When families first embark on their homeschooling journeys, they often focus on things like math, reading, science, and history. Yes, those are important things to focus on, but as homeschooling families gain experience and begin to realize all of the magic that homeschooling offers, they tend to hone in on other things that are even more important.
As the traditional back-to-school season kicks off, reviewing one’s priorities is a worthwhile exercise. Here are seven things you may find more important in your homeschool.
Connection
Families that begin homeschooling after spending some time in a school system find it especially striking just how much family time is reclaimed when they begin to homeschool. The connections and bonds families forge are deep when they take this journey together, and it’s these deep family bonds that strengthen the foundation from which children will learn and grow. Fostering healthy family relationships is a top priority for successful homeschoolers.Fitness
Homeschoolers need not sit still behind a desk or in front of a screen for hours on end each day, and they certainly don’t need to eat questionable meals under fluorescent lights in a cafeteria. They have the opportunity to eat nutritious foods, move their bodies, and get out into the sunshine. Establishing healthy fitness habits is a priority many homeschoolers hold high.Discipline
With great freedom comes great responsibility, as they say. This becomes immediately apparent when you begin to homeschool. To reach goals, pursue interests, and manage each day, each quarter, and each year effectively, it requires discipline—on the part of both the parents and the students. Teaching self-discipline is a necessary component of a thriving homeschool and a lifelong gift that will serve children well.Adventure
Homeschoolers are blessed with the ability to maintain their inherent love of learning, spark of curiosity, and enthusiasm to explore, which school tends to sap at an early age. Homeschoolers use their reclaimed freedom to go on adventures! Whether it’s to the local park or library or to a faraway destination, adventure is a top priority for homeschoolers making the most of this opportunity.Beauty
Recognition and appreciation of truth and beauty are fundamental aspects of a good life. Homeschoolers have the advantage of guiding their children towards what is beautiful. They explore the wonders of nature, study art and music, read wonderful stories, experience the arts, and sit in awe of the beauty life has to offer.Character
At the heart of a good education is an upright character. Homeschooling parents can forego the oft-questionable influences of the local school system and teach their children the values they hold most dear. Ideals like kindness, compassion, virtue, honesty, diligence, responsibility, tolerance, generosity, humility, and so much more are best instilled within the family. Students graduating from a homeschool focused on high moral values set off with a rock-solid foundation for life.Spirit
More important than math, literature, science, or history is the cultivation of the spirit. Homeschooling families who practice a spiritual discipline or religion can incorporate their beliefs into their homeschool, passing on their family’s most sacred traditions to their children. Ideas of the divine are ignored in public schools, a fact that inspires many homeschoolers to choose a different path. Providing a holistic education that includes spirituality is a priority for many homeschooling families.
