a Thousand Trees
- Were involved in Community Service Projects
- Learned about building (we owned a log home company).
- They all had jobs as soon as they wanted to and they could work for someone else.
- Hunting, Archery and Fishing Trips and Experiences
- Processing, cutting and freezing wild game (here’s our favorite wild game roast!)
- Learned about heating with wood, and gathering firewood
- Hiking and Camping
- Participated in the local library arts, crafts, & pottery classes
- Attended Church and Vacation Bible School
- They all played the violin.
- Performed in Concerts with their Violins
- Took riding lessons and showed in local horse shows
- Raised and Cared For Horses
- One worked with our local veterinarian.
- One was tutored by a local mathematician.
- Experienced being a part of our family mowing business (The Lawn Rangers!).
- Learned to create additional streams of income through our family business
- Additionally, being in a large family, they learned about ways to save money as well.
- And, the list goes on…….
Each family will have different adventures, experiences, and opportunities. Make sure to look these opportunities, as they will help build your children’s knowledge base, experiences, and character, as well as make marvelous memories for your family!
Additional Benefit to Consider: Greater Freedom
When the COVID-19 pandemic was raging across the globe, many parents opted to homeschool their children rather than send them back to school. Although it is a lot of work for parents, they feel that it is worth it to ensure their child’s safety.
Parents who homeschool their children often have to make some sacrifices. They may have to give up a second income in order to stay at home with their child.
Learning from home does require time and effort from parents. Even though homeschooling requires a definite time commitment, more and more families are making the decision to homeschool their children in order to have more flexibility with regard to learning options and scheduling.
Cons of Homeschooling:
Here are the main concerns people have about homeschooling. I won’t respond to each concern, but I want to highlight the key issues.
Many people worry that homeschooled children will miss out on regular interactions with other kids, which they think could cause socialization problems later on.
Others believe that homeschooled children might not get the same quality of education as those in traditional schools. Although most homeschooling parents choose to follow a curriculum, some feel they might not have access or have limited access to the same resources as public schools.
And, still others wonder if homeschooling is even legal. (please see the next section on the legality of homeschooling.)
Regardless of these concerns, homeschooling is now a valid and effective form of education in most states.
However, homeschooling requires effort from the parents. They need to invest significant time and energy into teaching their children at home.
Legal Aspects of Homeschooling
During our homeschooling years, we were members of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). We never faced any legal problems, but it was reassuring to know they would be there to help if needed. Our membership fees also supported other families in areas where homeschooling was less accepted.
The HSLDA has a helpful webpage that outlines the homeschooling laws for all 50 states. Check it out and contact them if you need more help.
As a side note, make sure to check with your local school district as to the individual homeschooling requirements for your county and/or state. The HSLDA might be able to assist you in finding out your state and local requirements if you need help.
Homeschooling is becoming a popular choice for families that are willing to invest time and effort.
Summary of Why More Families are Opting to Homeschool
Homeschooling has many benefits, customized to meet each child’s needs.
The method of schooling promotes a family-focused lifestyle. It also helps teach values and morals that public schools might overlook.
Homeschooling isn’t for everyone, but it’s worth considering if you want to be actively involved in your child’s education.
