The 'Cons' of Homeschooling

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;" Colossians 3:23

There are lots of great reasons to homeschool, but there are a bunch of reasons why people don't homeschool too.

If you are a seasoned homeschooling parent, I know you've heard every reason why you shouldn't be homeschooling your kids. If you are thinking about homeschooling, I'm sure you will be hearing about it soon. Either way, let's look into the 'downside' of homeschooling together. 

I saw cost listed as a limiting factor to homeschooling because public education is 'free'.

Public education is not even close to free. First of all, it is paid by taxes whether you have kids or not. And secondly there are school fees, constant fundraisers, school clothes, school supplies, school lunches and snacks, the constant replacing of items lost and damaged and if you are working, the cost of child care before and after school.

Sending your child to school is far more expensive than keeping them home.

Homeschooling doesn't need to cost hardly anything at all. For 2 kids I spend about $200 a year. About $50 on pencils, erasers, art supplies, note books and paper, $60 on digital subscriptions, $40 on cool lessons or units that will make my life easier and $50 on books.

Books can be borrowed from the library or friends and cool lessons and digital subscriptions are luxuries. All you need is some pencils, erasers and paper and you are good to go. You will need to buy that if you send your child to school or not. 

***Also, as an extra bit of help, we have some free resources here for grades K-8.  Just click and it will automatically download. ***

Yes, homeschooling takes time and effort. If you are heading out to work daily for a full day's work, not having enough time can be prohibiting.

On the other hand, if you are able to work from home or you can make the time to homeschool your kids, the reward out ways any cost. Spending time dedicated to nurturing and teaching your children will pay off for generations. Trust me, the time is worth it. 

This excuse is one of the biggest misconceptions about homeschooling. As long as children are able to interact with other children, they will be fine.  In fact, by homeschooling your children, you are keeping them away from many toxic elements that create that 'dog-eat-dog' mentality in the school system. (Speaking from years of teaching experience).

Homeschooled kids are socialized far better than 'industrially schooled' kids because they are more comfortable communicating with people of all ages; they are more confident and empathetic. (Kingston, 2005)

Someone is always going to give you a reason not to homeschool your children, mostly to defend their own choices not to homeschool.

The only valid reason, to not homeschool your children, is because you don't want to. (Which is completely fine.)

If you do want to homeschool your children there is no excuse not to.  

And as always,

References
Kingston, Skylar T., and Richard G. Medlin, Ph.D. “Empathy, Altruism, and Moral Development in Home Schooled Children.” Home School Researcher, vol. 16, no. 4, 2005, pp. 1–10, files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED573484.pdf.