Why Home School?

Many people wonder why we homeschool. Even our Chinese friends are curious. In fact we've been visited by the press more than once and had a couple articles done about our group. One such interview was printed in the Shanghai Daily a couple years ago. Some of our reasons for homeschooling appear in this article. If you are interested in reading it - Click here

This is not a complete list of reasons, and reasons vary for every home schooling family. (These reasons are not in any order of importance.)


First: Financial.We find the tuition fees for schools in Shanghai beyond our budget. Yet, homeschooling costs are flexible. It can cost as little as a “pencil and paper” or as expensive as high-cost online curriculums.The choice is yours.

Second: Our homeschooling experience started years before we came to China. We had an especially bright child who was having a tough time in the public school setting. He was diagnosed with ADHD (later re-diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome) We brought him home for ˝ day homeschooling at first. Later that evolved into fulltime. He does great academically and is a happy child. We were able to help him learn to focus without medication. Thanks, I think, to homeschooling.

Third: There are many different methods children use to “learn”. For ex. some students can just hear a new concept and that is enough. Others may need the new concept put to music before they can absorb it. Still others benefit only after they have heard, seen and written the new concept. The list goes on and on. Classroom teachers with large groups to teach are forced, by limited time and resources, to just use a couple of the various methods of learning. Homeschooling allows us the freedom to teach each child according to his/her own learning “style”.

Fourth: Homeschooling makes strong families. It is a great blessing as a parent to see that my teenage children are “friends” too. I enjoy the time I spend one-on-one with each of them – discovering their strengths, helping them strengthen their weaknesses and getting to know their unique personalities. They are my friends as well as my children.

Fifth: Personally,homeschooling has “forced” me to become a better parent. For example, I am more organized and consistent than I was before we homeschooled. (Two skills I may never have developed without homeschooling.*grin*)

Sixth: I LOVE learning with my children. Homeschooling keeps my mind alert and life exciting.

Seventh: Homeschooling puts the fun and fascination back into getting an education.

Eighth: We can include character training in our studies. In short: Homeschooling enriches our lives as well as educates us.

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