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My 5 Favourite Things About Being Homeschooled

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My family and I decided to homeschool instead of sending me to school for grade 3. I wanted to homeschool but at first I was worried that I wouldn’t see my school friends anymore. My parents promised me that I would still see them so we started homeschooling! I’m so happy that I did because I love it and I still get to see my friends.  In this post, I’m going to tell you about my 5 favourite things about being homeschooled:

  1. Spending More Time with My Parents – My mom works from home most days and my dad works from home sometimes. When I was at school, I was gone most of the day.  Now I see them a lot more because I am home too. I love seeing my parents more often because we do fun things together.
  2. No Rushing – When I was going to school, we would always be rushing in the morning because I am very slow at getting ready and I like to sleep in.  Now, I can get up at a later time and we start and end our day whenever we want. Mealtimes are relaxed too.  At school, sometimes I felt rushed to finish my lunch or to switch subjects.
  3. Shorter School Days – My day at school was 8 hours long including driving.  Now, my school days are about 2-4 hours per day because it’s only me as a student and we finish subjects more quickly. There is also no homework because I do all my work during the day. The reason I like having extra time is that I can play more, read more and I even had time to start my own business selling my crafts.
Mara making cork crafts with all the extra time she has from shorter school days!
Me making my cork art that you can hang on the wall for decoration. Contact me at hello@happyhomeskool.com to order one for your house or cottage!
  1. Picking My Own Subjects – I didn’t like spending an hour on every subject at school and having a strict schedule. We also didn’t spend enough time on my favourite subjects like art, drama, science and music.  Some subjects were too long, and I spent too much time doing boring worksheets. Now, I get to help pick my own subjects and I can spend more time on my favourites. Also, we do more interactive things like games, online learning (see websites I use) and experiments. Sometimes we even have a free day where we can do whatever we want!
  2. Field Trips – At school, we only had a field trip twice a year. Right now, we aren’t doing many field trips because of COVID but before that we used to go on a field trip almost every week.  Some of my favourite field trips were a trip to Boston, the Toronto International Film Festival, the CN Tower and Ripley’s Aquarium.  We also go on mini field trips like hiking, swimming, visiting a farmer’s market or going bowling.

Overall, I love homeschooling! I don’t ever plan to go back to school. Those are my 5 favourite things about being homeschooled.  Here is another blog post about what other kids like about homeschooling that my mom showed me before we started. I think all kids would like homeschooling a lot. If you try it, I want to hear your favourite things!

Quote of the Day:

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

  ― BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, ONE OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF THE U.S.A.

Happy Homeskooling!

Mara

Reasons We Decided to Homeschool

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A common question we receive is “Why did you decide to homeschool?” There are dozens of reasons we decided to homeschool. Here are the main ones that led to our decision:

  • Spending more time together – we spend a lot more time together, which is great!  We also drive each other crazy sometimes, but overall it’s made us even closer. Time flies and Mara will only be this age once. We want to soak in as much time together as we can!
Happy Homeskool - Mara and Ken making pasta dough
Mara and Ken making pasta dough

  • Less bullying and peer pressure – Mara was in grade 2 during her last year of school so bullying hadn’t begun yet, but we knew it was coming.  Homeschooling is a healthy environment where your child’s self-worth is reinforced instead of destroyed by schoolyard bullies. We also avoid peer pressure such as when a schoolmate gets a cell phone at a young age.

  • Customized curriculum – we choose subjects that interest us because we aren’t forced to follow a specific curriculum. We also go on more field trips for hands-on learning, such the Toronto Film Festival, Ontario Science Centre, Royal Ontario Museum, planetariums and more!
Happy Homeskool - Mara at the Mapparium in Boston
Mara at the Mapparium in Boston

  • Fewer hassles – we don’t have to get up early, follow an exact schedule, commute to school every day or track permission slips.  Also, we avoid school gossip and unhealthy child comparisons made by peers and parents at school.

  • Shorter days – since there are fewer learners, we have shorter school days because subjects move quickly. We only homeschool for about 2 to 3 hours per day. This allows for more family time and playtime for your children.

  • Less running around on evenings and weekends – we moved many of Mara’s extra-curricular activities to the daytime, such as swimming lessons, music lessons, robotics and more.  Also, there isn’t any homework, which frees up even more family time.

There are many great reasons to homeschool. To read more about the benefits of homeschooling, check out this link: https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-benefits-homeschooling-you-need-know.html

Quote of the Day:

There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent.”

  ― Gandhi, Lawyer and Activist

Happy Homeskooling!

Lisa & Mara