Why Homeschooling Is Good For Kids
Unsure about whether homeschooling is right for you and your family or why homeschooling is good for kids? In this EZ-Teach blog, we are going to review 7 benefits of homeschooling.
In the following sections, we will compare and contrast homeschooling vs public/private schooling and consider why homeschooling is good for kids. If you want to skip to a specific section, click on one of the links below or just keep reading.
1. Homeschoolers often perform better on standardized tests
4. It is more flexible and allows for more family fun
5. It allows more opportunities for self-learning
6. It creates a stronger bond with parents
7. Kids can progress at their own speed and are not slowed down by the system
Why homeschool? We will give you 7 reasons why homeschooling is good for kids.
Image Source: TréVoy Kelly
Why Homeschooling is Good: 7 Reasons to Homeschool
1. Homeschoolers often perform better on standardized tests
Based on a study by Sandra Martin-Chang from Concordia University comparing 37 homeschoolers with 37 students in the public system, there is evidence to suggest that homeschool students actually have an advantage when it comes to scoring well on standardized tests:
“Children who received structured home-schooling, under the direction of their parents, scored significantly higher on standardized tests in seven different subjects.”
There are numerous reasons why homeschooling may actually help students to retain information, communicate it effectively, or perform confidently. Here are some suggestions as to why:
They’ve had plenty of 1:1 on time with an adult who can act as a resource in their search for knowledge
They have been able to experience testing in a safe and calm environment
They have developed self-confidence and are motivated by parents who know and love them
They feel comfortable with independent and self-directed learning
They experience less peer-pressure in their formative years and therefore have a better chance of developing a greater sense of self-worth
Parents quickly accommodate children with special needs or disabilities
When it comes to academic achievement, homeschool students have an advantage over students attending state schools.
Whether your son or daughter is naturally gifted intellectually or not, your children will benefit from learning in a loving, safe and encouraging environment such as a home. They will also benefit by spending time with their homeschooling parents who can model the following:
Curiosity
Love of Learning & Reading
Time Management
Study Techniques
Emotional Regulation
Effective Communication
Self-Control
Independence
We know that standardized tests can be misleading when assessing someone’s academic progress. The important thing is that children grow in confidence as they spend time with loving and caring parents.
2. It makes them more mature faster
Homeschoolers are generally above average when it comes to their social, emotional, and psychological development. (Source: National Home Education Research Institute).
Image Source: Mojca-Peter
Imagine an only child. Now, think about their vocabulary and their communication skills. Chances are, you may have found that that only child had an impressive vocabulary. And it makes sense. Children who spend more time with adults tend to pick up adult speech and behaviours, which are more advanced regardless of the parent’s education.
So when children get more 1:1 time with adults, they tend to mature faster. Now, it depends on what one means by maturity, as there are natural markers that have only to do with puberty, but a study by the National Home Education Research Institute showed that “87% of peer-reviewed studies on social, emotional, and psychological development show homeschool students perform statistically significantly better than those in conventional schools (Ray, 2017).”
As stated earlier, spending time with adults also helps children in their psychological development. In the public system, there is a greater chance that your child will be exposed to teasing, bullying, and other toxic patterns developed by their peers. Unfortunately, without adult intervention, children may not even realize that they are picking up harmful behaviours that are damaging to their sense of self-worth and in their relationships with others. That being said, we don’t want to imply that students can’t receive intervention from concerned teachers within the public and private schools; it is just that teachers who are responsible for a class of children have less time and attention to give to individual students.
Overall, when children have more positive interactions with adults who can teach them necessary life skills, model effective social skills, and help them develop helpful communication skills, they will mature faster in these areas.
3. There is less homework
Your children will likely progress through work more quickly than they would at school, so less homework!
