Positives:

1) It really is an eye opener in becoming very involved in your kids education. You really see how your child learns, what they struggle with, and how to teach them. As a parent, this is invaluable.

2) Drawing closer as a family. Siblings bond naturally by doing everything together. It can feel almost like a farm family where everyone works together everyday. Really cool.

3) You pick their curriculum. The lesson plans and the subject matter. They write and read a ton because you give them books and prompts that they have personal interests in instead of having to cater to the whole class. And you can choose all sorts of electives. Your kids want to learn how to program, build computers, botany? No problem.

4) Flexibility! Want to vacation the last week of January when everyone else is in school and the beaches are empty? Just go. Want to take the kids to the zoo on a Tuesday morning? Just go. Want to take the day off because the weather is perfect and go fishing? Just go.

Negatives:

1) Social development. You really can’t replace the fact that modern schools train people to live in an interconnected world. This isn’t a farm society anymore and we encounter different personalities everyday. It’s good for kids to make all those friends and handle themselves in various social settings.

2) Learning from the viewpoint and experiences of others. While it’s great to share all you know with your kids, their teachers and peers introduce them to a whole different perspective they can’t get at home. I think this is tremendously beneficial (even though some of it can be bad).

3) The training, expertise, and resources at most schools is just better. Yes, it’s less individualized attention, but it’s also more professional. Combine good teachers at school with a parent who is really involved with their child’s education at home and you have a winning combo IMO.

4) It really does give mom and dad a break. Becoming full time teachers doesn’t mean you have less of your other responsibilities, just a tremendous additional role. You’ve got to bring your A-game to keep on top of the house that is also now your classroom. Less stress in life when you send those kids to school.

I would never fault someone for choosing homeschool and would suggest to try it for a year if you’re curious about it. Just realize that’s it’s a different system with pros and cons. Like most things nowadays, people want to argue that one is better than the other, but I don’t think it’s that way. In the end, fantastic people come out of both the home school and public school systems. The two are just a little bit different, and that’s ok.