Advantages to Unschooling

Proponents of homeschooling point to two major advantages to this approach. The first advanatge is that you as the parent have absolute freedom to direct your child's learning activities as you see fit. How you spend your time each day is not determined by getting through a set number of lessons or a set number of academic areas. In addition to areas that are traditionally considered to be "academic" you can bring the real world into your homeschool. Doing chores, community service, working on small engines, or sewing provide skills and abilities that are valuable—possibly more so than learning to solve quadratic equations.

The second advantage is that you tailor your child's activities to their interests. For some children this may involve what are considered to be traditional academic endeaveors such as reading, mathematics, science or history. Other children may be more interested in artistic pursuits, physical activities, working with others in a community service project, or learning how to run their own small business. Once your children's attention is focused on what excites them, learning the skills they require to be successful at what they love doing is not a chore for your child but a pleasure.

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