The Downsides of Homeschooling

The Downsides of Homeschooling ~
Written by Jessica Waldock of The Waldock Way

Homeschooling, just like any educational choice, comes with pros and cons to consider. We often talk about the advantages of homeschooling. 

Bu let’s talk today about the elephant in the room: the downsides of homeschooling that often go unmentioned. 

From second breakfast to learning gaps, there are certainly some cons to homeschooling. How can you overcome them? Keep reading to discover some of my favorite resources to help!

The Downsides of Homeschooling

Let’s talk about each downside to homeschooling and how you can overcome the challenges with some tips we’ve learned over the years.

Learning Gaps and Getting Behind

It’s easy to fall into the trap of worrying about learning gaps and “getting behind.”  There’s no way we can teach our kids everything they’ll ever need to know by the time they turn 18. Instead, we can teach them to pursue learning throughout their lives.

We can help our kids fall in love with learning and understand that it’s a lifelong endeavor, not something we cease to do when we become adults.

Then, when they miss out on something, they’ll know how to fill in the learning gap. Every child is exactly where he or she needs to be on their learning journey. 

As for gaps, the good news is that we get to decide where the gaps are in our child’s education when we’re homeschooling. We can decide what we’re comfortable leaving out. For example, diagramming sentences might not feel important.

Difficulty Finding Time for Yourself

Homeschooling is as unique and wonderful as your kiddo, but it’s full of challenges you might not anticipate. Homeschooling comes with extra one-on-one time and opportunities for field trips, art projects, and science experiments. If you’re homeschooling an only child, this is more true. 

The downside to homeschooling an only child is that you’re the only person they get to play, talk, or even argue with daily. After a while, it can become truly overwhelming to fulfill that role for your child each day.

As a homeschooling mom, I have to get creative to find ways for my child to build relationships with other kids and be creative about finding time for myself as well.

Nobody Talks About the Food

Nobody talks about the most expensive part of homeschooling: the food! If you’re finding lunch to be the most difficult part of the day, you’re not alone. All the jokes about “second breakfast” are true! 

Planning ahead has helped me make healthier choices for myself and our daughter. It also saves time and cuts down on decision fatigue in the middle of a busy homeschool day. When everything is planned and prepared, I don’t have to put homeschooling on hold for lunch or snacks. 

If you’re unsure how to get started discover some of my easy homeschool snack ideas your child will love.

The Incredible Advantages Of Homeschooling

It’s true, there are some downsides to homeschooling, but here are also some incredible advantages. 

Flexibility

One big advantage of homeschooling is the flexibility. This educational choice provides flexibility for kids and parents in a way that traditional school settings cannot. Families can follow their routines and schedules, tailored to their specific needs and preferences.

For us, following our unique schedule looks like sleeping in and embracing our “night owl” personalities with strewing, family movie nights, and a relaxed approach to homeschooling.

It also includes being able to take time off for travel together as a family, carschooling on days when we have lots of errands, and adopting a year-round schedule for learning.

Another big advantage of flexibility is that kids can learn at their own pace. We can follow a relaxed interest-led learning approach that reduces stress and protects our connection.

Connection

Another incredible advantage to homeschooling is the unique opportunity to build a deeper connection with your child. Homeschooling gives you a chance to strengthen your relationship by taking an active role in your child’s education. 

The daily interaction and collaboration needed to homeschool will give you a chance to get to know your child and understand their unique strengths and weaknesses. As homeschooling parents, we get a front-row seat to Emily’s interests and passions. Then, we can tailor lessons to match her interests, her learning style, and her abilities.

While homeschooling, we’re sharing experiences, going on adventures together, having heartfelt discussions, discovering new things together, and making lasting memories! 

Interest-Led Learning

Interest-led learning is driven by your child’s passions, curiosity, and interests.  Kids are naturally motivated and engaged in the lesson when the topic is something they find interesting. Along the way, kids fall in love with learning and begin to explore independently, developing critical thinking skills.

It’s a fantastic way to empower students to take ownership of their education and become lifelong learners.

Resources To Help You Homeschool 

There are downsides and incredible advantages to homeschooling. You can overcome the downsides and embrace the amazing advantages with helpful resources and community. If you’re looking for resources to help you homeschool, you’re in the right place!

Over the years, we have fallen in love with homeschooling and the incredible community of families learning together. We’ve also pulled together some helpful resources to help you on your homeschooling journey. 

A note from Jamie: I’ve been so grateful to have Jessica as a contributing writer here on Simple Homeschool for three years now! She is stepping back to focus on other lovely pursuits and priorities. If you want to revisit any of her posts, you can find them all here! Thank you, Jessica and God bless xo

(This post contains affiliate links, which means Simple Homeschool receives a small commission from some of the links on this page.)

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