Why Homeschooling Is Easier Than Pandemic Schooling

Pandemic schooling was a disaster for many. Even homeschool families felt the pain, because the homeschool experience they were used to changed so drastically. 

What you experienced was so much harder than homeschooling. 

Of course there are difficult days no matter how your children are educated, but overall homeschooling is easy compared to pandemic schooling. Why?

You Are the One to Make the Choices

When you delegate the responsibility of your children’s education to others, they decide the way it should be done. As you’ve discovered this past year: With public schooling, you have little say in the decisions that are made for your children even though it affects your entire family. 

Homeschooling is about choosing.

• What your students will learn and how they will do it
• How long they will spend on subjects, topics, and lessons
• When they will do school—whether it’s the time of day or months during the year

Homeschooling is easier because you can customize children’s education to work with your family. 

You Can Take Advantage of Opportunities

Homeschooling is about real-life learning. It allows you to take advantage of opportunities. 

Opportunity: a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something

As a homeschooler, if you child develops a passion about a skill or topic, they can dive into it deeply. If a local author offers a class on how to write a short story, your budding writer can take advantage of it. When a group of students decide they want to learn how to swing dance for the next homeschool social, they can join together and take a class.

Vacations can become a chance to see places you’ve learned about. Did you study early United States history? Plan a trip to the Williamsburg and Jamestown area. Are you diving into government? Visit your state capital or Washington D.C. 

Go to the orchestra and listen; stare at the artwork in a museum. As a homeschooler you can make learning come to life, and when you do that, your children will enjoy the process so much more. 

Homeschooling is easier because your kids can develop a love of learning.

Your Children Aren’t Isolated From Others

Homeschool students have a community of both family and friends and are engaged in a variety of activities. From co-ops to clubs to sports teams, homeschoolers intentionally seek community. The idea of children sitting at home all day, never interacting with others is a myth. That’s why the pandemic was hard on homeschool families as well.

When your teens reach their junior or senior year, many community colleges offer classes for dual-enrollment at a fraction of the cost of regular college courses. Not only will you save money, but your students will interact with other students in a classroom setting for a smooth transition into their post-graduate studies. 

Yes, homeschool kids do have friends. But instead of being surrounded by people the same age as they are, homeschoolers interact with a people of all ages. Just like adults do in the real world. 

Homeschooling is easier because children and teens live in community with a variety of people—people of different ages with different life experiences.

Your Kids Can Be Kids

Know that if you had a younger learner that struggled to sit in front of a computer for lessons, their behavior was perfectly normal. 

When you homeschool, you can provide a developmentally appropriate education for your children. To help kids get the wiggles out, homeschoolers incorporate things like

• Exercising between subjects
• Short focused lessons follow by activities
• Hands-on learning opportunities
• Nature walks 

All of these are beneficial for the physical, emotional, and educational well-being of kids. 

Maybe best of all is that your children have time to play. Think about these words by Fred Rodgers:

“When we treat children’s play as seriously as it deserves, we are helping them feel the joy that’s to be found in the creative spirit. It’s the things we play with and the people who help us play that make a great difference in our lives.” 

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”

Homeschooling is easier because your kids can be kids.

The Easy Way Out

Most people assume that it’s easier to send children off to school. After having to pandemic school, some believe that even more. But pandemic school was not an accurate picture of what homeschooling is really about.

Homeschooling is actually easier than pandemic schooling, and it’s also better for your children. You can choose to make a new normal for you and your kids. Go ahead and try to take the easy way out.