9 Reasons Why I Homeschool

NOTICE! I will no longer be posting on this blog. See here. 

{Written by: Samantha}

What about socialization? Do you have friends? Do you have to take tests? Do you see other homeschoolers? Will you go to college? How do you get a diploma? Will you take the GED? How do you graduate?

I don't mind questions about my education, like "How do you graduate?". What I can't stand; the Socialization question. And, the Socialization question is one of the reasons I homeschool. Although we are a proud Christian family, we do not homeschool for religious purposes, although I know a lot who do.

Why I Homeschool

1. I can personalize the education and curriculum.

Think of it this way: You have a six year old. What would be better: buying clothes of your average six year old, or trying clothes on, and seeing what works best for HER, not your average six year old? The answer, of course, is option 2. The six year old may be size seven, or maybe size five. Every child is unique and different. With homeschooling, you can adjust curriculum and even grades to fit the educational needs of our child. This is why some homeschoolers aren't in a specific "grade". They may be in fifth grade science, sixth grade mathematics, and eighth grade English. 

I can adjust curriculum according to learning styles. I, an analytical visual learner would learn best by watching a video, whereas my young sister, a kinesthetic learner, would get bored with that and would rather be doing something with her hands.

2. It takes less time.
I am a very fast learner, and waiting for an entire class to learn something and me doing nothing (especially when teachers wouldn't let me read in between!) is very irritating for me. On the other hand, if a student struggles in a subject, they may get need more one-on-one time to complete something than another student. In third grade public school, a spelling test with five three or four letter words took about 20 minutes. In homeschooling, I can take a spelling test with 20 words in five minutes with just me and my sister.

3. I learn so much more.
I learned nearly nothing in my four years of public school. Sure, basic stuff, but as I look into what I should have known, I am fairly certain I wouldn't have known most of the things I should have known. The stuff I did know? You can thank my parents and the world around me. I mean, in the beginning of fourth grade, I actually thought Europe and Denmark were in western USA somewhere. Partially because I had never done History or Geography prior to homeschool.
In my four years of public school, I only did Math and Language/Spelling, no science, history, or any of the other main core subjects. I had the same teacher for grades 2-3, and she was AMAZING. During math class, she would let me watch Geometry videos (in third grade) and let me study Latin/Greek prefixes and suffixes instead of the easy spelling words. During reading comprehension, she bumped me up to the highest level, high-school level. Of course, she was the rarity. My lack of education was one of the reasons I wanted to homeschool. Besides, isn't the whole point of school an education?

4. Socialization
You (or your kids) spend 8 hours in a building for 180 days with children the same age and maturity; and you wonder where I get socialization? When you think of teenagers, what comes to mind? Drugs, underage drinking, teenage pregnancy, disrespect. Why would I want to "socialize" with that? How am I to gain maturity if the majority of my time is spent around peers?
Homeschoolers have an advantage; they socialize with the people of the real world and of different maturities. You are only with your peers for so long. When you get our of school, you're in the real world. You will be socializing with adults. And since homeschoolers aren't confined to four walls for eight hours in the day, they get to explore this world! Believe it or not, homeschoolers are actually better socialized than their peers. They socialize with young children, peers, adults, and the elderly.
Besides, you go to school to LEARN, not socialize.

5. My education is unlimited.
In first grade, my young sister, in public school, was not allowed to write her name in cursive "because that's not what first graders do". Since I was in third grade at the time, of course I wanted to teach my little sister cursive writing! Who says a first-grader can't write cursive? Who says a third-grader can't read chapter books? Who says I have to study more about American History than African history?

6. I get more time to read.
I don't think I have ever read a science fiction or romance novel, and I read all the time. The last time I read a piece of contemporary fiction was a mystery book about nine months ago. Before that, I don't remember. My thirteen year-old sister Hannah just finished Les Misérables and Phantom of the Opera, and I am currently trudging through Great Expectations.

7. Delight Directed Learning.
If your son is interested in baseball, you can design an ENTIRE curriculum that is centered on baseball. English? Baseball sentences. History? The history of baseball. Science? Science project on baseball! It is personalized and is something that child would be interested in. This method is called Delight Directed Learning and I believe it works the best because it's about the KIDS, not a standard curriculum. One of my favorite quotes is from this article."Schools are built for the adults that work in them, not the children." 

8. I learn about interesting people in history. 
In public schools, you learn through textbooks. Textbooks lists boring dates and names.  BUT living books, documentaries and movies bring history TO LIFE. My extensive study of WWII in the past two years has taught me my family a LOT - both historical and lifeskills. Who knew Adolf Hitler survived FORTY-TWO assassination attempts?? Or there were nearly 14,000 Gentiles who risked (and sometimes lost) their lives to rescue Jews during the Holocaust? It's not a textbook's fault; it can't include everything. I am interested in the 1940s, but my sister prefers studying the American Civil War. I mean, everyone knows who Harriet Tubman is, but what about Sarah Emma Edmonds - one of the many female cross-dressing soldier heroes during the American Civil War? And you may know what the Vietnam War was about, but what about Dieter Dengler - who escaped from a prison camp in Laos and posthumously survived in the jungle for over three weeks?

9. I enjoy spending time with my family.
I will not write "it is always fun! We get along perfectly!" we fight, we get mad, we yell and scream and tattle. But, ultimately, I am glad to have four great sisters and I love it.


I am not going to sugar-coat it. Homeschooling is not easy, and it is certainly not for everyone. There are some days when I want to throw my Algebra book across the room, or when the toddlers are fighting over a Barbie doll, or when I'd rather be reading or writing then spending hours researching curriculum and searching for the best prices. But, I definitely wouldn't change anything and I am so blessed with the opportunity to homeschool.

These are a few of the many reasons why I homeschool.

Why do you homeschool?