Image Source: Swastik Arora
As a homeschooling parent, you are not bound by the time constrictions set by your administrators. If you need to spend more time with your children in one subject area and less in another, you can give yourself permission to do so! For this reason, children often finish their work faster which means less homework - or even no homework for that matter! Constant 1:1 attention also provides the parents with an opportunity to review the material that needs to be reviewed before tests and projects.
All that being said, you might even find that students will want to do extra work after hours, just because they have found a certain subject to be especially intriguing. And, if you have modelled and valued reading in your home, you may discover your child reading well beyond daytime class hours.
If you are wondering how much time to spend on homeschooling per day, check out this article, Homeschool Hours Per Day: Should I Homeschool for Only 2 Hours a Day? by Rebecca Devitt. She found that the average time spent by homeschoolers on studying is 2-3 hours per day. Younger children do less while older children do more. We’ve included her accompanying chart and video below so you can learn more.
Source: Homeschool Hours Per Day: Should I Homeschool for Only 2 Hours a Day? by Rebecca Devitt.
If you want to get a sense of what Rebecca Devitt suggests about homeschooling hours, check out the video above which can be found in her blog article, Homeschool Hours Per Day: Should I Homeschool for Only 2 Hours a Day?
4. It is more flexible and allows for more family fun
That’s right, you heard it - more time for fun! As both teacher and parent, you are in charge of your family schedule. You know what needs to be prioritized each week or month so that you can balance each day accordingly. If you want to take a trip, all you need to do is plan ahead.
You make the schedule as a homeschooling parent, so don’t forget to make time for family fun!
Image Source: Rudy Anderson
You can take work with you, too, if you know what work your child still needs more time to finish. You are not tied down to working in a classroom; you have the flexibility to work at the kitchen table, by the beach, at a campground, or at the local museum.
5. It makes them better at self-learning
When children are taught at home and see firsthand how schedules are created and how goals are achieved, they learn how to take responsibility for their time and their choices. Homeschoolers are often more willing to take good risks because they are learning in the safe environment of home and, as a result, may develop a greater sense of independence.
Children are often more motivated as well since they can have more control over their progress and achievements and are not forced to wait on their classmates to progress before progressing personally and reap the rewards of their progress quicker.
6. It creates a stronger bond with parents
Homeschooling gives you and your child more time to understand each other and to create strong bonds.
Image Source: Artur Pawlak
As a teaching parent, you get to spend more time in a week with your kids. You get to be there to celebrate their highs and comfort them during their lows. In fact, they get to do the same for you. And this bond actually helps your child develop their own independence.
Here’s what an article from the Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents has to say about it:
As family members —parents, children, siblings— spend time together, sharing their lives, learning and playing and working together, they develop close ties with each other and a secure emotional base from which children can venture out into the world as they grow older and more independent.
A secure attachment between parents and children is what sets your children up for success later in life as strong, confident, emotionally healthy adults. Remember, you don’t have to be perfect to provide a secure relationship for your children. You just need to be open to understanding their needs and willing to restore relationships with your children when you make mistakes. Homeschooling will have its ups and downs, but you can both grow together. Plus, your children will find courage in watching you grow, too.
7. Kids can progress at their own speed and are not slowed down by the system
Equip your kids with reading and learning skills and they can progress in their studies at their own pace.
Image Source: StockSnap
Once kids have been equipped with learning skills, there is no limit to what they can achieve. And they can learn at their own pace. They do not need to wait for the school bell to ring before changing subjects or wait for the class to finish a task before learning a new lesson. And it is more likely they’ll have a parent’s attention when they have questions. This momentum is highly motivating for an individual.
EZ-Teach
After reading this blog, you might have come to the conclusion that homeschooling may just be good fit for you and your family, too. If you want to learn more about homeschooling, have a look at our previous blog, Homeschooling: Where To Start - 8 Easy Steps Guide.
Or, maybe you’re already homeschooling and need some new resources. If that is you, check out our EZ Teach Curriculum page. To learn more about EZ-Teach, you can contact us by clicking here or on the button below.
