Consider the Cost of Homeschool – The Pros and Cons

In recent years, homeschooling has gained significant momentum as an alternative education method. With the evolving landscape of education and increasing flexibility in learning approaches, homeschooling has emerged as a powerful tool for parents seeking to provide a tailored education experience for their children. This post explores the benefits of homeschooling, shedding light on its ability to empower children through personalized education, and delves into the pros and cons of homeschooling.

As parents, your child’s education is something you most likely contemplate and discuss even before you have children. Have you ever asked these questions: What about traditional schools?  public school? Should we look at private schools? I heard the private school takes applications for admission before you even have a baby. Should we call them now? What about homeschooling? I heard homeschooled students score higher on standardized tests.

It’s time to consider the benefits and pros and cons of homeschooling, especially if you are considering taking your children out of school.

Maybe you have been contemplating homeschooling for a while, or maybe this is just a rash decision. Whatever your reason for wanting more information, today I will give you some of the homeschooling pros and cons that I have personally witnessed through the years. As a homeschooling mom for the past 30 years, I have seen and heard it all regarding the questions and advantages versus the disadvantages. 

Brief History of Homeschooling

“The modern homeschool movement began in the 1970s when John Holt, an educational theorist and supporter of school reform, argued that formal schools’ focus on rote learning created an oppressive classroom environment designed to make children compliant employees. Holt called for parents to liberate their children from formal education and instead follow a method today known as “unschooling.” Early Holt followers connected through Holt’s newsletter, Growing Without Schooling, which was founded in 1977…Raymond Moore added his voice, arguing that early schooling was detrimental to children and that children should be schooled at home until age eight or nine in order to give them a firm educational, psychological, and moral foundation. Moore’s 1981 Home Grown Kids quickly became popular and was often the first book homeschoolers read.” Coalition for Responsible Homeschooling

At this time, homeschooling was an educational option in all states. However, some of the regulations were quite strict depending on where you lived in the United States. In the 1980s, as homeschooling continued to increase, local school districts didn’t always provide a supportive environment conducive for the educational journey that parents desired.

At this point, homeschoolers began to look at state laws and talk with state legislatures to write laws that allowed parents the freedom they wanted. These early homeschoolers were dedicated and knew that they wanted something different for their children.

However, homeschooling has become so common that now many people begin without really looking at the pros and cons.

Before You Start to Homeschool

It is essential to count the cost before you begin any new endeavor, and I have watched people literally homeschool for 2 days before throwing in the towel and sending their children back to school. I do not want that to happen to anyone. I desire to help all families wanting to homeschool have a positive experience. So before you actually begin to homeschool, be armed with a list of pros and cons to homeschooling.

Homeschool Benefits: Looking at the Pros

Individualized Learning

Homeschooling allows for a highly individualized learning experience, providing children with the freedom to learn at their own pace and explore topics that genuinely interest them. Unlike traditional classroom settings, homeschooling allows parents to tailor the curriculum to their child’s unique learning style, strengths, and weaknesses. This approach fosters a deeper understanding of subjects, promotes critical thinking, and nurtures a lifelong love for learning.

Flexibility and Customization:

One of the greatest advantages of homeschooling is the ability to customize the schedule and curriculum to fit the child’s individual needs and interests. This flexibility enables parents to incorporate real-life experiences, field trips, and hands-on activities into the learning process. By doing so, children engage in practical application, reinforcing their understanding of concepts and encouraging creativity.

Enhanced Focus and Reduced Distractions:

In a traditional classroom, teachers must cater to the needs of an entire group, often resulting in limited individual attention. Homeschooling provides a safe environment with reduced distractions, allowing children to focus intensely on their studies. This focused approach accelerates academic progress and fosters the development of self-discipline, time management, and independent learning skills.

Socialization Opportunities:

Contrary to popular belief, homeschooling does not isolate children from social interactions. In fact, it allows for more intentional and diverse socialization opportunities. Homeschooled children can participate in various extracurricular activities, including co-op classes, sports teams, community activities, and social groups, all while being exposed to a broader range of age groups and backgrounds. This unique socialization experience encourages adaptability, empathy, and the ability to connect and communicate effectively with people of all ages.

