Top 10 Reasons Why We Choose to Homeschool Our Kids

Every family chooses homeschooling for different reasons, so if you are thinking about homeschooling your children, ask around to get perspectives from different people! Homeschooling is unique because it is adaptable. It can be customized to meet the needs of individual children and can developed around the needs of individual families. Here are the top 10 reasons why we choose to homeschool our kids.

Video: Why We Homeschool

#1 Family Relationships

When your kids don’t go to school, (surprise!) you end up spending a LOT of time together! This may be both absolutely wonderful and utterly exhausting depending on the particular moment or circumstances!

As a whole, however, thinking about ALL the extra time we have spent WITH each other…living, being, learning … remembering all the places we have been together, whether literally through field trips or figuratively in books – we have built something deep, something lifelong.

We have built strong relationships. We are making investments in the people we love the most.

#2 Flexibility

A flexible schedule was initially what attracted us to homeschooling when we started. My husband worked swing shifts at the time, so if our kids had gone to traditional schools, there would have been several days a week when they wouldn’t have seen Dad at all.

Flexible scheduling allows us to maximize our family time during the school year. We make our school work fit around our family life. Family first! We can whisk away for a day or overnight trip, take an early weekend, do school at night, or change it up as needed.

Field Trip with our Co-op to Washington D.C.

#3 Time to Pursue Interests

One primary reason I think homeschooling is producing unique, quality individuals is because of how much time they have to pursue their interests. As soon as they finish their “school” work, which by the way takes waaaaay less time than a full school day! (Think about how much time is wasted riding the bus or getting every student on the same page at the same time with all their pencils sharpened or taking 20 first graders to the bathroom or gaining classroom control or . . . ) Our kids are quick to get to the learning that they care about the most, their passions!

Our oldest, Ty, enjoys spending time repairing iphones, going out with friends, reading, and playing soccer. He and Luke, our second son, love basketball, so they often do basketball drills or play each other one-on-one.

Luke plays his guitar or teaches himself new ways to solve the Rubix cube.

Jenna, who loves drawing, will follow drawing lessons via YouTube or look for craft ideas on Pinterest.

Brinley, taking her inspiration from the British Baking Show, searches the cupboards for ingredients to bake something new. Along with her sisters, she initiated a monthly neighborhood bake sale. The girls have made some nice cash doing this!

Our animal lover, Afton, takes off outside to check on our barn animals or halter our calf.

Sometimes any one of them can be caught in a corner curled up with their favorite book. Our youngest are still developing their interests. When kids are not herded from the bus to school to after-school activities, they have more time for free play, more time to develop their skills, and more time for the things they enjoy.

reasons to homeschool — Why We Homeschool 2

#4 Efficiency

Efficiency is another one of the huge benefits of homeschooling. Many things double up in the learning process.

Here’s just one example, but I could list many more. Remember in elementary school learning how to write a friendly letter? There’s the heading, greeting, body, closing, and signature. Remember filling out worksheets on these and writing a sample friendly letter? What about instead just writing real letters?! Often!

Sometimes I hand our girls a copy of our extended family’s calendar of birthdays and assign them to send out birthday cards as part of their school work. Friendly letter practice and birthday cards from our family all in one!

#5 Individualized Learning

We are not a factory here. Why do our kids have to be learning a certain pre-determined material at the same time and at the same level? Why are we putting our kids into a one-size-fits-all mold?! No national curriculum for us. Our kids are highly unique individuals!

What if my son suddenly becomes obsessed with learning to play the guitar and spends every spare moment teaching himself to play from YouTube? That’s exactly what happened with our second son Luke. He is a hands-on learner. As soon as his independent work was done in the morning, he spent all his time learning to play. Now he is able to participate in the worship team at our church along with my husband who also plays guitar.

What if the kids want to spend more time studying a certain topic because it interests them? Isn’t that where real learning happens? When you want to know about something?

As parents and as educators, we do have goals and high expectations for our kids, and we realize that these expectations change, depending on the special needs of the child.

As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say, though, that my expectations and my interest in my children’s success are much higher and more personalized than any school district’s or teacher’s. Why? Because they are mine!

