Home schooling is becoming more and more popular these days. This is even more true in military families.
By home schooling you can create the type of school you want for your children.
As parents try to figure out what is best for their child, they are turning to home schooling in order to make things a little easier for their children. They know military life is stressful enough and want to make sure they can create a stable school experience as they are growing up.
I have met many home schooling families during my time as a military spouse and one thing is true for all of them.
Home schooling makes their military lives a little easier.
Whether that is because of all the moving or being able to plan a trip or vacation whenever they need to do so.
Everyone knows that military families move often. On average, military families move every 3 years. That means that some kids could end up attending 3 or 4 schools before they even get into junior high. It’s no wonder that some military families are thinking about home schooling instead.
By home schooling your child you can avoid having to have them be the “new kid” time after time. If you have to move in the middle of the school year, you don’t have to worry about that disrupting their education. Military family schedules need to be flexible so home schooling allows you to make school just as flexible.
When children have to move a lot, their grades can decline and have trouble catching up. Friendships can be more difficult and finding their new place can be difficult. Whether you home school or not your children will have to find new friends, but not having to find new friends at school right away too can take some of the pressure off.
Being in a new school without friends can be quite difficult.
If you have ever moved schools before you know that there can be a big difference between what they teach and expect from the kids. Even if they are in the same grade. Another positive for home schooling is that your kids don’t have to experience any of that. You won’t have to struggle with a school in order to make sure your kids are on track. You will take care of all of that yourself.
If you want to take your kids to grandma’s house in October because that is when your spouse has a month of leave, you can do so and bring school with you. Taking off like that wouldn’t be possible when they are in a traditional school. This is a big plus to those who home school while in the military as they don’t have to worry if they want to take their kids out of school for an extended period of time. This also will allow you to take your kids home during a deployment and not have to worry about the local school system.
The great news about being a military family who is home schooling is that there is usually a lot of support for those who home school on base or even in your local community. There are a lot of other parents to connect with, make plans with and work together with to create a good community with your kids.
You will not be alone as a home schooling military family.
By home schooling you can create the type of school you want for your children. You can give them consistency and you don’t have to worry about having to move them in the middle of the school year. You can plan around your military member’s schedule and you can create a better home life for your children. Home schooling isn’t for everyone but choosing this option can be a big benefit to a lot of military families.
I really appreciated reading this post. Yes we are a military family and one of our daughters, a middle schooler, has requested to be homeschooled. We are strongly contemplating doing it the next school year. One of my concerns is that she has been a gifted student since 1st grade. Based on our research, homeschooling will benefit her tremendously. I was just hesitant about making the change and have a negative result. Reading your article has encouraged me to leap into it. Thanks.
Yes! I’ve homeschooled my three children through a 21 year Air Force career of my husband’s and through four states. The only challenging part of that is learning all the different law for each state and making sure you are compliant everywhere you go. It was the best thing I ever did. I have two graduated, one a Marine and one half-way done with her Bachelor’s Degree and the last one in 11th grade still. Almost done! 😀
Why I homeschool. Simple. Public schools are FAILING our children in every way