10 Things I Love About Homeschooling: A Gifted Kid’s Perspective

Since I began homeschooling so many years ago, I’ve uncovered some unexpected surprises and benefits to this lifestyle. Some of the most beneficial unexpected perks may be similar to yours, too… staying up late and sleeping in, rolling with the ins and outs of being a family, not punching an outside time clock, family relationship building, etc.

I’ve written about those things before, and I’m sure you’ve read them on many blogs. I decided that it was time to hear what the kids think about homeschooling.

So I asked Trevor.

After all, he’s the original reason we’re walking this road in the first place. And, he has the experience of having tried public school first, so I thought he’d be able to offer a unique perspective.

I asked him to tell me the top 10 things he likes best about homeschooling. Here’s what he said:

Homeschooling: A Gifted Child’s Perspective

There are no time limits or restrictions on my work anymore.

Trevor is a twice-exceptional kid. That means that he is gifted, but has additional special needs. He also struggles with ADHD, executive functioning difficulties, and sensory processing disorder. Sitting in a classroom and focusing on an assignment is next to impossible for kids like him. There are so many distractions, and it doesn’t matter if the work is too easy or too hard, getting it done in the timeframe needed is tough. At home he doesn’t need to go with the flow of 20-some other kids. He can work at his own pace.

I get way more time to play with my toys.

Often, when we lived in our old home across the street from his favorite friend, Trevor would wait until his buddy got off the bus. He’d run outside to meet him, only to find that they couldn’t play together because his friend had too much homework to do. When we talked about it I reminded him that when he went to school, he too would get off the bus with projects that needed finished before he could play with friends or toys. One of the things he truly cherishes is the fact that he can play with his things off and on throughout the day.

I can sleep in or choose to get up and get an early start on my school work.

He is definitely my kid! I love that we can make our own schedule. There was a period of time when Trevor would get up, grab a granola bar, and get his independent work done before 11:00 am each day. {Not anymore, unfortunately…but that’s another post.} Now he’s more likely to stay up late watching Star Trek on Netflix with Brian and then sleep in a bit. I love that we have the flexibility to give him that choice.

There are some really cool co-op classes, museum classes, and field trips to try out.

I remember dreading field trips when I taught. In theory they’re valuable, but in reality… I think they’re a waste of time for students and classroom teachers alike. Teachers need to manage a crowd of kids in an unfamiliar place, and kids see it as a day off of school, not as the rich educational experience it should be. What a blessing that I only have my own kids to focus on when we go places. Because of that, we can make an outing to the grocery store into a learning experience if we want to. But, because the homeschooling community is so rich and vibrant in our area, we don’t have to. There are always wonderful options to choose from in the area. Next fall, Trevor is taking a beginning entrepreneur class at our co-op. How cool is that?

We get to take lots of impromptu trips.

This is something I’ve tried really hard to be intentional about this year, and it’s paying off. We don’t have the resources right now to spend money on expensive vacations, so we’ve tried to take advantage of opportunities that arise. The kids and Brian came along with me to a conference to enjoy the hotel and surrounding area. We’ve tagged along to Columbus with Brian a few times for meetings and have gone to COSI and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. We’ll be heading to Kalahari twice this year, once with a fun group of homeschooling friends and the other for a conference Brian needs to attend. The kids love these mini trips and I like having the flexibility to bring them along when Brian or I have to be out of town for any reason.

I get to spend a lot of time playing with my siblings.

It completely melted me that Trevor chose to include this on his list because I think it’s one of those things all homeschool moms want to hear, but doubt they will. I know that my kids won’t always get along, and that being in each other’s pockets all day will give rise to more frequent quarrels, but what a relief and a blessing that at the end of the day they truly appreciate and love each other. I asked him to expound and he said, Well, Molly is fun to play LEGOs with because she has a great imagination. I love the cool accessories that go with her American Doll, too. It’s neat to play with that and see the detail in those. She’s pretty fun. Logan can be annoying, but she’s still little. And she really likes Hero Factory and the Netflix videos I put on for her. She looks up to me. It’s nice to be liked. And I just love Isaac. I would hate to miss him all day if I went to school.

I get to learn what I want to know about.

We have an eclectic approach to homeschooling that is based on my kids’ interests. Math is math to me…and linear, so they follow a set program for that, but everything else is based off of a topic they’re interested in. We recently acquired a trio or turtle friends – super cute and personable {really!} red-eared sliders – that live in the family room. Trevor wanted to know more so we bought a lapbook from Currclick and he learned all about chelonians – covering science, geography, reading, summarizing, vocabulary, spelling, handwriting, writing, grammar, and usage. I love the integrated approach.

If I work ahead I can take days off when there is something going on.

Our longest break of the year begins in mid-November and ends in mid-January. We’ve tried to work through this time, but it really doesn’t fit our family. In that time period we have Thanksgiving, my goddaughter’s birthday, Trevor’s birthday, my birthday, my mom’s birthday, my dad’s birthday, Advent, Christmas, New Years, and a variety of holiday parties. There is just no way to get holiday crafting, decorating, baking, shopping, and worshipping all done in there if we don’t let something go. Since all of those things are important, we choose to embrace the chaos and live fully in those moments. We work throughout the summer and on some weekends to make up for it.

My birthday is a holiday.

Molly, Logan, and now Isaac all celebrate their birthdays when Brian is off of school. The girls have summer birthdays and Isaac was born on January 2nd, and Brian is usually still on winter break. We decided awhile ago to stop having big parties for the kids. It seemed that we were spending a lot of money to have family and friends over that we didn’t spend much time with otherwise.

The kids would get hyped up on sugar and attention {and get in trouble} and collect a bunch of toys they didn’t need anyway. Instead, we now make each child’s birthday a family celebration day. The day belongs to them – they choose the memories we make. Starting with gifts and breakfast of their choice, we focus on making memories together instead of collecting gifts. Since Trevor’s day falls during the school year, Brian takes a personal day, so Trevor equates it to a holiday and loves the fact that his daddy takes the day off for him.

I can move around – physically and academically – whenever and however I need to.

I loved this look into Trevor’s mind. I ask him to clarify this statement for me because I thought it insightful, and I wasn’t disappointed: In school, I had to sit still. I got in trouble for breaking my pencils and chewing on the erasers. I had to sit by my teacher’s desk so he could put his hand on my shoulder to remind me not to wiggle in my seat. It was embarrassing. You gave me gum to chew and let me play with my action figures while I work. At our old house you put a mini trampoline in the foyer so I could jump when I needed a break. Now you let me ride my bike when I need a break.

I do some work at the kitchen table, but I also do some on my bed, on the floor in the family room, or with the guinea pig in my lap. I’d never be able to work like that in a school. And in school I had to do what the rest of the kids were doing. If I got distracted and didn’t finish my work I had to do it during recess. If I finished early I had to work on a packet of extra problems, so I messed around and finished it just in time. You let me stop a topic when I prove I know it. I can move on and learn something new. That’s cool.

A few years ago when I liked astronomy, you let me study it the whole year. I never would have known so much in a classroom because the rest of the kids wouldn’t have been interested. And I know I’m behind in writing because I hate it and complain to you about it all the time, and I know that I’ll have to catch up at some point, but you have been able to let me keep going ahead in math and science. I can always take a break from those later to catch up my writing if I have to.

And that last statement completely embodies why I love homeschooling my gifted kids – we can embrace their asynchronous learning and enjoy the journey.

Have you ever asked your kids what they love about homeschooling?

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