4 Reasons I Love Homeschooling

Many people are surprised when they find that I love to homeschool my children. They think I must be very organized. Or extraordinarily patient. Or frazzled beyond belief.

But they're wrong.

I've simply learned to embrace the benefits that come with homeschooling a larger family.

1. A more flexible schedule

For a few years when my older children attended a local Christian school, I had to have everybody up and out the door by 8am. Yes, even my little ones had to be scooped out of their warm beds, wrapped in blankets, and hustled into car seats. And I hated it.

Now that we are homeschooling, the littles can sleep until they awake. Teens can get the extra rest that their growing bodies need. Even Mom can get a little extra shut-eye after a restless night with a teething baby.

And if Dad has a day off in the middle of the week, we can take a day off, too. Talk about flexibility!

2. Less travel time

During our pre-homeschooling days, we left the house around 8:00 to take the kiddos to school; left again some days at 11:15 or so to pick up a kindergartner; and finally left around 2:00 to pick up the other two children at the end of the day. 

All told, we spent close to one-and-one-half hours shuttling between home and school each day. Now that we are no longer spending so much time on the road, it's easy to apply that time to learning activities at home.

3. Family trips instead of field trips

Homeschooling allows us to have fun and learn together as a family. It's just so much more enjoyable when our whole family can share the experience together. Of course, we still take advantage of every opportunity to enjoy a field trip with other homeschooling families, but even then, we're all together (except Dad, who works weekdays).

4. More time to learn life skills

Since my children are home with me all day, I have more opportunities to help them learn the skills they will use throughout their adult lives. Cooking, cleaning, child care, financial responsibility, grocery shopping, handling phone calls--homeschooled children are learning all day long.

There are dozens of reasons why families choose to homeschool--why do YOU love homeschooling?