4 Powerful Advantages of Homeschooling Your Children

 
I love homeschooling our little blessings, but that was not our original plan.  In fact, I had solid arguments against homeschooling!  Why do we homeschool?  I’ll share the 4 advantages of homeschooling that changed my mind and why we now love this life!

Are There Advantages of Homeschooling?

First, you should know I was I came from a homeschool family.

Growing up my parents chose to pull my oldest brother out of public school. I know that was not her original plan either, but it was what was best for our family. My brother was dyslexic and had been pushed aside to an LD  class where he was not being adequately educated.

I was 6 years younger and watched in awe as my mom added the role of teacher to her already full plate. She amazes me that way often!
  • Her Homeschooling why was clear.
  • Her motivation was solid.
  • She did an amazing job!

There are clear advantages of homeschooling!  But before we go there, let’s be honest about the disadvantages of homeschooling.

There are clear advantages of homeschooling! But before we go there, let's be honest about the disadvantages of homeschooling. Click To Tweet

What are the pros and cons of homeschooling?

I’ve spent a lot of time asking, “What are the pros and cons of homeschooling?” 
 
My biggest regret was our isolation. Our family had some dysfunction (don’t we all!) and looking back I see why we were isolated.  It was not a product of homeschooling, rather a product of individuality and fear.  Nonetheless, isolation is one of the few disadvantages of homeschooling for students.
 
 Social skills…  I know I know, I hear from many who are against homeschooling that it was related, but not related to our homeschooling status (I’ll get to that in a sec).  
 
When our life changed and I was forced into public school I was not ready to relate to my peers.
 
I related better to the teachers… which led to lots of social trouble.
I didn’t actually catch up socially until college… 5 years learning curve doesn’t seem too bad, but it was hard.
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Is homeschooling more effective than public school? 

When I entered public school I was 3 grades ahead of my peers academically.  My brother, when matriculating back to public school was right on grade.

Each child is different.  How they learn, what pace they learn at and what additional resources they need vary for every single child.

Public school may be a viable option for you.

Private school may be a viable option for you.

Homeschool may be a viable option for you.

Who is to say which is more effective?  You have to weigh the pros and cons of each.

  • Are the children in your district learning to read at grade level?
  • How are the school scores across the region?
  • What about disciplinary issues within the school cluster you belong to?
  • How are students in your city doing with college and career statistics moving forward?

There is a lot to take into consideration when deciding what school choice is best for your family.

There is a lot to take into consideration when deciding what school choice is best for your family. See these Homeschooling Pros and Cons Click To Tweet

Homeschooling Pros and Cons

What factors helped us decide to homeschool?  When Bud and I had kids I didn’t want to homeschool.  We had solid reasons for that choice, but God changed my mind about the biggest two reasons, not to homeschool.

Why Homeschooling is a bad idea for some families

When you honestly look at the pros and cons of homeschooling it helps make the best choice for your family.  I had 2 major cons about homeschooling.

1.  My Career

I wanted a career.  I had worked hard to progress in my career and didn’t want to lose what I had worked for!
 
When our youngest was born I felt the call to quit that career and become a full-time Stay at Home Mom. That was a leap of faith that God has blessed beyond measure.  My career was a reason I fought Him over it for so long.  But God clearly showed me that my career would wait while I raised my children.

2. Homeschooling Places Demands on Marriage

I knew the demands involved in homeschooling would put a strain on our marriage. 
My parents are divorced.  I didn’t want that for our family.  Homeschooling was one factor in the bigger picture of that divorce.  Just one factor mind you, there were lots of other factors. 
 
We further justified our choice against homeschooling by saying we wanted a “normal life” for our kiddo’s.
  • I believed the Public school system could educate them well.
  • We assumed we would find time to supplement anything they missed along the way.
That paired with the strain homeschooling put on my parents’ marriage created a fear in me.  
  • I didn’t want to repeat their mistake.  
  • The stress of planning and doing all that is involved in education is real and can really affect families badly if not handled with care.  
To overcome our second objection we would have to both agree and make serious plans to keep our marriage healthy.  
We weren’t ready for that.  

