Did you know homeschoolers can go to prom!?
(and participate in most school sports/activities/clubs etc.)
There is even a prom specifically for homeschoolers in the city we live (Pittsburgh PA). It is going to be on a riverboat and include a full meal and dancing and the works! More on this later…
I wanted to write an email highlighting the benefits and surprising things about homeschooling that I have learned over the past few years. It has been very eye opening for me and I would love to share that with you.
Surprising findings:
•In homeschool it is not important what grade your child is in as long as they are making progress.
•In PA your child has to turn 6 before September 1st to be registered for homeschool which is a whole year later than when they register for traditional school.
•Unschooling is a type of homeschooling where kids learn from experiencing life instead of formal lessons.
3 main benefits of homeschooling….
- You can customize each child’s learning path. Your child can be on a kindergarten reading level and third grade math level if that is what works best for them. They don’t have to be bored in math class and lost in reading they can advance at their own pace. Life is not a race! Kids, contrary to popular belief, do not have to read by any certain age. If you are unschooling you can literally just follow their interests. Spend a whole month learning about worms if you want!
- Kids can get more sleep and more outside time. I think a huge benefit of homeschool is that kids don’t have to wake up really early every single day of the week to get ready for traditional school. As kids go through growth spurts etc they need more sleep and are way happier when they get it! Going outside often is huge for me and my kids moods. This world can get crazy loud and the solace of nature is so grounding and soothing.
- Theres a wider variety of ways to learn. In cyber school or traditional school there is one curriculum for everyone, and everyone has the same schedule. In homeschool there are so many (maybe too many haha, this mamas brain gets overwhelmed by all the options) different ways to learn and different groups to join. You can make your own schedule and change your mind 100 times if you want as you respond to your child’s changing needs.
I wanted to also address a common worry parents can have about switching to homeschool- Will my kids be able to be social? The answer is yes- however- it is not the same as traditional school where you will see the same group of kids every single day. There are tons of opportunities to be social while homeschooling but something that we have run into is that while we do see friends often it is not always the same friends. This has actually helped my kids become flexible and more brave socially because they are always having to include new kids or go up to a new kid to say hi.
So, yes, homeschoolers CAN make new friends, go to prom, participate in school district sports and activities AND even attend up to 1/3 of a day of school at their local district if they want! It really can be the best of both worlds. If you are local to pittsburgh pa this is where you can find info on the dances and proms:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/740719376664488/
I also want to address another common concern – that kids won’t learn if they don’t go to school.
I want to preface this part of the email by acknowledging that teachers are freaking awesome. I have soooo much more respect for teachers than ever before. If you know a teacher give them a high five!!
So my kids have been in cyber school for about 6 weeks now after being homeschooled for the previous 2 and a half years. We did a version of homeschooling called unschooling where you have little or no formal lessons but learn from life experiences. I am very excited to report that the kids caught on so incredibly quickly to the curriculum of their grade levels in the cyber school. Even after “skipping” a few grades with unschooling they were able to jump right back in. Also my 6 year old is breezing through math. I literally never taught him math but he loves numbers and has learned on his own the past couple years. He could skip a few grades in math for sure. Reading he needs more help with because for some reason he is not as interested in letters as numbers. My third grader had not been to traditional school since kindergarten and she is doing just fine. I had a parent teacher conference last week and I am proud to report that she is thriving in third grade.
Apparently kids learn without formal lessons and I just absolutely love the freedom of knowing this. I am telling you this not to brag about my kids but to empower you to make the best available choices for you and your kids. Maybe you feel like you and your kids need a break from the daily grind of school. I hope my experience can be of value to you.
Patricia June Photography 