The benefits of homeschooling have become outstanding by most parents.

By now it’s no secret that all the research shows homeschooled children outperform both their public- and private-school peers in every academic area.

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The following however are few silent benefits to consider:

1. Better results on tests. A study conducted for homeschooled children revealed that they definitely scored better at tests. This was particularly evident in those children who had been homeschooled right through to high school level. In another study, the homeschoolers in the SAT test were scoring around 67 points more than the national average.

2. More emotional freedom. Being educated at home removes a lot of the stress of the normal classroom. There is no need to try to ‘fit in’ and give into peer pressure. There are no cases of bullying, drugs, being ostracised and all the other social pressures.

3. There is no homework. Because the children are more directly involved in the learning process, there is little or no homework to be done. Parents never have to struggle to help with impossible and lengthy homework.

4. Not socially isolated. There has been much criticism of the fact that the homeschoolers do not get to learn social skills. This is only partly true because there will be lots of opportunities for them to do extra activities with other kids. They will more than likely have plenty of friends when they do their swimming, gymnastics and piano lessons. It is up to the parents not to isolate their children.

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5. No commitments. No rushing out of the house in the morning and having to meet all sorts of schedules, not to mention meetings and other commitments. The parent can decide the length of lessons and also decide when to take holidays. Many homeschooled children can enjoy educational breaks with their parents at off seasons during the year. There are loads of opportunities for field trips, museum visits and parks. This can tie in perfectly with what they are learning at home at the time.

6. Special needs are met. If a child has special needs, they may be labelled and treated inadequately in the school system. This could well be a hindrance and is often a social stigma. ADHD children have to suffer all sorts of prejudice and obstacles. If the child is homeschooled sensitively, his special needs are never forgotten and s/he is always the number one priority.

7. Time for premium parenting. Most people refer to homeschooling as “premium” parenting because the parent is intimately involved in the learning process. This rarely happens with public school kids. At most, they get grudging help from parents with homework, but it will never be the same quality the homeschooler gets. The parent as the teacher knows the subject well and can share fully in the joy and excitement of learning.

8. Happier and more productive adults. Research into how homeschoolers turn out as adults has found that 5,000 out of a group of 7,300 adults had been homeschooled for more than 7 years. They were much more active in community and social life than their public school counterparts. A much higher number also went on to higher education and they also scored higher on the happiness scale. In 1999, Stanford University accepted twice as many homeschoolers compared to publicly and privately educated students.

9. More independent. When the homeschoolers were questioned at college, they reported that they were much more independent in their approach to life and learning. They had never felt the need to follow the crowd, and this served them well. In regard to having to solve learning problems, they were much more independent in seeking out the answers themselves.

Read Also: Why Most Parents Are Opting For Homeschooling

10. Learn at their own pace. In a traditional school setting, all children in a class go through each unit of study at the same rate of speed. Students who are struggling, or bored because they need more challenging material, are at a disadvantage if the teacher doesn’t have the time to give them the guidance they need. A homeschooling parent has the advantage of being able to give that one-on-one time. If their child needs more intensive practice with the times tables, they can spend an extra week or two without having to worry about rushing to start on division problems.

11. Freedom to learn outside the classroom. A public school child might go on three or four field trips a year, if they’re lucky. A homeschooling family can go to museums, zoos, and historical sites as often as they choose. A mom who teaches her children can offer math and science lessons through cooking, or have them create their own comic book to practice writing characters and plots.

12. More quality time with their children. Perhaps the biggest benefit to homeschooling is the opportunity it affords the at-home parent to be a parent. The six-plus hours a child spends at school is six fewer hours they might be growing closer to their family; that time gap grows wider if one or more parents work outside the home. Having a child learn at home during those important school years means more time to talk, share ideas, and make memories together. Any parent who’s watched their child go from a kindergartner to a high school graduate in an eyeblink will tell you that’s a pretty big deal.

13. Involved in the child’s education. Most parents have only a general idea of what goes on in their child’s classroom — and no clue of what their child really means when they say “nothing happened at school today.” Homeschooling parents have no such issues. Nor do they have to contend with parent-teacher conferences, or PTA fundraising responsibilities. They know exactly what their children are learning and how well they know it, without the struggle of keeping up with the other aspects of school life.