I love that our kids can learn at their own pace according to their different learning styles. What a blessing to be able to choose the homeschool curriculum that fits us best. I want their education to be tailor-made and completely individual.

And I can do that because I know them best.

#6 Sibling friendships

Another favorite reason why we chose homeschooling is because our family values sibling relationships. Our kids have invested in friendships that will outlive their elementary/high school years.

A sibling relationship is a lifelong friendship. Since my kids have grown up together, it would make me so sad to think of our family members all going separate ways and not knowing each other in the way they do now.

Now, don’t lose me here! Our kids have friends outside our home. They have friends in many different circles. At our most recent pediatrician visit, the doctor asked my 15-year-old son if he had friends outside our home. Ugh, really?!! Of course they have friends!!

They have regular friends that they chat and hang out with. They are or have been involved in many different groups and community events from Cub Scouts to intramural sports to homeschool CO-OPS to art classes to camps to music lessons to drama presentations to church activities. They have friends.

BUT when they get up each morning…not rushed, not harried, they eat breakfast together. When they finish their independent work, they spend quality time together. Roots run deep when you spend a lot of time with someone, and a sibling will be a friend for a lifetime.

#7 Safety

As I was writing this article and asking for input, someone mentioned the issue of safety, and in particular, bullying. And to be honest, it never occurred to me. There’s always sibling rivalry and spats, but bullying is never allowed. I am here, hands-on. I am in touch with the needs and emotional state of each of my “students” in a way no one else can be.

Our homeschooled children are also safe from the negative peer pressure so prevalent in traditional school settings. Constant pressure about phones, what name brands to wear, gender ideology…no thank you!

#8 A Home-Centered Life

I love that our home environment is always bustling with life. When I walk through our neighborhood during the day and see empty houses, it makes me sad. What is it out there that is so much more attractive to call us away for so many long hours from the beauty of home? I realize I am being a little idealistic here and many of us have no choice in providing the basic needs of family other than to work away from home. But, if you have the choice, and if you were the child, would you rather live and learn in the beauty of a home or in the confines of a building?

What if the world was your classroom rather than the classroom your world? If COVID-19 had one redeeming quality for me, it has been that I have loved seeing people, (including children!!) out in the middle of the day, working, playing, learning!

#9 Life Skills Learning

As we homeschool our kids, so much of our energy goes into academic instruction. But have you spent some time planning the kind of life skills you want to pass down to your kids to help prepare them for the real world?

Some valuable life skills might be keeping a schedule, doing laundry, cooking meals from scratch, home and car maintenance, communicating well with others, money management, and so much more!

You can find more life skills ideas here. 50 Life Skills That Should Be Taught At Home

Homeschooling is not only about academic learning. We should be preparing our kids for real life! Since each family is different, focus on the practical life skills that are most important to your family!

#10 Faith

The most important reason we homeschool is to share our faith with our kids. As Christian parents who operate from a Biblical worldview, we see homeschooling as a great opportunity to disciple our children. We want something that goes deeper than church on Sunday. Discipleship requires time.

We want to guide them as they find answers to life’s most important questions. Where do I come from? What do I believe about the world around me? What is my purpose? We want them to be exposed to other faiths and thoughts while also instructed in the faith we espouse. Most importantly, we want to read the Bible to them and want them to have time to read the Bible for themselves.

Our desire is for them to love the thing we love the most- a personal relationship with the Creator. We want to share with them the hope of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus that has become the driving purpose of our lives.

Additionally, we want to inspire them with stories of great men and women of faith.

This kind of discipleship takes purpose and time.

Of course, as they grow, they will make their own choices. They will form their own beliefs. As parents, we desire for them to choose Christ as we have, BUT may it be with clear understanding and full freedom! As they study other religions and belief systems and compare them to the gospel message of the Bible, we pray that God’s Word will emerge in their hearts as the true, life-changing, hope of the world!

“And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.” Psalm 12:6

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

What are the reasons that led you to your homeschooling journey? I love hearing from other parents of homeschooled students! Please share what made you decide that this educational option was the right choice for your kids!

You can find more homeschool encouragement here on the blog or follow along with our family on YouTube as we homeschool.