10 Reasons to Home School for High School

It's the spring semester of 2018 and we have two high schoolers! Yes, both of our children are in high school now and both of them want to continue home education for high school and they feel strongly about it. When we started our home education journey, there were days that I never dreamed we would still be home schooling in high school! In fact, lots of people would ask me when our kids were very young if we planned to home school through high school and I would always tell them that we take it one year at a time and I just had no idea if we would or not.
As they neared high school, we openly discussed high school options with both of them and gave them choices, but they definitely feel that they have advantages of learning at home that other high school kids in brick and mortar schools don't have. We were part of a classical home school program when they were in junior high and eventually came back to independent home schooling and we are still going strong. Here are our Top 10 Reasons to Home School for High School:

Top 10 Reasons to Home School for High School:
Individual Academic Plans - we can choose curriculum and resources that match their learning style, level of ability, preferences, and interests. The students can actually have input while helping select their curriculum for the year. Our student with learning challenges can receive accommodations much more efficiently than in a school.

One-on-One Help - they each have individual time with their teacher every day and can get help when they need it. They don't have to waste lots of time waiting for help when they don't understand directions or a new concept.

Sleep - they are great at getting up early when they need to for sports practice, appointments, or traveling, but they don't HAVE to get up early every single day and they can get more rest.

Food - they do like to be able to eat food that they like and enjoy here at home instead of cafeteria food. Some of us are also vegetarian now, so eating at home makes this diet much easier.

Family Time - they do have more outside commitments related to the activities they are in now that they are older, but we are able to be together more during the school day and evenings when they are at home.

Less Evening Homework - they don't have to do homework at night very often because they already completed all of their assignments during the day.  Sometimes, they may have extra work on a project or other studies, but usually they have evenings free if they have used their time wisely during the day.

More Extra-Curricular Options - both kids have found some activities that they enjoy outside of our four walls and we encourage them to be involved in something. Being home schooled means that sometimes they can carve out time during the day for something that they want to be involved in, as long as they can keep up with their studies. Our daughter took a half day twice a month to provide child care at a mom's ministry at a local church for the last two years. This year, she is going out of town for weekly horseback riding lessons with a professional trainer. She could not have those opportunities if she was required to be in a school building each day.

Character Development and Spiritual Growth - one of the unspoken reasons that I think they also like being home educated now is that we get to continue growing together, studying God's Word and looking at other subjects from a Biblical worldview. We can have spiritual conversations when the need arises or a topic comes up. This is definitely a reason that their mom enjoys home educating during high school!

Less Drama -  our kids are on social media and have really good friends that go to public school, so they do know some of the drama that their friends have had to deal with from classmates at school, but they aren't as involved in it. I am also thankful that they don't have as much pressure to date.

Relationship - the teen years can be a really fun time to home school and to continue building close relationships within your family. Our kids have plenty of other friends, but they have a strong bond after many years of being together every day. As the educator/parent, I also enjoy spending time with my own teens while they are still here in my home. I know they will be gone all too soon, but that the foundations of our relationship will last even as they grow into adulthood and they are just really fun to be around! They make me laugh and teach me new things. 

Have you found other reasons to continue home schooling during high school?  Feel free to share them below!

This year, I feel more brave about trying some different ways of using the flexibility that homeschooling independently affords. Our high schoolers have some great curriculum choices and one is trying some online classes, while our other teen is still enjoying his part-time enrollment at the local high school so that he can be a fully participating member of the football team. I'll write more about that later.

Until next time,
Rachel