What We Love About Homeschooling

What We Love About Homeschooling:

1. Wearing Pajamas All Day Long
2. Field Trips
3. Giving My Child a Christian Worldview
4. Incorporating Life Skills into Our Daily Lessons
5. Being Able to Take Breaks When My Child Needs Them
6. Knowing What My Child Needs and Being Able to Make Certain Those Needs Are Met
7. Having Our Furry Pets in Class Because They Help Foster Learning
8. We Can Homeschool Anywhere


Pajamas All Day Long:

We love the fact that we can homeschool in comfort. We are very laid back, which means we can wear our pajamas to class. When we are comfortable, we are better able to focus on the task at hand. My child has a diagnosis of Autism and along with the Sensory Processing Disorder. Something as simple as a tag in a t-shirt can bother him to distraction. Since I have numerous Autoimmune Diseases as well that cause joint and muscle pain, I know the value of comfortable clothing. Therefore, we wear pajamas all day long whenever we need to be comfortable.


Field Trips:

Why confine your learning to a stuffy room with a desk and four walls to stare at all day long. BORING! We'd rather have fun learning and enjoy hands-on education. Field Trips are an important portion of our learning experience.

Our Favorite Places to Go Learn:

1. Oakes Museum of National History - Messiah College: Grantham, PA
2. Cumberland Country Historical Society - Carlisle, PA
3. Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra - Harrisburg, PA
4. Dreamwrights Youth and Family Theater - York, PA
5. Richard Nixon Park - York County, PA

Learn more about our favorite field trip locations in my accompanying post: What We Love About Homeschooling - Field Trips

Giving My Child a Christian Worldview:

One of the main reasons we homeschool is to ensure my child receives an education with a Christian worldview. Faith is very important to us. My son likes hearing the Christian foundations of our nation's history as well as God's beautiful plan of creation. It also allows me to ensure that we are building good, moral character.

Incorporating Life Skills into Our Daily Lessons:

1. Personal Hygiene
2. Meal Preparation
3. Managing Money
4. Conversation/ Social Skills
5. Laundry

Learn more about Life Skills in my accompanying post: What We Love About Homeschooling - Life Skills


Being Able to Take Breaks When My Child Needs Them:

My son has diagnoses of Autism and ADHD. Children with a diagnosis of ADHD have excess energy. Being confined to a desk and chair for hour after hour makes it difficult for them to focus. Because we homeschool, I can send my son out to ride his bike for thirty minutes. When he returns, he is once again able to focus on lessons. Children with a diagnosis of Autism can become easily frustrated, especially when attempting to learn and master new concepts. When my son begins to get frustrated, we can set aside what we are working on and return to it at a later time when he is less upset.

Knowing What My Child Needs and Being Able to Make Certain Those Needs Are Met:

No one knows your child better than you. You know how your child learns. You can tell when they are becoming frustrated and need a break. You know your child's strengths and weaknesses. I have a vested interest in making certain my son learns what he needs to navigate this world we live in. Some of those things can be taught from a book while others can't. Schooling at home, allows me to teach my child compassion, manners, integrity, and character by modeling these attributes for him.

Furthermore, my child won't be moved from grade to grade without having mastered critical skills that he will need in the real world. In addition, children with a diagnosis of Autism need help learning social skills and life skills. We can focus on these in addition to our lessons. We work on building conversation skills, balancing checkbooks, good personal hygiene practices, cooking meals, and doing laundry. These skills are just as important. For example, if my child cannot count money, he won't be able to function independently.


Having Our Furry Pets in Class Because They Foster Learning:

We have four, sweet, furry animals in our home. Our three cats: Ashley Bella, Cinder Ella, and Tiger Lily all have unique personalities. We also have a nine year old yappy dog named Yoda. Our furry friends teach us responsibility and about being good stewards over the things God gives us. In addition, our furry friends are great listeners, which makes them a perfect friend to whom one can read a book aloud. These sweet animals also help keep my son calm. Petting and loving on animals releases endorphins, which in turn help keep my son calm and happy.


We Can Learn Anywhere:

On a bright summer day, we don't want to be constrained to the indoors. We want to be outside appreciating the weather. The beauty of homeschooling is that you can homeschool anywhere. We can turn our backyard into a classroom for a day. We can tour a local museum or wander a historic battlefield rather than merely read about them in a book. Because of my health issues, we travel to the hospital often. Because we homeschool, we can pack up workbooks and audiobooks and complete our lessons as we travel. When we want to travel to check on our elderly loved ones, we can once again pack up our learning supplies and not miss a day of school as we make our journey.


This post is part of a Blog Round-Up with The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. You can read what others like best about homeschooling at Homeschool Review Crew.