Why Right Now is a Great time to be Homeschooled

Ever since the madness that 2020 brought, the traditional-in-school learning systems are being reevaluated.

There seem to be health concerns, politically charged conversations, and policy changes happening every few weeks- and it can be hard to keep up.

One of the few good things to come out of the pandemic mess is that homeschooling is now more accessible than ever before, with internet access being granted in even the most remote locations. This is great news as the world works to closing the gap on the “digital divide.”

In this ever-changing world, though, there’s no better time than now to always maintain full access to your kids, and to educate them on what they need to know to thrive. From reading, writing, math, science faith and health, your kids can gain the same knowledge at home as they can in a traditional environment.

For any moms who have been curious about making the transition to homeschooled learning, but are afraid of having their kids fall behind, don’t be! Studies show that homeschooled kids typically score 15 – 30 percent higher than their public-school counterparts on standardized academic achievement tests!

Plus, there is also evidence to suggest that homeschooled kids are often testing at a higher grade level than public school students on 5 of 7 test areas in areas like word identification, phonic decoding, science, social science, and the humanities.

Homeschooling itself also offers a lot more flexibility than traditional learning (whose structure can be rigid, demanding, and hasn’t changed much in nearly 100 years, by the way!)

In fact, according to educational researchers, a home schooled, ‘school day’ only needs to be 2–3 hours long!

This “short” amount of time may shock some of you, but the Illinois State Board of Education’s Remote Learning even offers a structure for hours/minutes a day for the recommended length of sustained attention required for your kids:

Although this timeline doesn’t exactly ‘match up’ with the traditional idea of a school day, it can take a lot of pressure off  a kid to ‘get the grade’- and actually allow them to understand what they’re learning.

Not to mention the ease that it gives the work-from-home-parent to manage their own work, too.

This isn’t the only structure out there to choose from, either! As there are a large variety of “homeschooling styles” like:

• Traditional (using desks and tests like “standard” schools)
• Charlotte Mason (emphasizing learning environment and self-discipline)
• Eclectic (any number of “blended” or personally designed approaches).

And while parents often fear that homeschooling can “hold their children back” when it comes to entering higher education like college or university, there are actually a lot of options for college scholarships, exclusively for homeschooled students.

There are also parents who want to homeschool but worry about their kids’ social skills and “fitting in” to society after they’re done with school.

Some famously homeschooled children who did just fine include former U.S. president Teddy Roosevelt, famous author Agatha Christie, former supreme court justice Sandra Day O’Connor, famed Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, and famous inventor Alexander Graham Bell.

One aspect of  the “socialization” question that always comes to mind to be perfectly honest, I don’t want my children “socialized” in an environment where guns, violence, and promiscuity are the norm.

That’s not exactly the type of socialization I’m seeking for my children, especially for children who we’re trying to mold for a “better” future.

So, needless to say, your kids can be homeschooled and do just fine!

If you’re still unsure whether or not to homeschool your kids, remember this: it’s not just about protecting your kids from the horrors of public school, or even totally about the education either.

It’s about helping your child grow into a good person.

Personally, I’ve found that if you homeschool your kids from kinder through to middle school, then transition into public/private school, you end up giving your kids a much better start academically, morally and behaviorally. You have had the opportunity to form their value system to a much higher level than a school can ever provide.

Let’s face it you’re the parent and it’s your responsibility to raise your kids not a school and a five year old hasn’t been “raised” as yet.

Ready to give your kids the best possible start? Click here to learn more.