My family just returned from a glorious week skiing in Tremblant, Quebec. I’m currently on my 17th load of laundry and I’m praying that the washing machine gods have my back. Skiing in January has become an annual tradition for my family and extended family – 13 and counting. We all love to ski and now our kids are quickly becoming avid skiers. To those of you who just have little kids at home – hang in there! Before you know it, your kids will be able to join you in all the activities you enjoyed pre-kids. Soon after that they’ll be leaving you in the dust (or snow). It’s beyond delightful watching them grow in skill and independence.
On the way back home, my husband and I expressed our gratitude for the holiday, made possible because we homeschool. Our flexible schedule allows us to go on trips when it suits us (aka weekdays during low season). The huge masses of skiers which arrived as we were leaving on Saturday had us literally running away from the hills.
There are so many benefits to homeschooling, some which we had envisioned, and some which are complete surprises. I don’t want to sugar coat my life choices because I do find homeschooling very challenging (check out my “Ten things I hate about homeschooling” post). However, it’s good and necessary to remind ourselves of why we chose the road less traveled. So here are, in my humble opinion and limited experience, the greatest benefits to homeschooling.
- Academics. This is one of the three original reasons why we decided to homeschool. When we were looking at schools for our firstborn, there wasn’t a single friend of ours who was happy with the academics at their children’s local schools. It all seemed rather mediocre and underwhelming. At the same time, a good friend of ours was homeschooling her kids, and they were thriving. One year she invited us to attend a homeschooling conference. My eyes were opened to the myriad of educational resources available to homeschooling families. I quickly became excited about the possibility of crafting my child’s curriculum based on a solid foundation. Eight years in, so far so good. My kids are keeping up with their grade level and score at the top 90th percentile of the country’s standards. I still am passionate about curriculum, though I admit that my children don’t always share in my excitement (see challenges post). An unexpected benefit to teaching my kids is that I’m relearning much of what I had forgotten or that I never learned (ie. speed vs velocity…my bane!). I’m happy to report that I’m now a proficient grade 6 student!
- Faith. Reason #2. As practicing Catholics, we are concerned about the quality of faith formation at our local Catholic schools. We live in a climate that is not terribly friendly towards our Christian values and morals. Our government, which funds our public and Catholic schools, is often not in sync with our beliefs. I could have chosen to send my kids to school and then become a very involved parent, but my introverted nature steered me toward the home. Passing on the faith to my children is a duty and a privilege. I realize that I am a flawed instrument, but we are learning to love God and His church together. For this I will always be grateful.
- Spanish as a first language. Razón #3. I was born in Peru and came to Canada when I was 11. My parents did an amazing job maintaining our mother tongue at home, and I dreamed of doing the same with my children. In theory, homeschooling allows me to immerse them in Spanish. However, I wouldn’t say that I’m terribly successful in this regard. My kids speak English almost exclusively. This causes me much consternation and feelings of utter failure. But we aren’t giving up. We hope that one day my children will appreciate what an asset it is to know a second language. The struggle continues!
- Flexibility in the schedule. If you ask my husband why we homeschool, he would say “Oh, that’s easy. It’s because mom and the kids would never make it to the school bus on time.” Early risers we are not (although I’m excited about my new morning routine). Homeschooling allows us to work in the academics around our life, and not vice versa. If there is a great opportunity which requires the kids to stay up late on a weeknight, such as going stargazing or watching dad play hockey, then we allow for a late start the next day. We enjoy a skiing program for homeschoolers every Monday in January and March. Field trips are an important part of the educational experience, so I try to not let one go just because we’re behind in math. We always find time to catch up. This flexibility has also come into play when we have expanded our family. During the years when I was pregnant and sick with nausea, or with a newborn and extremely sleep-deprived, we lived on survival mode. While at the time I may have worried about the kids falling behind, in hindsight that never happened. Somehow it all got accomplished. Same goes for sick days. Homeschooling allows us to respect the rhythm of each child and that of our family.
- More time, more freedom. This is somewhat related to the previous point. We love the efficiency of homeschooling. So far we have managed to dedicate up to four hours each day on the academics, leaving the rest of the day for other activities. My kids take advantage of the homeschooling program at the local Y, which allows them to exercise every day and swim on Friday mornings. They play hockey on the weekends, take art classes, piano, gymnastics, robotics, scouts, and they have a paper route. They love to bike, hike and go camping. We didn’t start out wanting to enroll our kids in all kinds of activities. The last thing we want is overcommitted, stressed out kids. But having the afternoons free and no homework in the evenings and weekends leaves a ton of time to explore interests in a way that doesn’t leave them exhausted. Not that I’m not exhausted and stressed out – but that’s for another post. The kids also enjoy plenty of unstructured time, and since we are very miserly with electronics time, my children create all sorts of games and toys together. I’m amazed at their level of creativity and grateful for all the freedom that they are enjoying during their childhood.
