Did I Like Being Homeschooled as a Child?

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“Did you like being homeschooled?” “What did you like about homeschooling?” These are the most common questions acquaintances ask me when they find out I was homeschooled as a child! Today I want to answer those questions by sharing my story and ten reasons why I loved being homeschooled as a child.

I really loved being homeschooled.

Every homeschool family is different, and so every homeschool experience is unique. Homeschooling worked for us growing up.

I was homeschooled from the fifth grade all the way through high school after attending public school up until that point.

My parents had planned on homeschooling my three sisters and me for high school only, but then decided rather quickly that they wanted to begin homeschooling us kids right away.

My two sisters after me were entering fourth grade and kindergarten, and my littlest sister was 3 years old.

My mom had to learn how to homeschool, decide on curriculum, and prepare what we would need for the upcoming school year in the span of one summer break. She didn’t have time to ease into homeschooling the same way she would have had she started homeschooling from the beginning. In fact, none of us did.

It was a big transition for our family and it took us some time to adjust to the change. After the first year, though, we really began to find our groove. If you find yourself in the midst of that transition, it does get much easier!

I would say the most challenging part of homeschooling (from my perspective as a child) was making good friends my own age. Homeschooling wasn’t very widespread in our area when we were first starting out, so most of the children in our co-op and homeschool group were quite a bit younger than I was. I always had my sisters, though, and made friends as I got older.

All in all, my experience being home educated was overwhelmingly positive.

I look back with fond memories that spur me on to homeschool my own children.

So in no particular order, I want to share ten reasons why I loved being homeschooled as a child.

10 Reasons I Loved Being Homeschooled as a Child

1. I Had Extra Time to Spend with My Family

My teacher and classmates were okay, I guess.

Just kidding.

Being together all day, every day forced us to put effort into our relationships as family members, and gave us lots of extra time together as the years went by.

I think I gained an extra appreciation for my mom and her effort as well.

It was so nice to finish our studies early in the day so we had time to play together or have family time after dinner.

And of course, I loved spending my “school” days with family. We got to be part of it all together, learn from each other, and make memories together.

Some of my favorite memories? I got to go to our state homeschool conference with Mom to browse all the curricula and supplies. I got to dissect my biology specimens with my dad and sister in our garage, making our “discoveries” together. And I got to have my grandparents along on field trips, learning even more from them.

And I remember another occasion where my aunt spent multiple days with me to help me prepare botany displays and experiments for a homeschool fair I was part of. I loved getting to share that experience with her.

2. We Could Tailor Our Curriculum to Meet Our Needs

I liked the freedom we had in our curriculum and subject matter. Our schooling could bend and breathe to meet our needs.

We used curriculum and teaching videos from BJU Press for most subjects, and Mom found other curriculum that was a better fit for us for other areas. She made tweaks as the years went by.

Within our curriculum, she would take the liberty to shorten or lengthen assignments based on how we were grasping the material, skip over sections, or change the assignments, as needed.

3. I Had the Freedom to Learn at My Own Pace

If I was struggling with algebra, my mom would take the extra time with me to work the problems until I was ready to move on.

I could move forward quickly in the subjects I was strong in because there weren’t other students to wait on.

4. I Had More Time to Learn Life Skills

I liked all the learning we did outside of text books because we had the extra time to do so.

I learned the skills I use now to care for my home and family, and even skills to supplement income for my family.

5. My Education Was From A Biblical Perspective

As a Christian, I valued being educated from a Biblical worldview.

So whether I was studying history, mathematics, or writing a paper, I was learning about God and the values and truths found in the Bible.

6. I Had Freedom to Pursue My Own Interests

I liked the input my mom allowed me in deciding my coursework, which books I would read, what I would write about, and more.

Also, I was passionate about playing the piano.

I loved being able to take the extra time out of my school day to practice, or break up my other studies with piano practice in between.

Because of the extra time I could devote to it, I was proficient enough to begin teaching piano to students by the age of fifteen and to go on to study music further in college.

7. I Learned How to Learn

I think part of the beauty of homeschooling was that our whole family was learning together, and at times, learning as we would go.

We didn’t have to have all the answers ahead of time to have successful school days.

We were learning how to learn and how to use the resources we had to find the answers we needed.

That aspect of my homeschooling experience helps me now as an adult when I need to learn new things.

8. We Had the Freedom to Take “School” With Us

I loved the times when we got to take school anywhere we needed to. We would take our school work with us to go visit family in Texas. Other times, road-tripping to different national parks with our tent trailer was school (the best kind of school).

9. I Had Extra Time to Work

When I was in high school, homeschooling allowed me the freedom to teach piano lessons to other homeschooled children, as I mentioned, during school hours on a couple days of the week.

The time of day worked better for me and for them. I would come home and finish my school work afterward.

Other days I would get school done during normal school time so I could go teach tennis lessons for our recreation district in the late afternoon.

10. I Learned How to Manage My Time

I liked how homeschooling taught me to manage my time for myself.

Mom had scheduled out everything I needed to accomplish during the school day and week, but it was my job (especially in my high school years) to manage the progression of my school day.

I also had to fit in my two part-time jobs, my own music lessons and practicing, and my chores.

I know the time management skills I developed as a kid are helpful to me to this day.