All the reasons why homeschool is better – there are truly too many to count! The following is Reason #5 in my Why Homeschool? series. The reason is: Natural Learning Opportunities. I’ll explain further.
Reasons Why Homeschool is Better: Natural Learning Opportunities
One of the biggest reasons why homeschooling is better is that we don’t feel the pressure to perform to standards and can learn naturally. There are so many more things my children can learn through homeschooling than they can in the typical classroom simply because we don’t have to worry about standardized testing.
Why Homeschooling is Better: No Testing Pressure
For example, we don’t have the pressure of standardized testing. Or, more importantly, my standing as a teacher and my rate of pay doesn’t depend on standardized testing. It’s as simple as that. Yes, we have to take standardized tests in my state, but I don’t stress about the scores so long as I see that my kids are growing and improving every year. Checking the percentile standings in relation to their age peers is cool, but that’s it. My job as their teacher doesn’t depend on their scores being at or above standard. It’s simply a reporting tool, and a record-keeping tool. My kids don’t even see their scores, nor do they need to. They enjoy learning and aren’t defined by their scores on a test. It’s pretty awesome really.
So, we aren’t so worried about squeezing stuff in just to be prepared for the yearly standardized tests. We know we’ll get it all in, because we don’t have 20-30 other children to worry about “getting it” before we can move on. Once my children have grasped a concept, we move on, and often ahead of the game anyway. So, the stress of “teaching to the test” just doesn’t exist.
Flexibility is Why Homeschooling is Better
Of course, I like to make sure my child knows [affiliate link, please see disclosure] “What Your Child Needs to Know in Grade [X]…” But we don’t always cover just the main subject areas. We can also explore numerous other topics that she shows a particular interest in. As one homeschooling friend said, “We once spent an entire week studying birds of prey when we found a wounded hawk in our yard after a severe wind storm.”
If my child has a love for animals, we may make some extra trips to the zoo, to learn specifically about the animals she’s interested in. We’ll take pictures of them together (and learn a little bit about photography as well as the science of animal study) and then we may use them to make a graph about what we’ve learned about them (in Math). We’ll report our findings to Dad or Grandparents, or friends (learning public speaking and confidence). And we may find out ways we can personally be involved in protecting endangered animals. Who knows what adventures we’ll have simply from following one interest?
Why Homeschooling is Better: Extra-Curricular Activities and FUN
Integrating subjects is another reason why homeschooling is better. We can decide to focus on extra-curricular activities my children take an interest in: for example, art, music, dance, or sports. The fun of homeschooling is being able to learn many different subjects centered around one interest.
The ideas for integrating Reading, Math, Science, and Social Studies in just about anything are constantly flowing through my head. My child has learned everything from Physics to Anatomy, and even Music Appreciation and Composition, just from watching Youtube videos centered around her interest in ballet. My preschooler already understands addition by me playing in the floor with him with his Legos. We can’t even go to the grocery store without having a first grade Math lesson about money, and a middle school skills lesson about economics or business. My children have so much fun and often don’t even realize they’re learning! The possibilities are endless!
This is just reason #5 in my list of reasons why homeschool is better. My Why Homeschool? series has been a great hit. Hope you enjoy reading all the reasons why I personally have chosen to homeschool my family!
