Homes are turning into learning spaces.
Homeschooling – a progressive movement where school-aged children are educated at home or any place other than traditional schools – is becoming one of the most preferred options for parents. With more and more parents dedicating themselves to the education of their young children, homeschooling is going to be one of the forces that will transform the schooling system.
Here are top seven reasons why homeschooling is a good idea for your kid:
- Freedom To Choose
There is a certain freedom that comes with choosing what YOU think is best for your child. In a traditional school setting, you drop off your child at the school, and have no way of knowing in real-time what they are exposed to or what they’re picking up at school.
As adults, they will be mostly the product of the decisions you make for them in their formative years. These decisions are critical, especially the ones around education. These decisions will impact your child’s entire world view. You wouldn’t want this to be dependent on a setting that you don’t have a control on.
When you choose homeschooling in India for your child, you get to decide the curriculum, the pace of study, the daily lessons, the tutors or alternate institutions such as online schooling that will contribute to teaching them. And most importantly, you will have the freedom to choose the value system you want to instil in your child.
- Flexibility
With homeschooling, your child doesn’t go to school. The school goes wherever your child is. The house, the neighbourhood park, and the entire world become the classroom. There are no time-bound classes.
You can plan your child’s lessons according to your work hours. You can pick up Maths one day, and gardening the next. If your child shows interest in astronomy after watching a documentary or a film, you can go explore the planetarium in your city. Your child’s schooling will no longer interfere in the precious moments of life like spending time with grandparents, or traveling with you.
If you’re someone who doesn’t align with the traditional school system, but likes a little structure to the day, you can explore online schools in India that create joyful learning experiences.
- Child-Led Learning
This is one of the major reasons why homeschooling or online schooling is better than the traditional brick and mortar schools. Here, children don’t need to keep pace with the class. Often in a traditional setting, even when a child doesn’t understand a concept or has multiple questions about a topic, they are pressurized to move on to the next topic because everyone else understood.
With homeschooling, you have complete control on your child’s learning. In the formative years, most of the cognitive development in a child happens through observation. Note-taking and lectures don’t help much during these early years.
When you choose homeschooling for your child, you can ensure that your child’s lessons don’t run ahead of him.
- Boosts Confidence
You may worry about your child missing out on peer groups and social skills when it comes to homeschooling, but that is far from the truth. When you homeschool your child, you can completely focus on their emotional well-being, which when done right helps them blossom into beautiful, confident and happy individuals.
Homeschooling values can help create a sense of self-worth, responsibility and positivity in your child. When they have a better sense of self-worth, they will not grow up comparing themselves with other kids their age. When they interact with grandparents, distant relatives, family friends, and neighbours, they learn the confidence to socialize and the value of human relationships.
- Better Connection With The Child
If you decide to be your child’s primary teacher while homeschooling, you get more time to bond with them and understand their needs. While putting up their hand in front of the entire classroom may intimidate them, they will be completely unafraid of asking you a question about anything they don’t understand or they’re curious about. They will learn that there is no such thing as a “stupid” question.
The more time you will spend with them, the more you will be able to learn their emotional needs, and participate in their learning journey instead of being a spectator.
- A Conducive Learning Environment
With homeschooling, your child can learn from the comfort of your home. This creates a sense of security in the child, which is crucial in their early years.
You don’t have to watch your child undergo separation anxiety every morning, or experience bullying or any behavioural hazards that come with a traditional school system. Building a support group with other parents who homeschool their children can also help in exchanging notes. Online schools in India also provide a safer and more conducive learning environment that works best for the child.
- Identify Your Child’s True Calling
When your child studies at a traditional school, both you and they get sucked into the vicious circle of performance, tests and report cards. With homeschooling, you can step back and watch your child’s dispositions, interests and natural talent.
Without getting entrapped in period bells and weekly tests, you can give your child and yourself the time to simply explore interests and hobbies that they are naturally inclined towards.
Homeschooling can bring out the best in your child. If you’re looking for additional support while homeschooling your child, talk to us.