So since I'm like this, I'm gonna share a list of five of my favorite things about homeschooling. I'm sure that I could think of many more, and many more variations of the ones below, if I was given more time. Or even if I just had a better memory. XD Whelp I'm done blathering... Here's the list:
1. Scheduling flexibility
There is so much flexibility with homeschooling. Point in case, I can work ahead on my school pretty much whenever I feel like it. I actually squished my last five weeks of school into four weeks just cause I wanted to. XD
And when we had Disneyland passes, we would often work ahead on our school on Monday so we could go to Disneyland on Tuesday, or something like that. And even though we don't automatically get our birthdays off, we can always work ahead so we have it off. That sorta teaches you self-discipline and diligence too. See I could make this list so long.
2. Learning varied social skills
NOW. I'm not saying that I'm as skilled as some public schoolers/private schoolers might be, but I am saying that my social skills are much more varied. I could have a nearly full-fledged conversation with an adult long before many public schoolers can. Obviously, I don't have scientific evidence for this, but my mom was public schooled and this is what she and others have told me and it makes a lot of sense.
Also, this type of varied social skill is what really sets you up for life. Basically, nowhere else do you only hang out with people of your age and in your stage of life - it's people of all ages and all stages, so it's important to be able to deal with talking to all those different types of people.
3. Flexibility with what I'm learning
This sorta goes two ways - both with the actual content of what I'm learning and the method/timing of what I'm learning. First, the content. Basically, my mom has hand-picked everything that I've learned from kindergarten all the way into twelfth grade. And as I've gotten older - especially into the high school years - I've been able to help pick a lot of that.
This has been nice because a) I get to learn using curriculum that generally agrees with my worldview - i.e. a Christian one - and b) because I can pick special classes like marine biology that you don't usually get to take in a public schooled setting. Also, I've been able to do a lot of dual enrollment which basically means I'm graduating high school with my freshman year of college done.
As to the method/timing, everyone learns differently. I much rather prefer to read than to watch a lecture - at least as a general rule - so I've been able to structure how I take my classes based off of that. If there's a video option for a certain class, I simply disregard it since I know I'll do better with just the textbook.
In addition, if it's taking me a while to grasp a certain concept I can sorta park on that concept for a week or so if I need to. It all evens out in the end because there are certainly other concepts that I find very easy to learn. In a public school, you can't do that. There might be children who are very bored and children who are very discouraged in the same classroom just because everyone learns things differently.
4. Learning to teach myself
This, I've found as I've moved into college and work and sorta a bit of an "adult" life, is so important and such a good skill to have. My mom was very hands-on in teaching me through most of elementary school, but in junior high, I started to learn more on my own. I would read my textbook, do my experiments/worksheets, and move on. Mom just checked my work to grade it and make sure I was understanding all the concepts.
In high school, I haven't had an actual teacher for any of my classes except for my college classes and the few outside classes like writing, government, and economics I've taken. And I totally could've learned that stuff on my own if that's the path we had chosen. This is so handy to have when you try to troubleshoot and figure out how to learn something in "real" life. XD
5. Taking less time to do school
Finally but definitely not least important, homeschooling just takes less of your time. Not that it is by any means a subpar education - quite the opposite if you do it right - it is simply less time-consuming. Public schoolers go to school for around six to seven hours (or that's what I would guess anyway from what I've seen... homeschool alert! XD) and then come home and have more homework to do. In total that's probably at least nine hours every day spent on school.
On the other hand, I can usually knock most of my school out by one or two in the afternoon. Obviously, that has changed as I've gotten into slightly harder work, but it is rare for me to be working on school after dinner - and if I'm being diligent I can still get it done around one or two. It's the being diligent part I struggle with. XD But that's only about five or less hours (depending on how many/how long the breaks are in there) compared to nine hours. SO much less.
Can you tell I love homeschooling? I'm so sad to leave it, but will definitely homeschool my children if that works for my family. Obviously, I understand that homeschooling doesn't work for everyone and definitely do not "look down on" public schoolers - I'm just incredibly grateful for the schooling I've been given.
And that's it for this week! Stay tuned for a week in my life next week - of my very last week of school!! Can't wait for summer. XD
~ Anna
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