Our Homeschooling Arguments

Why did we ultimately choose to homeschool?

We had been weighing the benefits of homeschooling vs public schooling.  We looked at the financial benefits of homeschooling, the spiritual benefits of homeschooling.  Also, we weighed the cons of socialization, testing, higher level sciences, PE, sports and other things that public school does well. 

However, there are many homeschooling arguments.

As our oldest daughter neared the age of school there was an elementary school shooting.  I panicked.
To complicate things, we began to see special needs in our youngest daughter. It seemed I would be at home for a few more years.
 
 
We talked and talked about all these things and in the end, decided to start homeschooling with the intent to send them to public school when it felt right.

Fear of Homeschooling

I started homeschooling out of fear!  Fear that:
  • Someone might walk into a public place and shoot my little blessings
  • Our special little blessing would not be adequately educated
  • These little blessings would be negatively influenced by a secular culture
  • We would lose influence over them and watch them become statistics

Fear is not a good Why to .

It was however what initially motivated us and within the first year I found the real Why.

4 Powerful Advantages of Homeschooling That Made a Better Why

“Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is ole he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6 NASB)

The initial why of homeschooling may have been fear, but it didn’t take long to see the true advantages of homeschooling!  There are sooooo many more advantages than there are disadvantages.

And knowing the pros and cons of homeschooling first hand we set safeguards in place to be proactive about socialization and group sports.

Deeper Learning is one of many Advantages of Homeschooling

My childhood was immersed in reading and exploring.  As a result, I love to learn.  Now, as I teach my children I love watching that love of learning stir to life in them!
 
Plus, I know what they are learning so we can reinforce those concepts throughout our day.  These children will be deep learners!

Love of Learning is a pro of homeschooling

Honestly, all of my children do not love every subject, but they all love some of what they are learning.  Two of my students love to read and do math.  One of them enjoys history and learning about other cultures.  The last gets excited about anything related to science!
 
With such a low student-teacher ration, I can tailor our curriculum around my child’s learning style. I can make it fun for them – helping my child become a lifetime learning – a lover of learning. 

Time with your children is a huge pro of homeschooling

It takes significantly less time to teach my own children than they would be in public school. We use that time for playing, serving, exploring the world around us, and connecting as a family.
 
This has to be my favorite advantage of homeschooling!  Time with my children to nurture that relationship, answer their questions, play on their level.  Time = relationship.  I want to have a good relationship with my adult children.  Investing time now will help us reach that goal!
 

Intentional Discipleship

It is my responsibility to teach my children about every area of life. I take the call to make disciples of all the nations seriously and that this begins with my children.
 
Homeschool allows me to do this naturally in our daily conversations. I get to plan things and teach the things they are ready for. Most significantly I get to be present when they are thinking aloud about other things.  I get to help them work through things and work out their faith! 
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 NASB)

Knowing The Advantages of Homeschooling Make The Right Choice for Your Family

Knowing my why makes all the difference in our homeschooling adventure.  There are days I have had it up to the top with temper tantrums and noise…  There are days I want to quit.

Homeschooling takes a lot of discipline, consistency, and planning.  Homeschooling is not for the Faint of Heart.  But the return is worth it.
 
I wouldn’t change this path in our family. The advantages of homeschooling far out weight the cons for our family.  It is a part of what God has called me to do. He has re-affirmed this in our time this year as a Priority in my life.
 
Remember you why.  It will help you stay the course when the days are hard, when people question your choice, when you question your sanity!
 
Every year we re-evaluate.  Needs change so we are always open to the best choice for our kids.  At the end of the day, the choice to homeschool is what is right for us right now.
 
I’d love to hear from you.  Do you have questions, comments, feedback?  Drop a comment!
 
 
in HIM,
 
 
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Tiffany Montgomery

Tiffany of Hope Joy in Christ inspires Christian Women to grow in faith, live out Biblical Marriage Principles and raise Godly Children.  Join the Wives Only Facebook Group here or keep up with her through Pinterest.

