15 Unique Benefits of Homeschooling (Non-Religious)

Let’s talk about the benefits of homeschooling – from a secular perspective!

We are secular homeschoolers. Our kids are not being introduced to any religious doctrine at home, and our desire to homeschool is not driven by faith (here is why we started in the first place). Secular homeschoolers remain in the minority (so do secular homeschool groups), but we are out there!

Do you wonder why people homeschool their kids, if not for God?

We set out on our homeschooling journey 6 years ago when our first child was supposed to enter Kindergarten. Even though the expectation back then was to just try it out and see how it goes, we discovered many amazing homeschooling benefits along the way and never looked back. Here are all the reasons why homeschooling works for us and why we continue to homeschool, year after year.

15 Amazing benefits of homeschooling (non-religious)

1. More family time

One of the main benefits of homeschooling for me personally is that homeschooling is very pro-family. Homeschooled kids spend less time under the influence of peers and school staff, and more time with their siblings and other family members.

Thanks to homeschooling, we can spend more time together as a family. You know the old saying, “The days might be long, but the years are short?” So very true.

2. More free time

Homeschooling isn’t as time-consuming as institutional schooling. Not only is there zero time wasted by line forming, classroom chaos, lengthy administration work and school bus rides, you get the benefit of one-on-one attention which can significantly cut back on the time required to master any particular subject.

Learning at home takes up a fraction of time conventional schooling requires EVEN when you follow the exact same curriculum. Which leaves kids with more free time to pursue their interests. Isn’t that awesome?

3. More freedom

Homeschooling gives our entire family a lot of freedom:

• Curriculum: as parents we have control over what our kids learn and how. We have the ability to provide personalized education so that our kids can learn at their own pace. (It’s been evident from the get-go that both of our kids have a VERY different learning style.)
• Teaching real life skills: homeschooled kids have a chance to learn important skills within the context of real life. That is just priceless. 
• Kids can be kids: is it just me or are kids made to grow up faster than ever before these days? What happened to just letting kids be kids, while they are kids?
• More travel opportunities: when you homeschool, your travel plans aren’t limited by school policies. You can travel on a whim and without limits (and out of season when it’s much cheaper and much less crowded). This is another major benefit of homeschooling for us.
• Flexibility: there are no generic charts or rigid schedules dictating how to run your days when you homeschool (unless you make generic charts and rigid schedules for your homeschool yourself).

4. We want to slow down

Have you noticed how fast-paced our lives have become?

Underneath our busy schedules, deadlines, commitments, demanding careers and long school days, it’s easy to overlook that life is just passing by (and that our kids are slipping away from us).

The majority of the western world now lives on a total and complete OVERLOAD. We want less of that, not more. 

5. We believe kids belong outdoors 

Look, we don’t keep our kids chained outside, all right? But they are nature lovers just like we are, and we want them (and they prefer) to spend as much time outside as possible where they can run, play, explore, discover, and LEARN. 

6. No dress code

Pajamas, fancy dresses, superhero costumes, princesses, knights, dragons, fairies, firefighters, ballerinas… We’ve done it all.

When you homeschool, anything goes. That may or may not include spaghetti strap tank tops and short shorts. You’re the boss. You call the shots in what your kids are and aren’t allowed to wear, not the school code of conduct.

7. Better socialization (Yes, you read that right.)

Homeschooling doesn’t automatically mean lack of socialization just as institutional schooling isn’t a great socialization agent.

Why isn’t it?

Because neither forced association nor age segregation lead to positive socialization. Because sitting in desk facing a smart board for hours isn’t socialization. Because walking in quiet single-file lines isn’t conducive to socialization and neither is gulping down one’s lunch in silence or a heavily restricted recess.

I’ll say it. Ready?

As far as socialization, traditional school is nothing but a social suicide. (More on that here.)

