50 Reasons Why Homeschooling Is Better Than School

As a homeschool mom who has also had children spend quite a bit of time in a public school setting, I believe I have a unique view of compulsory education that many homeschool moms do not. As many of you know, I am no fan of our nation’s school system. One thing I’ve noticed with other homeschool moms is that, although there are some exceptions, the vast majority of homeschoolers who back public schools have never actually had their own children attend them. (Watch my related video here.)

This has been weighing on my mind quite a bit recently, so today I decided to throw together a few…ahem…reasons why homeschooling is better than school, coming from the perspective of a mom who has been there and done that.

 

1. You can start at whatever time you want.

No more ungodly early mornings, unless you prefer it that way!

2. You can end whenever you want.

Have something planned for the day? Stop early. Having too much fun? Keep it going. It’s entirely up to you!

3. You can condense your learning into manageable increments.

6 hour days are simply not necessary.

4. You can take breaks whenever you want.

No more notes from the teacher about your wiggle worm. Frequent breaks are welcome at home!

5. Your kids can learn whatever they want.

Children learn so much better when they actually have a say in what they learn about.

6. No standardized test-based education.

Standardized tests have completely removed any effectiveness schools may have still possessed.

7. Your kids are free from negative influences.

I worry more about the socialization of kids in public school than I ever would about a homeschooled child.

8. Your kids are free from questionable curriculum.

Homeschool families have complete control over what their children learn. We recognize that education is about learning, not social engineering.

9. Your kids are free from questionable teaching.

It’s no secret that there are more than a few teachers who would rather spout off their political views to a captive audience, instead of actually teaching.

10. Your kids are safe from school bullies.

With the number of children who are committing suicide because of being bullied, I’m astounded that so many parents still believe that it’s better to let kids face adversity in school as a life lesson, rather than protecting them.

11. Your child is safe from increasing school violence.

From school shootings to drugs to assaults, I’m only too happy that my kids are safe at home.

12. Your family is central.

No more coming in second (or, third, or fourth…).

13. No more homework after already spending 6 hours in school.

Okay, you could argue that all homeschool assignments are homework, but I think you catch my meaning. I mean, really. 6 hours isn’t enough time for them to do everything?! Ridiculous.

14. No more assembly line learning.

Your kids are no longer just parts on a factory line.

15. You can embrace your child’s individuality.

Face it. Not all kids want to learn the same thing, and not all kids learn the same way. Homeschooling easily solves that problem.

16. Your child can learn at their own pace.

Schools have to keep things moving at a steady pace because they have so many students. Unfortunately, too many kids are held back, while others are left behind.

17. Your kids can use the bathroom whenever they need to.

My son used to come home from school everyday and race to the bathroom. Apparently, they liked to keep the bathrooms locked to prevent kids from using them too much. Believe me, if he would’ve gotten a UTI, I would’ve sent the bill to the principal.

18. Your kids can eat whenever they want and take however long they need.

Some of my kids used to have lunch as early as 10:30 am. They were never hungry at that time, so they wouldn’t eat. By 3:15, they’d be famished. On top of that, students were lucky if they had five minutes to finish their meals.

19. There’s no mad morning rush.

No need to frantically locate shoes, homework, toothbrushes, and coats that were honestly laid out the night before.

20. There’s no after-school frenzy.

No more being bombarded by papers for after-school programs, questions about homework, and siblings squabbling to make up for lost time.

21. You won’t be guilted into signing up your child for every single after-school enrichment program known to man.

“But, Mom! My teacher said if we don’t take this class we won’t get a “proficient” on our PSSAs!”

22. No more fundraisers.

Enough said.

23. No more expensive school pictures.

I don’t know how our school district does it now, but they used to actually line the kids up on picture day by how expensive of a package the kids were getting. Kids getting the most expensive package went first, while those getting the cheapest (or none at all) were sent to the back of the line. Way to go.

24. No more stacks of papers to be signed.

If you have one or two kids in school, okay. Not too bad. Any more than that, and these papers are just a nuisance.

25. There’s no such thing as an unexcused absence.

I used to hate having to answer to the school office for my own children. It just infuriated me.

26. There’s no such thing as absences at all.

Unlike, educational bureaucrats, homeschoolers recognize that if your kids are awake, they’re learning, no matter where they are.

27. There are no insane rules based on political correctness.

Right now, there’s a lawsuit against a district not far from me. Apparently, they told a boy who was uncomfortable changing in the locker room in front of a girl that he should either change in a shower stall or in the nurse’s office, while the girl changes in the boy’s locker room. Huh?

28. Your children won’t be categorized.

They’re not cattle.

29. You’re free to choose your own resources.

Judging from the resources that are used by some schools, that’s a huge relief.

30. You can sleep late if you want to.

I love homeschooling.

31. You have the freedom to stay up late whenever you want to or need to.

After all, you can always sleep in. 🙂

32. No more walking to school in the rain or snow.

My kids and I love to sit and drink hot cocoa at the time they’d normally be walking to school.

33. You don’t have to ask permission to take your kids on vacation.

It boggles my mind that parents have to answer to principals over whether or not their kids are “allowed” to go on vacation.

34. You don’t feel like a secondary authority figure.

See #33.

35. You can start your school year whenever you’d like.

No more being a slave to the school calendar.

36. You can end your year whenever you’d like.

See #35.

37. You get playgrounds and museums all to yourself.

As a mom of many, it is such a relief to not have to try to keep an eye on my kids in the midst of a slew of other kids.

38. It’s so much easier to avoid school traffic.

School traffic is the bane of my existence.

39. Your kids will have the benefit of one-on-one learning.

Schools simply can’t offer that.

40. Your children will get a superior education.

Children who are interested and engaged will invariably learn so much better than children who are simply talked to at all day and assigned textbook pages to complete.

41. No more interruptions by those blasted school bells.

How can a child possibly get immersed in something at school when they know that all too soon they’ll have to drop everything and move on when that buzzer goes off?

42. Less exposure to lice outbreaks.

Don’t even get me started on this one. Just don’t.

43. Less exposure to illnesses.

I used to find it funny when the school secretary would make some sort of comment about my kids being absent, when the reason they were absent was because they got sick from someone at school.

44. You can use any resources you choose.

Homeschooling isn’t confined to textbook learning. There are so many options available that, honestly, textbooks are the last thing I think about. (Watch my video series for ideas!)

45. Your kids have more exposure to the real world.

Contrary to what people usually believe, homeschooled kids have greater access to the world at large than kids confined to a building all day. (Click here to see more of my thoughts on this.)

46. Life learning is more readily available.

It’s so much easier for children to learn about how life works when they’re actually a witness to, and participant in, it everyday.

47. Sibling relationships are so much better.

Don’t get me wrong. Homeschooled siblings fight, too, but usually at a much lesser level. Kids who are used to being together learn much better how to get along than those who are separated for hours and hours a day, five days a week.

48. You won’t encounter after-school zombies.

Kids who are in school all day often come home not wanting to talk, and wanting to do nothing more than vegging out after a long day of boredom. Can you blame them?

49. Your kids will have more free time.

More free time means more time to discover things about themselves and what they like to do. Can’t beat that.

50. Your kids will have more time to be kids.

When your children don’t have others telling them how to dress, how to act, and who to like, they can grow up free to develop at their own pace and just enjoy being kids.

I have honestly had so much fun with this that I’m going to continue this list next week. There’s just no way I can only stop at 50!

Want more?

Tune in next week!