Top Reasons Why You Should Homeschool Your Child

Are you wondering why you should homeschool and what the benefits are? Have you been considering homeschooling for a while now but maybe you’re still on the fence? I get it. It’s a big decision! You want to make the right choice for your family and not mess up your child’s education. 

I’m here to tell you that you’re in the right place. There are so many good things about homeschooling, it was hard for me to narrow them down! But, I’ve put together what I believe are the top reasons why you SHOULD homeschool, and my prayer is that as a homeschool mom myself, I will be able to share some of the true benefits of homeschooling and how it may just be the best choice for your family.

1. Homeschooling can provide a better education

Before I get into it, here are some of the latest homeschool statistics on the educational performance of homeschooled children:

• 78% of the time, homeschooled children outperform traditional school students.
• Homeschooled students score between 15 and 30 percentile points higher on standardized tests than school-bound students.
• Homeschooled children may graduate at a 10%  higher rate than public school students.

Let me just start by saying that this is NOT a dig at the many wonderful public or private school teachers out there. I have some good friends who are school teachers and their hearts are to really educate the students in their classrooms. However, the system is broken. And the reality is that teachers have to spend the majority of their day managing classroom behaviours, instead of spending quality time pouring into the students under their care. 

It’s actually very sad. I feel for the children, and for the teachers. The educational system today is not what it used to be. 

Enter…..homeschool! 

Homeschool is honestly amazing! First of all, you do NOT need to have an educational background in order to teach your kids. Trust me on this one. You know your children better than anyone, and who besides you and your spouse would ever be more invested in their education? 

When you take the opportunity to homeschool, your children won’t have to waste precious hours lining up for recess, waiting for the teacher to be available, or any of the many other things that use up so much time in traditional school settings.

Most homeschool families (mine included) do their lessons in the morning and are completely done by noon or even earlier depending on the age of the children! 

Yes, that is actually possible. How? Because we are able to dive right into what we’re learning without all the distractions and interruptions of the classroom. This allows kids to dive deeper into the topics that interest them, and have more one on one coaching on the concepts they may be struggling with. 

Also, you can completely curate and adjust your child’s education for them and their unique learning style. This means that the chances of them actually retaining what they learn are much higher. This will encourage a true love of learning, and will lead to a more joyful homeschool experience.

If you want to know more about how to create a happy and successful homeschool environment, click here.

As they reach the higher grades, many homeschooled children end up taking online courses from community colleges and universities, even though on paper they’re still in high school. How? Because they have been able to fly through the grade level outcomes at a much faster pace. They aren’t held hostage to a specific grade. They just learn continuously and once they master a concept they move right along to the next one. 

So if you’ve been worrying about whether or not your child will get a good education if you homeschool, I hope this will put your mind at ease! Not only will they be fine, they will likely flourish.

2. Opportunities to learn life skills

Another one of the great benefits and reasons why you should consider homeschooling is the opportunity for your children to learn real life skills.

Don’t get overwhelmed thinking that this means you have to spend all day teaching them all these extra things. The reality of them simply doing life with you and other people of all ages will teach them so much more than you realize!

They will see you write out the grocery list and keep track of the budget at the store. They’ll see you pump gas, clean the closets, garden, cook supper, and all the many other things you do in the run of a day. Children learn so many life skills simply through watching those around them. You’ll be amazed at the knowledge they gain just by being alongside you. 

Unlike traditional schooling where they are with the same peers their own age each day, homeschooling provides daily opportunities for your kids to be surrounded by many people of all demographics. This is an incredible gift to children because it broadens their scope, and they soak in so many lessons that prove useful now and for their future.

Also, because homeschooling provides a more flexible schedule, your children will have the time freedom to expand further on something they are learning. Let’s say you have a child interested in sewing! Your child can learn those skills and have the TIME to actually develop them more deeply. This also teaches them time management skills, as they learn to balance out time spent on various different hobbies and requirements. 

Depending on the people in your life and the individual interests of your child, there are endless life skills that can be passed down to your children through the freedom of homeschooling. Skills that many say should be taught in public schools, but sadly are not. 

3. How homeschooling improves social skills

Ah….the infamous social skills debate. Usually, it’s a debate between someone with no homeschool experience and someone with homeschool experience. 

