Should you homeschool?

by Louise
(Devon, UK)

I wanted to comment on your article about whether homeschooling is for you or not. I have experience of both sides of the homeschool coin. I myself was home schooled and for about three years I home schooled my own children.

From my point of view homeschooling was amazing. THE most important thing that I learnt was HOW to learn. This skill has stood me in good stead for many years. It has allowed me to indulge my passion for learning and enabled me to get and enjoy many different types of paid employment. Once someone has shown me the basic ropes I am able to work through problems and challenges and do a good job.

The problem solving skills I was taught help me to offer practical assistance in all kinds of situations.

On the flip side of that I didn't do so well as a home educator. One of the things mentioned in your article was about children who didn't want to be taught at home.

My daughters were fine. Organised and willing to get down to work. On the other hand my son, who is extremely clever, never liked getting down to work. Being home schooled didn't do him any favours. With hindsight it would have been better to have left him in school and just taught the girls.

The children had different learning styles and this is possibly where I fell down. I really LOVE to learn. I love reading and I enjoyed maths, history, English and geography.

My children liked arts and crafts, making things and were less keen on facts and figures. To a degree we overcame this by using all opportunities to learn. We prepared meal menus, shopping lists and recipes. These all require maths and other skills, so we worked things into everyday life.

My advice to anyone thinking about educating their children at home is to thing VERY carefully. It can be truly enjoyable but if you're not careful it can turn into a nightmare.

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