by Betsy Sproger
1. Homeschooling provides a strong foundation, and a soft place to fall, so crucial for our kids, during the teen years.
Nothing like knowing that a warm, cozy home is a waiting our teens, when they just finished a difficult day at their part time job, a new activity, or just finished up with an SAT test.
2. The 1 on 1 focus that we can provide our kids, can catch most any gaps that we worry about. We can review, go back, switch up our curricula, or even add another year of high school, if that would help our teen.
3. We get to foster and grow their interests! YES!
Early on, my daughter loved creating things with lots of cardboard and tape. This is what she made after going to homeschool day at Six Flags Park.
Then, later on, she took a ballet class, that led to an irish dance class, and that became a big interest of hers, for many years.
.....and that became a big interest of hers, into the teen years.
She danced irish for many years, all the way to junior year in high school.
Being able to follow their own interests motivates teens so much, even for doing their core studies!
Sometimes, homeschool activities can teach other important skills, too. For example, my daughter built up her memorization skills through learning the complex steps involved in irish dancing. These strong memorization skills came in handy, when studying for her college entrance tests.
Later, when she wanted to try her hand at becoming a leader, we looked for activities that would foster those skills. She served as Page at our State Legislature.
Helping our kids discover their inner-most gifts and interests, not only helps them grow, it also creates strong motivation for them to learn, study those things that will help them in the future.
4. Since we can do interest-led learning from the get-go, our kids tend to become motivated, self-starters.
Encouraging their interests builds self starters! That is just what many colleges are looking for, and that is just what college students need, to succeed.
My daughter shared that she noticed a majority of the kids on campus, seemed to lack this important trait, and did not necessarily have the drive to work hard and succeed, that we hope all kids would have.
Homeschoolers, on the other hand, learn how to organize their studies, plan their days,and prioritize what needs to be done first, etc....... all skills that are essential to success in college or a new vocation.
My teen even took our workboxing organizational style with her to college!
5. We get to build in nature study and family time into the high school day.
Especially in the teen years, we want to be the kind of parents that our kids would come to with any problems or concerns. Homeschooling can help with that, too. Isn't that why many of us chose this path?
In our family, we built in mom-daughter mini road trips when we could fit it in.
This gave us time, in the car, when eye contact was not required. That was key for my daughter to feel comfortable to share her thoughts and concerns about the day. And time spent in nature together was priceless.
6. Life skills are learned day by day.
My daughter did not need a course in family finances, or a list of how to's for managing a checking account. She saw me doing these things, everyday, starting as a a young child, and was curious and always was wanting to know more.
And while homeschooling, she naturally joined in with chores, cooking, gorcery shopping....all those things that teens need when they get their first apartment. Life skills are a natural part of our kid's days.
7. Learning how to find and use Resources
Here was the key for my daughter's success in dealing with her precalculus class. During homeschool, she saw me search for and find resources, as we chose curricula, searched for a dance class, or surfed the net for help in algebra, from Khan Academy.
Her first thought, when faced with this difficult math class, was not how could she find a way to drop it. It was, instead, a question to her mom----What resource would help me? And, let's find something quick!
Homeschooling provided her with what she needed as she got out and tried her hand at college, for the first time.
It's an adventure, and I can't wait to see what happens next.
What advantages do you see, in having your kids learn at home? I love reading your comments!
Betsy is a writer, blogger, homeschool consultant, and most importantly, mom to her 18 year old, who was adopted as an infant. Betsy and her husband chose to homeschool, to provide the 1 on 1′s, and the nurturing spirit of learning at home. And this year, her teen was accepted into four colleges! Betsy writes about that in Our Steps to College, and all the fun of homeschooling the earlier years as well, here. https://plus.google.com/113549331590200938818
1. Homeschooling provides a strong foundation, and a soft place to fall, so crucial for our kids, during the teen years.
Nothing like knowing that a warm, cozy home is a waiting our teens, when they just finished a difficult day at their part time job, a new activity, or just finished up with an SAT test.
2. The 1 on 1 focus that we can provide our kids, can catch most any gaps that we worry about. We can review, go back, switch up our curricula, or even add another year of high school, if that would help our teen.
3. We get to foster and grow their interests! YES!
Early on, my daughter loved creating things with lots of cardboard and tape. This is what she made after going to homeschool day at Six Flags Park.
Then, later on, she took a ballet class, that led to an irish dance class, and that became a big interest of hers, for many years.
.....and that became a big interest of hers, into the teen years.
She danced irish for many years, all the way to junior year in high school.
Being able to follow their own interests motivates teens so much, even for doing their core studies!
Sometimes, homeschool activities can teach other important skills, too. For example, my daughter built up her memorization skills through learning the complex steps involved in irish dancing. These strong memorization skills came in handy, when studying for her college entrance tests.
Later, when she wanted to try her hand at becoming a leader, we looked for activities that would foster those skills. She served as Page at our State Legislature.
Helping our kids discover their inner-most gifts and interests, not only helps them grow, it also creates strong motivation for them to learn, study those things that will help them in the future.
4. Since we can do interest-led learning from the get-go, our kids tend to become motivated, self-starters.
Encouraging their interests builds self starters! That is just what many colleges are looking for, and that is just what college students need, to succeed.
My daughter shared that she noticed a majority of the kids on campus, seemed to lack this important trait, and did not necessarily have the drive to work hard and succeed, that we hope all kids would have.
Homeschoolers, on the other hand, learn how to organize their studies, plan their days,and prioritize what needs to be done first, etc....... all skills that are essential to success in college or a new vocation.
My teen even took our workboxing organizational style with her to college!
5. We get to build in nature study and family time into the high school day.
Especially in the teen years, we want to be the kind of parents that our kids would come to with any problems or concerns. Homeschooling can help with that, too. Isn't that why many of us chose this path?
In our family, we built in mom-daughter mini road trips when we could fit it in.
This gave us time, in the car, when eye contact was not required. That was key for my daughter to feel comfortable to share her thoughts and concerns about the day. And time spent in nature together was priceless.
6. Life skills are learned day by day.
My daughter did not need a course in family finances, or a list of how to's for managing a checking account. She saw me doing these things, everyday, starting as a a young child, and was curious and always was wanting to know more.
And while homeschooling, she naturally joined in with chores, cooking, gorcery shopping....all those things that teens need when they get their first apartment. Life skills are a natural part of our kid's days.
7. Learning how to find and use Resources
Here was the key for my daughter's success in dealing with her precalculus class. During homeschool, she saw me search for and find resources, as we chose curricula, searched for a dance class, or surfed the net for help in algebra, from Khan Academy.
Her first thought, when faced with this difficult math class, was not how could she find a way to drop it. It was, instead, a question to her mom----What resource would help me? And, let's find something quick!
Homeschooling provided her with what she needed as she got out and tried her hand at college, for the first time.
It's an adventure, and I can't wait to see what happens next.
What advantages do you see, in having your kids learn at home? I love reading your comments!
Betsy is a writer, blogger, homeschool consultant, and most importantly, mom to her 18 year old, who was adopted as an infant. Betsy and her husband chose to homeschool, to provide the 1 on 1′s, and the nurturing spirit of learning at home. And this year, her teen was accepted into four colleges! Betsy writes about that in Our Steps to College, and all the fun of homeschooling the earlier years as well, here. https://plus.google.com/113549331590200938818