14. Preferred curriculum. Depending on where they live, homeschooling parents may be required to teach certain subjects, formally assess their children’s progress, and to meet attendance requirements, according to Education Week. But one advantage that appeals to many parents is the freedom to use the curriculum that they feel best meets their family’s and child’s needs.

Read Also: How To Get A Good Private Tutor For Homeschooling

15. No hassle of commuting. No traffic jams, waiting for the school bus, or sitting in line at the school drop-off point for homeschooling moms — and no getting up at the crack of dawn for their kids, either (unless an early day works for your family). The classroom is just a few steps away and ready to go at a moment’s notice. Of course, the flip side is that there are no snow days, either… unless Mom decides to postpone the lessons until her students have done a few sledding runs first.

16. Flexible schedules. Homeschooling laws vary widely from state to state. Most states have no minimum requirement of the number of days or hours a homeschooling parent must teach per year, and even those that do have looser rules in general than the ones for public schools. Homeschooling families aren’t required to keep the same calendar days as public schools, leaving them free to plan vacations during times when most kids are in class.

17. Less social tragedy. Unlike kids who learn outside the home alongside other children, homeschooled students have the peace of mind that comes with avoiding gossips, mean girls, bullies, and peer pressure during the school day. But that doesn’t mean these kids never socialize either. Some parents in a community may opt to join other local homeschooling families and conduct some lessons together. And spending less time in a classroom opens frees up a child’s time to join more clubs and sports teams — which may make it easier for the kids to find friends who share their interests.

18. Saving money. Some aspects of homeschooling can be less expensive than school: no expensive school clothes, off-season vacation and travel rates, no public school fees or private school tuition. Some parents spend a lot of money on homeschooling but many more homeschool on a budget.

19. Personal growth. Because it’s an immersive experience with your children and it’s taking total responsibility for their education, homeschooling can change you. Parents can grow in philosophical, spiritual, or social-emotional ways. Some people find homeschooling can be a source of personal empowerment, a shared journey where you and others recognize the value, labor, and challenge of nurturing children and helping them learn.

20. Continuing education. You can continue learning alongside your child. Learn a foreign language, brush up on algebra, rediscover maps of the world, learn to code, visit museums, and enjoy field trips.

21. No changing of schools. In the military, instead of changing schools frequently due to relocations, you can keep homeschooling no matter how many times you move.

22. Can be done anywhere at any time. Experiencing illness of parent, sibling, or grandparent. Sometimes it’s more important to emphasize spending time together than doing lessons. Sometimes families work better when school and medical schedules don’t conflict. Sometimes homeschooling needs to happen in Mom or Dad’s bed.

Read Also: What is Homeschooling?

23. Allowing grief to progress naturally. When the most painful circumstances arise, homeschooling can allow a family the time and space to grieve and heal together, in their own unique way.

24. Sharing your hobbies and interests. You can share your own passions with your kids more than if they were attending school full-time. Hike the Appalachian Trail, study the constellations, share your knowledge of home construction or investing, play music together, work together on political or social causes.

25. Living a unique lifestyle. Some people are roadschooling or boatschooling with the kids; some families have one parent living away or traveling, and kids can join them sometimes. Some parents work shifts or attend college or grad school and are able to spend more time with their children by homeschooling on a schedule that works for them.

Conclusion

Certainly, despite all the benefits of homeschooling, there is no guarantee.

Kids are kids, and some kids who go to school have challenges, just as some kids who homeschool have challenges.

There are thousands upon thousands of homeschoolers around the world, and their homeschooling experiences and outcomes vary, just as happens with children who are enrolled in schools.

It’s also possible to homeschool poorly, though perceptions of what good homeschooling looks like may be uninformed or inaccurate.

One of the advantages of homeschooling that people forget about is that you can quit homeschooling if it doesn’t work for your family.

While homeschooling is not for every family, people from all walks of life in many different circumstances have found ways to incorporate the benefits of homeschooling into their lives.

Were you homeschooled and what were the advantages? Let us know in the comments below.

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