For various reasons, more and more families have opted to teach their children at home. Parents are dissatisfied with the quality of education in the public school system and concerned about the safety of their children. Here’s a brief summary of homeschooling pros and cons, based on my own experience with my daughter from kindergarten through eighth grade.
Homeschooling Pros and Cons
Social Development: You, as the parent, need to schedule a lot of play dates, plan various field trips, and do as much as possible as a family to ensure that your child will be well-rounded socially.
Qualification: Even when you feel you are lacking in some way or another, your child will benefit fully from that ‘one-on-one’ education.
Options: Each state has different requirements but I will explain a few types of homeschooling that I am familiar with. Regardless of where you live, there are several support groups to help you along.
1) Fill in and submit a form that you are a private school and do all your teaching on your own.
2) Go through a public school that has an independent study course (they will provide all the textbooks, homework, etc. and you bring your child in the school weekly).
3) Use an online course in which your child does all their work on the computer (or at least logs on each day) and also communicates with their teacher online.
4) Use a charter school. This is the program that works best for us. Once a month, a credentialed teacher meets to check on her progress and gather samples. We get an allotted amount of funding to spend on various activities and my daughter takes all the state tests.
Further Education: In most cases, homeschool children excel academically. Therefore, the number of colleges and universities that accept them is increasing. Some community colleges will also allow homeschooled high school students take college courses and accrue credit.
Affect on the Family: Patience will be tried often and expect to have days that you and your child just don’t get along well. That being said, you will build a greater bond than ever before and your family will benefit greatly.
Should You Homeschool?
Homeschooling may not be the right fit for every family and every child. But, don’t let that discourage you from trying to provide superior education for your child that you, as a parent, might be able to provide.
21 comments
I love knowing I have impacted my children’s lives {in a good way} by choosing to homeschool for the past 9 years! Stumbled! 🙂
Wow – 9 years! I think homeschooling our kids is the best gift we can give them 🙂
Thanks for this very informative post…
I stumbled you, my post is http://www.lifeascending.info/how-microworkers-work/
Stumbled back, my post for my other blog is http://eytozee.blogspot.com/2011/05/tubular-box.html
Got both 🙂
I never knew there were so many options for homeschooling. I applaud your commitment!
Stumbled you! My post is http://beautegras.blogspot.com/2011/06/haute-headbands.html
Haha, thanks but it’s a daily battle to keep it up. Imagine being with your child 24 hours a day… 😛
Thank you for the stumble on my post! Stumbled you back 🙂 Also became a new follower <3
Thanks – and great to have you here!
hi, thanks for the great post – I admire all of the parents taking on home school. Great info. Stumbled your post, here’s mine: Mom’s Guide to Wine
Homeschool is definitely ‘work’ but not everyone is in the position to do it. Many of the same benefits can be achieved as long as the parent is involved as possible with their children
Hi! Stopping by to Stumble from STT (I’m a little behind LOL).
I’ve always found homeschooling to be intriguing, and even considered it with my daughter at one point. But, as she started to get a little older, it became abundantly clear that she and I are predisposed to butt heads and she seems to do so well with other adults. I just don’t think we mesh very well in a teacher/student set up. Still, it’s not something that I’ve completely written off and is certainly going to be back on he radar this year!
Anyway…
My post is http://www.mamamommymom.com/2011/06/rosemary-pork-heaven.html
I completely understand, especially as my daughter is nearing the pre-teen stages. Yet, to prevent bickering and overall breakdown in our home, we both have to really put forth the effort to make it work. Butting heads may just mean that you two are VERY much alike which can be used to your advantage in trying to see things from her viewpoint and to perhaps help her work out the things you were able to overcome.
There are so many more tools than there used to be.
I stumbled you. My post is http://booksyourkidswilllove.blogspot.com/2011/06/have-kid-book-reviewer-at-home.html
Excellent post. Thanks for explaining the different options, and for being honest about the fact that it’s not always rainbows and roses.
Stumbled you, my post is: http://www.mapleleafmommy.com/2011/06/review-story-about-ping-scholastic.html
Thanks so much for the information. Considering home schooling my 2 year old in the future and this brief yet informative overview was really helpful!
I’m so glad! Many are thinking about it with recent school budget cuts and safety issues. What good mama for already starting to do your research!
Hi! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I genuinely enjoy reading your articles. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same subjects? Thanks for your time!
I’m also thinking of homeschooling my son soon. He’s now four, and he really loves using our tablet! I’m thinking of just purchasing apps if necessary, but so far, there’s a lot of free apps available for kids so we just need to keep looking! For instance, he’s really taken with Maddie & Matt’s Happy Earth. Found it while blog hopping, I think their site is maddieandmatt.com. (Just wanted to share!)
I’m not sure if you’d agree with our own style, and I can’t say that my boy is getting any brighter yet. But I sure am hoping!
Each child is different as is the family dynamics in each household. You have some time but starting early helps you find out how your child learns best and adapt your methods to that. Also, variety is your friend 🙂
I like the idea of the charter school option…my main concern is that I won’t be able to provide them with as much as they would learn in school, the variety, because I’m just not knowledgeable enough, and I worry that if I can’t discipline them to sit and study, they will fall behind. *sigh* I do however LOVE the safety factor, the ability to know what is influencing them, etc.
Comments are closed.