Benefits of Middle School Homeschooling

The preteen years are a special time in a child's life.

During sixth, seventh, and eighth grade a child develops rapidly and dramatically. Along with their developing bodies, there minds are also growing and developing rapidly.Unfortunately, public middle school is not always the best environment for our middle school age children.

The Perils of Public Middle School
Many children and parents have found that public school is not the ideal environment for the middle school preteen years.

• Peer pressure and negative influences from friends and classmates can start a child down a path full of self-destructive, life altering behaviors.
• Public school security has gotten out of hand and it's turned our public schools into areas that look more like correction facilities or jails than welcoming learning places.
• Many public school teachers do not support same values that your family believes in. Your child may be exposed to worldly views and sexual morality that you find offensive and immoral.
• Middle school social life seems to be a popularity contest full of drama. Sometimes the drama gets in the way of real learning.

Your child does not have to be condemned to this hostile, negative environment education is not the most important thing.

Other educational options exist other than public school.

Homeschooling is one way that families deal with the negative social pressures found in the typical public middle school. There are many other benefits of homeschooling your middle school child.

There are many benefits to homeschooling your middle school child

1. Healthy social and psychological development
2. Ability to meet special needs
3. Academic curriculum paste at your child's learning ability
4. Develop a love of lifelong learning
5. Superior academic performance

Physical and Psychological Development
There is no greater time in a young teen's life where more physiological and psychological changes take place. Middle schoolers need gentle firm support while they're developing physically and mentally. Homeschooling with the family is the perfect environment to help support your middle school student grow into a confident and well-educated teen.

Flexible Scheduling
With homeschooling, you can adjust your schedule to match your students body rhythm. Some families start school earlier in the day but others allow their children to sleep in and start at a more leisurely hour. Homeschooling allows you the flexibility to meet your individual child's body rhythm and meet your own schedule.

Foster a Lifelong Love of Learning
The public middle school experience can sometimes deter kids from learning and extinguish the love of learning. Homeschooling allows you to follow your children's lead and let them explore their interest with a naturally gravitate to in education. Not all homeschooling has to occur in the home. There are homeschool meet-up groups and homeschool co-ops that you can use to help socialize your child and meet in different learning locations. Field trips are also much easier to accomplish for the homeschooled child than the public school child. The family vacation can turn into a homeschool adventure.

Build Positive Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is an important issue for middle school children. Homeschooling can help foster a positive self image that will last a lifetime. Public middle school is known for the drama in the social cliques which can have a negative, long-lasting impact on your child's psyche. As a homeschooling parent of the middle school child, you will have a greater understanding of what influences and social pressures your child is facing. Your experience can help guide them through these difficult middle school years.

Superior Academic Performance
In addition to physical, mental, psychological, and developmental benefits of homeschooling middle school children, homeschoolers also on average perform better on standardized tests. A 2009 study shows that homeschoolers on average score nearly 40 point higher on standardized achievement tests. The one-on-one instruction that homeschooled middle school students receive helps them be better prepared for high school and college.

Homeschooling is a Personal Decision
There are many benefits to homeschooling your middle school-age child. Homeschooling families help their middle school child be better prepared academically for school, college, and life in general while creating a well-rounded person who can perform at his or her full potential.

I have personally made the decision to teach my middle school student at home and have seen a great deal of academic and psychological growth. Homeschooling our middle school-age child was the right decision for our family and may be the right decision for yours.