43 thoughts to “4 Powerful Advantages of Homeschooling Your Children”

    1. That’s Great Kathleen! I know your support of them makes a big difference. There are lots of people who criticize so Support is a game changer.

  1. Thank you for this post. My wife & i are sure that it is God’s will for us to home school, but we are believing God for a bigger home and waiting until we move. Our current place is too small to do homeschooling in a satisfactory way. Our children are 8 & 7 and currently at regular school.

    I want to home school in obedience to God firstly, and secondly school has changed a lot since I was there. I do not approve of the godless liberal agenda that is part of the education system today and do not want my children in school for much longer. We live in the UK, so gun crime in school is a non-issue, but what they are taught is a big issue.

    We are expecting our breakthrough and will then seek God for His timing re: home schooling.

    1. Thanks for the comment Matthew! That is a big step, but I completely understand your Why. I didn’t realize so many of the same things in the US are happening in the UK. I’ll be praying for your family. You may like this Facebook group for Homeschool families. There will be a month of daily posts and lots of advice and encouragement through August! https://www.facebook.com/groups/homeschoolsuccessfully

  2. I honestly think my sister will home-school her daughter. That scares me a little bit however, I have to admit, that her daughter is definitely smarter than the average 2 year old!

    1. LOL Gigi! I get that. There are some homeschool stories that don’t end well. I hope she makes the best choice her her family and that everyone will support her through it. It’s a hard choice to make.

  3. Thanks for sharing wonderful tips! Now I feel that homeschooling my girls is one of the best decision I have ever made. I love the bond our family has. When kids are in public school there is so much distractions and obligations that family time is lost.

    1. That is so true and scary in a time when we seem to be loosing our kids to drugs and violence… Homeschooling should be an option for all of us!

  4. I have been homeschooling since my daughter was 2.5. She is now only 5.5 but working on first and second grade work. I love that homeschooling does not pigeonhole her into a grade by age.

    1. I completely agree Heather! Homeschooling is easy to tailor around the needs of your children so they learn at their level! I love that!

    1. For sure Homeschooling is not a perfect fit for every family. It definitely requires much patience… thought I didn’t think I had it at first – I have been learning.

  5. What a great insight on what homeschooling is like! I admire you for your patience and dedication to your children! 🙂

  6. I have been going back and forth on whether to homeschool my kids or not. I think this is such a great read and I totally admire this post. I admire your honesty and patience and I think this totally might be something I need to look more into for sure. Such a great post.

  7. Homeschooling works even back in the early days, plus you can monitor your kids development and yup – more same. I would rather homeschool my future kid!

  8. Aw, that’s really beautiful! You chose the best route for your family and what you believed would work best for your children, I don’t think they could ask for much more. It must be difficult yet equally rewarding.

  9. Homeschooling is a good way. I am discussing my friends whether we should apply or not and I gave them some reasons you mentioned above. Thanks for your helpful post!

    1. Thanks for passing it along. It’s not for everyone, but it is a good option!

  10. What a great post! I really admire the parents who homeschool their children. Here it’s not so common to be homeschooled and even though I have thought of it, I’m not sure if I were capable of educating my daughter at home. Keep up your good work!

    1. Thanks Ave! We have an amazing Homeschooling Community and lots of support or it would be challenging for sure!

  11. I am divorced, and now a single mom, so homeschooling isn’t an option for me… but I have a lot of friends that homeschool and I admire the amount of work and effort they put into their children’s education. I definitely see and understand the value of home schooling and think it’s amazing for the families who are able to arrange it 🙂

    1. I have crazy respect for you! The single mom Life is no joke. I”ll be prying for you and your mommahood!

  12. I don’t have children, but I can only imagine how difficult it can be to decide whether to homeschool or not. But as I hear more and more of the pros of homeschool, I think its just amazing.

  13. Many parents nowadays prefer homeschooling their children and if I were to be a mom someday I would also prefer this for my kids.

    1. Exactly! Love the hands on time! It is great for building relationships. Hope you get to go on this journey! It is so rewarding.

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