Homeschooling: 3 Reasons Why I Would Rather Teach at Home

A former school teacher’s top 3 reasons for homeschooling

When the pandemic hit our town, I had already quit teaching. I watched my amazing teacher friends try to master zoom meetings. I saw my daughter attempting to learn in a way that was unfamiliar to her.

Mostly though, I saw a lot of struggle and frustration.

The following summer, I reached out to an acquaintance, whom I knew homeschooled her children. I asked her a million questions.

Now that I think of it, she is the number one reason I started homeschooling.

I was so scared that I wouldn’t be able to teach on my own. I knew deep down the fear was silly. After all, I taught public school for seven years.

I was brainwashed to think that public education was necessary for success in life.

My friend calmed my fears and let me know that it was nowhere near as scary as I thought.

As it turns out, I didn’t need to know much before I began. After I made the first jump, submitting my letter of intent to homeschool, the rest just fell into place and we started rolling.

In the beginning, there was a lot of struggle and a ton of crying…from both of us. We are now at the end of our second full year of homeschooling and we’ve finally found a rhythm that works for us.

Every day is a new adventure. I’ve been converted! I love homeschooling so much that I am planning to homeschool my son as well.

I’m not saying every day is perfect. The reality is that homeschooling is hard work. But it is so rewarding.

Here are some of my top reasons for continuing to homeschool.

1. Flexibility

The ability to make our schedule is one of my top reasons for homeschooling. My daughter is not a morning person, and with homeschooling, that’s okay.

She sleeps in and I get some time to relax and prepare for the day. We begin her “bookwork” after lunch when she has a full belly and is wide awake.

Other times, we do school work after dinner, especially when it’s been a beautiful day outside. When the weather warms up, my daughter doesn’t want anything to do with school.

Last school year, I realized she was completely checked out by the end of May and we still had another month to go. I followed the public school calendar that year because I didn’t realize I had any other options.

This year, I taught through the public school breaks and we’ll be finishing school at the end of May, while public school students still have another month to go until Summer break!

You might be wondering, is that even legal?

The answer, amazingly, is yes! In New York State, where we live, homeschool regulations require 180 days of instruction. It does not determine which days that instruction needs to happen.

Some homeschoolers even choose to teach 2–3 days a week and continue the entire calendar year.

2. Real-life learning

Many people wonder how homeschool parents can get anything done. The answer is, to include your children!

• Need to go shopping? No problem! Have your children write the shopping list and estimate the cost of your order.
• Cooking dinner? Great! Have your children chop the veggies or measure the ingredients.
• Laundry piling up? Perfect! Use this chore as an opportunity to talk about cycles!
• Time to water the garden? Talk about worms and composting!

The possibilities for real-life learning are endless.

3. Academics

As a former public school teacher, this one is important to me. I saw so many students struggling to keep up, or acting out because they were ahead.

Homeschooling allows me to teach my daughter in a way that is tailored specifically to her.

If she catches on quickly, we can move on to more difficult concepts. If she’s not grasping a concept, I can slow down and break apart the lesson.

In public schools, teachers give tests so they can categorize students into 3 main groups (high, average, and low), to plan for further instruction or to remediate.

Homeschoolers don’t have to be tested this way. They can “show what they know” in a variety of ways including:

• video report
• essay
• poster
• painting
• skit

There are so many ways to assess learning!

Do you homeschool? What are your reasons? Comment and let me know!

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