10 Unexpected Benefits to Homeschooling

The benefits to home education are numerous. Narrowing it down to just 10 was a challenge.

Here is my list of 10 Unexpected Benefits of Homeschooling :

 

 

1. Educating myself right along with my children– all of those things I was either not taught or not taught in a way I remember- from my own school experience.

2. Reading books I did not read in school. In our studies, I have read some incredible books right along with my children. Having a teacher’s guide to help me see the deeper message behind the written word has brought those books alive to me.

3. Patience– no homeschool Mamas don’t have the corner on the patience market, but simply being with our children 24/7 requires a level of patience that many of us did not possess before beginning this path. There are no days where you send your children off to school. They are already “at” school. Learning how to work together in spite of difficulties is a key component to becoming a well-rounded person. I think that modeling the patience we learn to our children helps them grow in this area as well.

4. Children are teachers. Yes, there are things that my children know FAR more about than I do. Learning from them is an incredible thing

5. Connections with others. Let’s face it, homeschooling is swimming upstream. We are all rebels to a certain degree, by taking this step in parenting our children. You really need those connections with others in the same upstream boat to learn, encourage, and draw from.

6. Blogging and meeting other bloggers. Yes, blogging is a definite perk to my homeschooling. What started as an online journal just to keep in touch with far away friends and family has blossomed (and continues to blossom) into so much more.

7. Time. We have time for each other, for outside interests, for being together, for being alone, for field trips, for Co-Op, for dance classes, etc. I hear about the public school schedules and homework load. I’m sorry, I don’t see how a public school family has time for any of the activities we seemingly take for granted. (I don’t know personally as we’ve never done the public school thing). But, as referenced above in #5, we’re rebels who dislike someone else dictating our schedule. 🙂

8. Opportunities. God sends us some neat opportunities. Some that would simply not exist without our following His lead in choosing to homeschool.

9. Teaching others. Yes, we teach others even without formally “teaching” them. We are the face of homeschooling when we are out and about. We’ve always reminded our children before leaving home to remember who they are. This means we want them to remember first and foremost that they represent Christ, then our family, themselves, and homeschoolers. They way we behave and act in public does reflect upon all of those groups.

10. Learning more about myself. This is learning the good stuff (like my love of writing) and the bad (like my dislike of being told what to do).

What about you? What are some things you’ve learned about yourself through homeschooling?