First off, let’s look at the Oxford Languages definition of “socialization”:

socialization; noun: socialisation

1. the activity of mixing socially with others.
2. the process of learning to behave in a way that is acceptable to society.

I hear it all the time…”Oh you homeschool? How do you socialize your kids?” Believe it or not, I actually understand where people are coming from with this question. We’ve all heard stories of the weird homeschool kid right? And prior to educating myself on what the homeschool lifestyle can be, I wondered about this too. 

The truth is however, when I think back to my public school experience I can list off a whole lot of weird public school kids as well! 

Some people, no matter what education they have or what their life experiences are….they just seem a bit weird! (I’m not trying to sound rude. I actually believe we’re all a little weird in our own ways…and that’s ok!) But you get what I’m saying. There are weird homeschooled kids, weird public schooled kids, and even weird adults. That’s just the reality of the diversity of the human species my friends! 

We’ve been programmed however, to believe that a traditional school setting is the only way children can be properly socialized. The reality is, that yes, traditional school is ONE way in which kids can receive some socialization. But it is only one of MANY! And now that I’ve been homeschooling for awhile, I will say with confidence that social interaction should not be limited to just people of the same age.

Think about it. You go through grades primary – twelve spending the majority of your day with people the exact same age and developmental level as you. Then, once you graduate into the “real world”, you are never again ONLY with people your own age. College, university, work environments….people of all ages and experiences make up these places. 

So why is it that our culture is so worried about socialization when it comes to homeschooling? It’s because most people just don’t know the truth. 

Here are some interesting statistics on the socialization of homeschooled kids:

•  92% of peer-reviewed studies report that homeschoolers are doing as well as or better than their public school peers socially. 
• About 96% of homeschoolers participate in social activities outside of their immediate family each week.
• Homeschooled students scored above average on measures of social, emotional, and psychological development in a study conducted by Educational Resources Information Center. 
• Current research reported by NHERI shows that the leadership skills of homeschooling graduates far outshine those of public and private school graduates, implying strong social skills.

Homeschooling provides endless social experiences for children. Becoming part of a homeschool community is a great way for your children, and yourself, to meet people of all sorts of ages and backgrounds.

Also, because homeschoolers have flexible schedules there is often more time for extracurricular activities, field trips, and community involvement. Depending on your religious beliefs, volunteering at your church is another great social exercise. 

Try to break free from the ideology that there is ONE way to socialize your children. That’s a lie. Instead, allow the truth about homeschooling to permeate your heart and mind. It has so many benefits, including the opportunity for advancing your child’s social skills. 

4. Homeschooling can improve the parent-child relationship

Typically, most children start school around the age of 5 and graduate around the age of 17. During those years, if they are in the public school system or even a private school, they spend approximately 6 – 7 hours per day at school. They do this for roughly 12 years of their life. 

That’s a lot of time that you as a parent do not have with your kids.

When you choose to homeschool however, your daily life becomes uniquely intertwined with your children. It also eliminates many of the outside influences threatening the parent-child relationship. 

As author Isabelle Shaw suggests in her article on this topic, “Homeschooling seems to remove many of the stumbling blocks that traditionally-schooled parents and kids encounter. With no pressure to conform or fit in (a major problem with my kids’ schooled friends), there is also no need for rebellion. And as homeschooled kids get older (I have a teen), it actually becomes easier. Homeschooling is not for everyone, but for parents who wish to have a close and loving relationship with their kids, homeschooling is a wonderful choice.”

I am not suggesting that children who aren’t homeschooled can’t have good relationships with their family. I wasn’t homeschooled and I am very close to my parents and my sister. However when you do choose to homeschool, there is an extra special bond that occurs. I know this because I am experiencing it with my own children.

It isn’t possible to give you any proof or statistics to back this up, because as Isabelle Shaw also states, “to accurately measure better parental relationships among the diverse homeschool community would be impossible.”

What I can offer you though is my own personal testament to this. I have felt an incredible closeness form within our family unit since we began our homeschool journey, and I’ve also witnessed it many times amongst other homeschool families as well. 

5. Managing negative influences on your children

This is a big one. This is probably one of the most debated topics surrounding homeschool, even among some Christians. 

I have heard the argument that Christian children should not be homeschooled, but rather they should be in the school system, as missionaries to teach others about Jesus. And while I do agree that children are capable of sharing their beliefs when they feel safe to do so, I do NOT believe that they are equipped to be viewed as missionaries in their school. 