Emotional Well-being and Personal Growth:

The personalized nature of homeschooling provides a nurturing environment where children can freely express their emotions and explore their passions. By avoiding the pressures and potentially negative experiences that can arise in traditional schooling, homeschooling fosters emotional well-being, self-confidence, and a strong sense of identity. As children grow and develop through homeschooling, they gain crucial life skills such as decision-making, problem-solving, and self-motivation, contributing to their overall personal growth.

The Cons of Homeschooling 

Financial Costs

When parents decide they want to be in control of their children’s education, that also means that they will need to pay for the costs of curriculum, field trips, supplies, and sports. In fact, the average cost to homeschool is $700-$1800 per student each year, according to Time4Learning.

Furthermore, there are valuable resources in the public sphere that you may not have access to when homeschooling. While there are homeschool options and online courses you can take advantage of, many of the free options are not homeschooling, but charter Schools or public school at home. The cost of purchasing everything you need from Kindergarten through the high school years can become quite costly.

You Can Get Behind if You Aren’t Dedicated

Unless you provide the right homeschool environment and boundaries for your children, you can find that your children get behind academically. Family, friends, and church groups tend to take advantage of your homeschool freedom and think you can volunteer for all their needs because you are home anyway. It is very easy to get behind and think, “We can catch up next week.” 

​It May Be Harder to Make Friends

I am a big advocate of finding social experiences for your children from recreational sports leagues, 4-H, church groups, and homeschooling groups. However, it may be harder for your children to make friends. It is also harder for parents to make friends. Many times, when your children are in a traditional classroom setting, you as the parent, help with field trips, homeroom parents, and other school situations. 

When you are homeschooling, you do not have access to those types of gatherings. You may have to work a little harder and take a unique approach to making friends for both yourself and your children.

Absence of Milestones Found in the Traditional School Setting

​Many of the milestones found in the traditional school setting will not be available to your child. This becomes even more evident for high school students. Proms, school dances, graduation ceremonies, and other academic performance ceremonies will not be a part of your child’s life. However, that doesn’t mean you cannot work with other homeschool families to provide other experiences. Sometimes it takes more thinking outside the box to accomplish similar milestones. 

Making your own Pros and Cons List

Grab a sheet of paper and go through my list below. It is important for you to create your own list of pros and cons. What may be a con on my list, could be a pro on yours. This is why I encourage you to make your own list.

Many common objections to homeschooling are valid, but ones such as socialization are not worth mentioning. Your neighbor may say, “I knew a homeschooled boy who was such an introvert.” I know many children in school systems that are introverts. A person can be an introvert whether they are in public school, private school, or homeschool. And there are plenty of socialization opportunities available for homeschoolers.

HOMESCHOOLING – THE PROS AND THE CONS

THE PROS versus THE CONS

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Why Do You Want to Homeschool?

Some people are unhappy with the education their children are receiving. Anyone who knows me knows I value learning (probably too much). My adult daughter yells at me because we can be sitting around discussing something, and I am the first to pick up my phone to “find out more about the topic.”

Before the internet, I was always making lists to take to the library to research how, why, when, who and where things occurred, where invented, etc. But my focus on schooling my children has been less on academics and more on character building, the love of learning, and learning how to find information when they need it. But learning was not my main reason for homeschooling. In fact, my main reason for homeschooling had more to do with flexibility and finances when we were making our decision that first year

Later, my reason for continuing to homeschool evolved and changed.

Some families decide to homeschool because of flexibility. While other families want to teach their children for religious reasons. It helps to have a solid reason for homeschooling. When things get tough (and they will), having your reason written down will help you to keep going.

Homeschooling: Make a plan to deal with the togetherness

While I value the time I spent/spend with my children, I do like a night out once in a while. As with anything you do, too much togetherness wears on you. We all need a little time away. If you choose to homeschool, I encourage you to join a local homeschool group that has mom/dad meetings so you can actually have an evening out once in a while. That one activity has helped me keep sane when I felt like the walls were crashing in.

Make sure to read my post, Why I Can’t Afford to Send My Kids to Public School HERE!

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For more information about my Free Online Homeschool Curriculum, visit ELEMENTS OF FUN LEARNING

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