8. Less peer pressure

Peer dependency is rampant at schools. It goes hand in hand with kids spending excessive amounts of time surrounded by their peers and away from their families. Kids quickly learn how to act, what to wear, what to play with, how to talk, what to eat, which TV shows to watch, what kind of music to listen to, who to be friends with and whom to ignore, all in order to fit in. 

Peer pressure isn’t something I’d willingly welcome in my kids’ lives. As in, “Great! I welcome peer pressure wholeheartedly; there are many benefits to it.”

Um, no.

Related: 11 Most Popular Homeschool Questions (Answered)

9. Less bullying

Bullying is a big issue these days. Unfortunately, schools are bully-making machines.

Guess what happens when you take vulnerable children away from their parents and lock them up in an environment with little supervision where there are guaranteed to be some insensitive trouble makers and their loyal followers?

Worse yet, parents whose kids have experienced bullying often say that their concerns are being downplayed by schools. Like it’s no big deal?!

10. We all get more sleep 

We like to sleep. A LOT!

We can sleep in on rainy days. Or just sleep in for no reason. This is a benefit of homeschooling that we all relish. 

But before you call us lazy, keep in mind that a well-rested child means a more responsive mind. It’s a fact that a tired child has a harder time concentrating.

11. Learning has many forms

The main objective of education should be learning, not teaching. But that is hardly the case when it comes to modern education that has become standardized and impersonal. The educational system rewards memorization, when in reality it is the lowest form of learning. Much of what is taught at school is only remembered for a short period of time, and often irrelevant.

• Education extends far beyond what we can learn in a textbook.
• There is more to knowledge than memorizing.
• Teaching shouldn’t comprise an endless cycle of grades, evaluations, tests, and mandatory assignments.

For a while now I’ve been hearing about the concept of year-round schools due to kids being set back over the summer break and forgetting how to read, spell, or do simple math. If that’s the case, I don’t think the length of the school year is to blame. There is a conflict with WHAT, WHEN, and HOW kids are being taught.

12. The quality of education 

When your kids are enrolled in school, you have no say over the approved curriculum and what the students are being taught. In homeschooling, you’re in charge of choosing an appropriate curriculum for your child. (Or you can forego a curriculum entirely.)

The truth is, most parents have no clue what their kids are being taught at school. When you homeschool, you know what your kids are learning about. That’s a good start, right?

13. Healthier kids

Generally, there is more fresh air, more exercise, and less stress involved in homeschooling.

In addition, homeschooled kids have the option to eat when they’re hungry, not when their growing bodies are assigned a brief feeding slot. This may not seem like a big deal, but in my opinion this is another obvious benefit of homeschooling. The #1 complaint I hear from parents that have kids in school is that their kids don’t have enough time and opportunities to eat during the school day and are starving by the time they come home (and about to enter a meltdown). 

Also, I have zero nosy people checking whether my child’s lunch meets strict school nutritional requirements (strictly ridiculous if you were to ask me). 

• Would I get in trouble at school for not ever serving my kids cow’s milk? Possibly.
• Would I be just another parent in line to get harassed over a small square of dark plain organic chocolate packed in my child’s lunch box? Perhaps.
• Would I be notified one day that my child’s (healthy, nutritionally balanced) lunch was thrown away and I’m now responsible for covering the cost of a (nutritionally substandard) school lunch that my child was forced to eat instead that involved unhealthy synthetic ingredients and words that can’t be pronounced? Maybe. But that’s where the Mama Bear would REALLY come out.

14. I don’t have to fight the school over various things

All right, I admit it. Among all the homeschooling benefits that I have listed so far, this one is all about ME. But that doesn’t make it any less valid.

15. No school health screenings

Last but not least, no unwanted health screenings. That’s also a huge one for me.

There you have it.

The amazing benefits of homeschooling – for us.

In other words, 15 reasons why we continue to homeschool (even when it gets hard).

This list of homeschooling benefits is specific to our family and our lifestyle. We love homeschooling, and this is why. Even though we are secular homeschoolers, I don’t doubt many religious homeschoolers would find familiar points on this list.