Advantages:

The advantages are that you can cater to your child’s learning style and your child can learn at his/her own pace. You can choose the information and values you want to teach, and you don’t have to pressure your child to move forward faster than he/she is capable and you don’t have to hold your child back when he/she is ready to move on.

You also have more flexibility because you don’t have to deal with school schedule. Your child can have more free time to pursue interests and activities, and do fun projects and field trips.

Homeschooled students tend to be more confident because they are not exposed to negative peer pressure or bullying from other kids. They spend more time in the real world and are better prepared for life after graduation.

They also excel academically and are recruited by colleges and employers.

Here are some other benefits:
Here are some statistics:

Disadvantages:

Homeschooling requires more time for the parent because they are responsible for child’s education, and can’t blame problems on the school. In addition, parents have to seek out materials and activities for their child that are more readily available in public schools.

In addition, families may have to deal with outside criticism, and government regulation. Below are some tips for dealing with the disadvantages.

I want to repeat what someone has already said;
“I do NOT support homeschooling when it is used as an option proposed by the public school system to improve their drop out stats. ”
The public school knows that homeschooling works. They are trying to give options to students who are not learning in classroom settings. The option that they give is their program done at home, in their way, on their schedule.
The success of homeschool involves parents and children who work together to create a style and schedule that works for the family. It is the relationships that creates a good learning environment. This cannot be done simply by giving a child a book and telling him to read it and that he will be tested in 5 days on what he has learned. I wish it were that easy, but it is not.

This concept once only included the idea of parents assuming the responsibility of educating their own children. Today, the modern home school has evolved to include the use of computers and other technically-advanced equipment. Although home schooling has the predominant form of education throughout history, many people consider it to be a new concept.

Why are parents choosing home schooling more and more? There are many benefits. You can customize your curriculum (just as k12 does). Home schooling enables students to participate in a curriculum that is tailored to their needs. They can focus on specific areas of interest or other areas that require extra attention.

You can use different learning methods, so students don’t have to sit at a desk all day. They might go on a field trip to a historical place, explore nature at a park, or visit a science camp.

Most home school based curriculum is self-paced, so if students require extra help on an assignment or want additional challenges, they can learn as fast or as slow as they choose. In a traditional school setting , the teacher can’t always slow down and go over an area that a few students may not understand as well as the rest of the class. This is how so many kids today “get lost” and are left behind. A situation like this is easily avoided at home.

Having a flexible schedule is a great benefit. Home schooling provides students with more options than a traditional classroom. Students can set their own schedule and learn at any time. If they want to take a test at night, they have the freedom to do so. They are learning on their own terms.

There are fewer social distractions for children at home. Home schooling allows students to learn without the worry or interference of social distractions. They are not faced with the social pressures of regular school. They can focus on their work and not what another kid in the class might be saying or doing. You don’t have to worry about bad influences that your child might have at school (drugs, alcohol, the wrong crowd etc). If you teach your child a certain set of morals and values, they will not learn something entirely different as they may have in a traditional school setting.

Home schooling enables students to get one-on-one attention from their teacher. Whether they are learning from a parent or online teacher, they can get immediate attention for all of their educational needs.

A home schooling program can provide students with choices. It gives them an alternative to the traditional classroom. Whether they choose home schooling for academic, safety or social reasons, they can be in charge of their education. It enables them to create an individualized learning experience.

For many children this is definitely a good option. A student needs to be self disciplined enough to do the school work daily. If a student is dedicated to being home schooled and can appreciate it, they can be successful !

Home schoolers can get a better education than the public school.

The influences are vastly different. There is less chance that my third grader will be introduce to things like sex, and drugs. They are less likely to get pregnant in high school.

There are so many reasons to home school I can’t list all of them here. I just don’t have the time right now with dinner cooking.