50 Reasons Homeschooling Is Less Stressful Than School

One of the most common things I hear from strangers upon them hearing the revelation that I homeschool is how I must be crazy because sending my kids to school would be so much easier. 

Here are 50 reasons why I disagree:

#1- My kids get sick less often. This is crucial in a family our size.

#2- Lice outbreaks. Need I say more? 

#3- Being inside a nice warm house on cold winter mornings while school students are freezing at bus stops or on their way to school. Confession time- we actually like to drink hot chocolate and look out the window on those cold mornings, feeling sorry for the kids walking to school but quite blessed ourselves.

#4- Slow mornings. No mad rush searching the house for missing homework, shoes, and toothbrushes for us.

#5- No need to answer to anyone. I’m in charge of my kids- not school administrators.

#6- No need to ask permission to take our own children away on vacation. That was one thing that really bugged me when my kids were in school.

#7- No need to worry about bullying. Again, need I say more?

#8- No mounds of useless paperwork needing to be signed, dated, and sent back to the school. Aah, freedom.

#9- No PTA meetings. Don’t scoff. I’ve been to some pretty brutal PTA meetings.

#10- No school traffic. We can plan our errands and the routes we take around this major nuisance.

#11- No bomb threats. Unfortunately, our school district gets them quite often, and the administrators get quite angry if you try to pick your kids up early because of them. Seriously.

#12- No need to deal with violent outbursts by unruly students. Teachers today have been stripped of their authority to deal with these kids, and so the problem just escalates.

#13- No apathetic, overworked teachers. This is partially a problem because of Problem #12, Common Core, and standardized testing.

#14- I actually know my kids. When my kids were still in school, they were always either too tired or had too much homework, which prevented us from connecting in any meaningful way.

#15- My kids actually like being around each other. Most of the time. 🙂

#16- Street slang has been severely limited in invading our house. Thank God.

#17- My kids can be themselves. No peer pressure to worry about here!

#18- We can wear pj’s all day if we want. Laugh if you must, but this is important.

#19- No secular humanism being shoved down my kids’ throats. Don’t let the government fool you- this is the religion of the schools.

#20- No parent/teacher conferences. Unless I just talk to myself. 🙂

#21- No after-school programs. As useful as these seem, the biggest effect they ever had on my kids was keeping them away from their family longer.

#22- No homework. I never could understand why 6-7 hours of school a day isn’t enough for educational bureaucrats. Why the need to creep into family time, too?

#23- No labeling. I get it. Some kids need special attention. Unfortunately, schools have gone overboard with this for the sake of getting extra money from the government.

#24- No ungodly early morning hours. We can start whenever we want- even at 9pm if we choose!

#25- No 6 hour marathons of drilling. We can end whenever we want, too- even if it’s 1 hour after we start!

#26- We can take breaks whenever we want. We’re not bound to anyone else’s schedule.

#27- We can learn however we want. God didn’t create children exactly the same, so why do schools expect them to learn that way?

#28- No rushing around to get my huge crew of kids to and from school on time. Boy, I love homeschooling.

#29-My kids stay kids longer. I love not having to argue with them over things like short skirts, crop tops, and false eyelashes.

#30- We can eat whenever and whatever we want. Sorry, Mrs. Obama.

#31- Individuality is embraced, not filtered out. Assembly lines are for cars, not kids.

#32- We can encourage entrepreneurship instead of just teaching our kids to be good employees. Check into it. That’s why schools were created in the first place- to train obedient workers.

#33- My kids actually have a say in what they learn about. People learn best when following their interests, so we take advantage of that for an all-around better education.

#34- My kids actually have life skills. My children are very self-sufficient. Even my 5- and 6-year olds know how to use the microwave and operate the dryer. These are the skills that are the most necessary for everyday life, yet overlooked in a school setting.

#35- No test prep here. My children are too busy learning useful things.

#36- We can emphasize our Christian values. The moral relativism taught in schools can stay far away from our children.

#37- Our family is central, rather than school, friends, and extracurricular activities. It’s hard to have a close-knit family when it has to take a backseat to everything else.

#38- We can have the playground to ourselves. With a family our size, this is a must.

#39- We can say “forbidden” words and phrases like Merry Christmas, Easter, and Jesus. My kids’ former school was even leery about the word God. So sad.

#40- My kids aren’t stuck inside a building on beautiful days. We can choose to do school outside or not at all. 🙂

#41- My kids learn about the world by actually being in it. Why do people think a simulation of real life (aka- school) is better than the real thing?

#42- Our lives don’t revolve around the school district’s schedule. What a freeing feeling. Sigh.

#43- “Recess” is as long as we want it to be. Sometimes that may mean all day. 😉

#44- We can “do school” wherever we want. Whether it’s at home, the yard, the library, or even the store, one place it’s not is in a sterile classroom.

#45- Reading together. Yes, you can do this when your kids are in school, but we can do it more, and my kids aren’t too exhausted to pay attention.

#46- No pressure to learn something they’re not ready to. Nothing can take the fun out of reading like forcing a child who isn’t developmentally ready.

#47- No Common Core. So far, we’re free of that utter nonsense.

#48- My teenagers can get better work hours. There are many more job opportunities for those who don’t have to work around a school schedule. In fact, my daughter is only too glad to work with adults rather than kids her own age. She gets pretty irritated with them.

#49- We can chew gum in class. My daughter added that one. 🙂

#50- Our kids are safe. In this day and age, I honestly don’t know how people can send their kids to school and not even think twice about it. I don’t have to worry about that.

 

Phew! Glad that’s over with. Now it’s time for me to print out about fifty copies of this to keep with me in case I run into someone who thinks school would be easier for me. Think this will keep them quiet?

How do you answer when people say that to you? I’d love to hear your replies!