I heard someone say recently that children are like seedlings.

When you’re growing a garden and you start your seeds indoors, you recognize that those tiny plants are young and fragile. They need to be nurtured, given just the right amount of water and sunlight until they get a little bigger. Once they start to grow, you place them outside for small amounts of time when the weather is just right for them. 

If plants are still young, leaving them outside in harsh weather for too long will destroy them. So you ease them into it. Little by little you expose them, under your supervision, to the environment that they will eventually live in. As the gardener, you are preparing them to handle the harsh winds and storms of nature. And once those plants grow even more and are finally strong enough, you can plant them out in the garden with confidence knowing they are ready to handle their environment. 

Well my friend, this applies to children too. 

As parents, we need to nurture our child’s needs and ensure they are prepared to step out into the world. I’m not saying that parents who are of the missionary mindset don’t have good intentions. They do. But when we take a look at our culture today, there are so many messages and agendas being pushed in the schools that aim to destroy our kids. We need to nurture them while they’re young, and expose them to the realities of the world when they’re ready and able to handle them. 

It isn’t just Christian parents that are concerned.

A recent study from the NHERI sites that one of the most common reasons for homeschooling is: “to provide a safer environment for children and youth, because of physical violence, drugs and alcohol, psychological abuse, racism, and improper and unhealthy sexuality associated with institutional schools.” 

Furthermore, if you’re worried about sheltering your kids too much…please stop. As parents and protectors of our children, we are supposed to shelter them while they’re young. That doesn’t mean never letting them leave the house and disillusioning them to the realities of the world. It means keeping them protected from the undeniable attacks that are becoming ever more present in our society today. 

The best way to prepare your children for the “real world” is to guard against those negative influences when they’re young. Train and teach them what is right and good, and give them time to build up their spiritual, mental, and emotional strength. 

The same study from the NHERI (linked above) shows this statistic:

• 87% of peer-reviewed studies on social, emotional, and psychological development show homeschool students perform statistically significantly better than those in conventional schools

Trust me, they will still deal with peer pressure and other character building moments without being in the public school system.  Those things exist everywhere. But your decision to block out the negative messaging that aims to steal our children’s innocence and self esteem will strengthen them, not cripple them. 

6. Homeschooling allows time for children to discover their passions

This point is especially fun for me to write about because as I’m typing this, my 10 year old daughter is in her bedroom crocheting baskets and pillows for her barbie dolls! I’m an avid crocheter (you might even say I’m “hooked”….ha….sorry, couldn’t help myself!), and I’ve shown her a few stitches here and there. But just yesterday, all on her own, she came to me asking where my crochet supplies were because there was something she wanted to work on. 

For the next hour she sat on her floor in front of a pattern book I had purchased for her last Christmas, and played around with her stitches until she had made something that she proudly called, a barbie pillow! 

Again today, once we finished our lessons she beelined it straight for her room and on her own, figured out how to crochet a barbie hand basket. 

Why am I telling you this you ask?

I’m telling you this because when children are given the blessing of free time, they will come up with so many different ways to occupy themselves. And in doing so, they sometimes stumble upon something they’re passionate about! As an added bonus, they often end up teaching themselves how to do the things they’re really interested in. And seriously, it is amazing how much children are capable of doing when it’s something they WANT to do! 

Because homeschooling typically means fewer ‘school hours’ due to the variety of reasons I mentioned above, homeschooled kids are given the gift of time freedom to first of all, be bored, and then turn that boredom into something spectacular!

As a homeschooling parent, it’s your job to step back and let them figure it out. Let them be bored, don’t allow them to default to watching TV as soon as they complain that they don’t know what to do. If you hear those familiar words, “Mom, I’m bored!!”, coming from your child’s mouth…rejoice!! Because it means that pretty soon, they’re going to discover something they love. And as a parent, it’s pretty spectacular to watch them develop their passions.

Summary

To summarize, it is my belief that if homeschooling is something you are considering for your family, you should absolutely jump in and give it a try! The benefits of homeschooling go far beyond what I’ve listed here. My prayer is that in reading this, you will feel encouraged to step out in faith, push away your fears or feelings of inadequacy, and know with confidence that homeschooling could be one of the biggest gifts you can ever give to your children. 

Blessings!

~Maryann