What is Home Schooling?

Homeschooling is an educational option that allows parents to teach their children at home instead of sending them to school. Parents take charge of organizing subjects, teaching lessons or arranging for tutors, evaluating progress, and supervising social contacts. Homeschool parents believe that one-on-one attention and individualized study produce the best education possible. Parents are also able to adapt their lessons to their child’s learning methods, speed and interests and encourage a love of learning in the children that is so often ignored in schools.Today one can find a wealth of resources and opportunities available to homeschooling families. Some families choose a ready-made curriculum to follow to the dot, others may choose an online curriculum and others may choose to build their own curriculum themselves.

Why do families choose to Homeschool?

Parents choose homeschooling for a wide variety of reasons. Some parents have concerns about the social environment or academic quality of local public schools. Some want to ensure that their children are educated in accordance with their religious beliefs. Some believe their children will learn better through child-directed learning outside of a classroom setting. Some have children who were bullied in school or have health problems or demanding practice schedules. A growing number of families enjoy the flexibility homeschooling offers, and many children may find that homeschooling is a good fit for their natural learning styles or personalities.Research has shown that children who are homeschooled can succeed academically, especially when given support and resources from their parents. Many homeschool parents are driven and motivated, and are extremely involved in their children’s education. They educate themselves as they go along and seek out resources, tutors, or classes for those subjects they may not be able to teach themselves. In many ways these parents are more facilitators or coordinators than teachers.

What about Socialization?

Families who choose to Homeschool will have to prepare themselves to hear this question possibly daily!! It is annoying I know from experiance but I have learnt to ignore it, while I am firm in our family’s decision, some people understand but others are not worth the fight! Here are a few reason why your children won’t grow up to be weirdos. Homeschooled children are typically involved in an array of social activities, including homeschool cooperatives, dance and music lessons, church and Sunday school, field trip groups, and other classes, clubs, and groups outside of the home. They also have a greater connection with nature and with the community. “Socialization is actually meant to prepare children for the real world, which means learning to interact and deal with people of all ages, races, and backgrounds,” says Diane Flynn Keith. “In this case, homeschooling actually does a better job of this because homeschoolers spend more actual time out in society.” Research supports this.  According to Home Schooling and the Question of Socialization by Richard G. Medlin, “Home-schooled children are taking part in the daily routines of their communities. They are certainly not isolated; in fact, they associate with–and feel close to–all sorts of people.”