The first step to homeschooling is making your decision to home educate your child. It is important to become informed and knowledgeable about some of the main concerns you may have. Explore these areas of our website to learn more about the initial decision to homeschool.
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| Making Your Decision |
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The reasons people decide to educate their children at home are varied and can be unique to each family. Some look towards a better educational experience, others are concerned with moral and social issues, some are concerned with safety, and still others have special needs that they wish to address. Explore these reasons and others that have led families to homeschooling.
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| Advantages of Homeschooling |
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Ask anyone who loves homeschooling what the advantages are, and you'll probably hear a long list of the benefits of educating children in the home. Homeschooling is a journey and an adventure, with benefits and rewards for the entire family. Come find out what these advantages are and decide if homeschooling is right for you.
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| Teaching Your Own Children |
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Are you qualified to teach your own children? The answer is yes! It is challenging, but rewarding, to educate your children in your home. Find out what these challenges are and how to address them.
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| Socialization |
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"But what about socialization?" So the typical question goes to anyone who homeschools. Find out what socialization means to homeschooling families and strategies to engage your children and your entire family in social activities and connections.
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| Research & Statistics |
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Learn about current research and statistics involving homeschooling families, the homeschool movement, and the educational system.
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| Public School Issues |
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Many parents are basing part of their decision to homeschool on issues with public schooling, from bullying to poor academic performance to problems with governmental control.
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| Community Outreach |
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Want to help homeschooling integrate into the community at large? Are you a homeschool group leader who talks with the media or provides information to new and curious homeschoolers? Here are tips to help you present homeschooling to the public and the media.
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I’m concerned that my child will be isolated and miss out on socialization while we are homeschooling |
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Oak Meadow |
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This is a very common concern we hear from families new to homeschooling, and it is a question homeschoolers hear from other people on a regular basis. Experience has shown us that most children who homeschool spend plenty of time interacting with others. Since homeschoolers generally have more free time to be involved in community activities than children who attend “regular” school, there is no end to the socialization opportunities for them.
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You Say Sheltering As If It’s A Bad Thing…. |
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laurie Bostwick |
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Merriam Webster dictionary defines shelter as “a position or the state of being covered and protected." Sheltering can be a form of socialization. And children that are raised protected and nurtured know how to be social. |
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Special Ed: Factory-Like Schooling May Soon Be a Thing of the Past |
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Britton Manasco |
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Britton Manasco, writing for Reason Magazine, looks at the advantages of homeschooling, along with some interesting facets of home education. Discusses the benefits of encouraging independent thought and decentralized learning practices. The article also takes a look at the state of today's classrooms and the limitations of traditional notions of education. There is also a discussion of the use of technology in the homeschool environment and how this relates to the issue of socialization. |
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Homeschooling Statistics: Socialization and Sociability |
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Sara Mcgrath |
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According to Patrick Basham, author of the Fraser Institute's 2007 examination of homeschooling's growth from extreme to mainstream, "...the academic and socialization outcomes for the average home schooled child are superior to those experienced by the average public school student." When the socialization of homeschoolers is questioned, it's important to clearly define what the critic is asking. For example, how is socialization, an institutional training process, different from extracurricular social interactions, socializing, and sociability? |
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