- Family and sibling relationships. As much as my kids make me see red sometimes (or many times), I will always be grateful for the time that I get to spend with them. My husband often works from home, so we are able to share one or two meals a day, and this does wonders for our family bonding. Our children are also good friends with each other. Sure, they fight like cats and dogs more often than we’d like. But at the end of the day, they are a tight bunch. They rejoice in each other’s company and they miss each other when they are not together. There are so many adults we know who are estranged from their siblings or parents, and this is is a sad state of affairs. It is our fervent hope that the ties that our children are creating with each other, through all the ups and downs of family life, keep them close throughout their lives. My sisters are my closest friends with whom I share a life history, and I want the same for my kids.
- Acquiring family life skills. I recently invited a wonderful homeschooling mom of 10 over for tea. It was my first time meeting her and I was eager to talk with her and anxious to make a good impression. However, my kids were running around in circles and making it very difficult to have a conversation. Right then I wished they were away in boarding school. I apologized for the chaos, and this wise woman helped me see the beauty of the moment. She said that as chaotic as homeschooling life is, the kids had witnessed all the preparation for my afternoon tea – cleaning the house, baking the cake, putting on a nice outfit. They watched me welcome my guest and now they were watching us (try to) have a civilized conversation. This is just one example of the small but important events that take place in daily life. Because the kids are home, they learn by example and first hand experience. They are actively involved in all the aspects of family life, whether it is taking care of the house, or a younger sibling, or a guest. Being able to intimately experience the ups and downs of the bigger life events, such as caring for a new baby or an aging grandparent, are all wonderful learning experiences and excellent preparation for life.
- Intentional friendships. One of the most popular questions I get asked is how I handle the socialization issue. I don’t dismiss the question because it was one of my biggest concerns before I started homeschooling. I’m happy to report that socialization is definitely not an issue. I am incredibly blessed to live in a time and place when there is a growing number of homeschooling families in our area. Our children get to see many homeschooling kids at the local Y on a daily basis, they play with the neighbourhood kids, and they easily socialize through their extracurricular activities. My husband and I have a wonderful circle of friends, and their children are our children’s closest friends. I’m a firm believer in not having a ton of friends but rather a few good, intentional friendships, and homeschooling makes this possible. They also avoid the dark side of socialization, such as bullying, negative peer pressure, and the unnecessary drama that does happen in a school setting.
- An incredible community of homeschooling families. Thanks to this journey we have been exposed to an unbelievable network of like-minded families, both locally and virtually. Just my local group in my towers boasts more than 100 families in it. We’re no longer fringe and weird! These families are so dedicated to education, families, children and ultimately society that they often start up great missions towards these ends. The virtual community is huge. You don’t have to look too hard to find just the right conference, blog, podcast, video or book created by homeschooling parents with a mission to encourage and help others. It is edifying, enriching and enlightening. I am so very blessed and grateful for the goodness that I see all around me.
- The unorthodox life of possibilities. Last but not least, homeschooling fits our family mission very well. My husband and I have clear, if somewhat unorthodox ideas of how we want our family to be. We are not afraid to go against the current in our quest for the true, the good and beautiful. We believe in possibilities and finding the vocation for each of us. We dislike the government dictating how we should live our lives, especially if their intentions are contrary to our beliefs and values. But rather than becoming activists, our temperaments take us to a quieter stance against the machine. Homeschooling is our revolution. Moreover, the sky is truly the limit on what people can accomplish with their lives. We believe that homeschooling allows our children to think critically and outside the box when it comes to making the right life choices.
As I prepare for the return to homeschool tomorrow, I’m glad that I wrote this post to remind myself of all the blessings that homeschooling has given our family.
A caveat for this post. This is not meant to throw shade at the teachers or schools. I know that many teachers are very dedicated and doing their best with the limited resources that are available to them. I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration towards those who give most of their lives to the care and education of children. Homeschooling is the choice we believe is best for our family, today. It’s not absolute, and it’s not for everyone.
If you are homeschooling, I would love to hear what you love most about it!
