You know why you want to homeschool. You know the reasons why most people choose to homeschool. But there are many other reasons, too. Recently, www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com posted 20 reasons that most people might not think of, written by Erin Vincent of Nourishing My Scholar. We thought it was a pretty cool list, so we're sharing it with you. 1. Managing nutritional needs: If your child has allergies, or your family doesn't eat sugar or dairy or gluten, etc, trying to manage that while they're away from you is hard. But if their home it's so much easier. And, all three meals become a more intimate family bonding experience. 2. Medical requirements: If your child has a chronic illness, a disability, or a birth defect, giving them the space they need that meets them where they are is so much easier and less stressful for them and for you. 3. Special needs: If your child has a special need, it may not be easily addressed at school. No IEP meetings when you're homeschooling. You pick the therapists, and you're directly involved with their day to day needs. 4. Freedom from the public school schedule: Many public school systems start in mid August, a month before summer is actually over. As a homeschooling family, you can choose to enjoy those precious good weather days. Plus, you can get up when you want, make your own schedule, and do activities during the day that you can't do if the kids are at school. 5. Travel is easier: If a parent is traveling for work, you can travel with them without "missing school." If you want to take a vacation mid-school year, you can. Your school can go with you or you can just take time off. 6. Sick days: If your child is ill, they can still have opportunities for learning because they learn from home. They don't have to miss a whole day. 7. Time: Homeschoolers have the time to enjoy their childhood. They have time to explore, to just be in the moment. They have time to indulge their interests. And parents have time to enjoy this with them. 8. Learning at their own pace: With homeschooling, children can learn at their own pace. There's less pressure to meet grade level benchmarks within a certain period of time. Homeschooling is more fluid. 9. Different learning styles: Every child is unique. While many children can accommodate the "traditional learning style of public education, it may not be their ideal. And many children struggle with it. They have a different learning style. Homeschooling makes room for that. 10. The ability to move & play: Homeschooling gives children the freedom to move about. They're not stuck at a desk all day. They can have more than 20 minutes or recess or gym. Movement and play can be incorporated into the learning experience too, by going to the park or museums. For children who have ADHD or other learning challenges, movement can help them greatly improve their ability to focus on learning material. 11. Individualized learning: Homeschoolers don't have to learn the same things at the same time as their age level peers. They have the freedom to explore what they want to learn. 12. Talents & extracurriculars: On a homeschool schedule, kids have more time to pursue their passions, whether they be sports or arts. And they don't have to have practices only in the evenings. Many programs offer homeschool hours during the day. 13. Families spend more time together: Siblings can learn together, have more quality time together, and kids get more nurturing time with parents. 14. Bullying can be better managed: You can't completely shield your child from bullying with homeschooling unless you choose an antisocial lifestyle. It's out there. It will happen. And dealing with it to some degree is good. It teaches them resilience and how to manage conflict with many different types of people. But as a homeschooling parent, you are there. You can be involved and on top of it in a way that is difficult if your kid goes to public school. 15. No labels: You can if you choose, to completely forego labeling, or manage your use of it to suit your goals. 16. Learning disabilities: If your child has a learning disability, you can address it with one on one time, a focused approach and tailored support. 17. Celebrating differences: While it may not be the culture in public school to praise difference, as a homeschooler, this is often encouraged. Individuality, uniqueness, cultural difference can be celebrated. It's a great learning experience! 18. Sleep: Kids need sleep and the early morning grind can be horrible for the whole family. What's the use of forcing learning on a child that is exhausted? Let them sleep. They have the rest of their lives to be rushing around. 19. Teaching how to learn, and the love of learning: Learning isn't memorizing for a test. It is a lifelong, joyous pursuit. As a homeschooler, children get the precious opportunity to learn to love learning for learning's sake. That's something they will take with them into adulthood. 20. Every day can be field trip day: Learning can happen anywhere and sometimes it happens better out in the world, experiencing things instead of learning from a book or a screen. It's called experiential learning and it can give your lesson plan lots of color!
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