Homeschool Advice Part 2

The second part of the Homeschool Chat series is over . 15 inspirational homeschooling parents from various walks of lives, religions and countries, took part in the second series. A big thank you to all of them for shedding light on what homeschooling means for them and how they do it. The interviews have been truly inspirational and full of so many tips, wisdom and advice. I hope you enjoyed reading them and found them beneficial just as much as I did.

To conclude these series, I decided to include the answers to all the 15 homeschooling parents to the question ” What do you love about homeschooling ? ” It was wonderful to see the different responses and motivations for the different parents and their reasons for home education. It has proven very inspirational and insightful and I hope it will help those who are already homeschooling and may be encourage those who want to home educate too.

1 )Hamida-Zee Um Aasiyah, -a Muslim mum of four (https://eezeehomeschool.wixsite.com/eezeehomeschooling) :

• Learning together and being together!
• Instilling in my children a love of learning. 
• Freedom to customize education and give them a quality education. 
• Making memories. 
• Being able to provide healthy atmosphere. 
•  Preserving and nurturing their innate innocence and curiosity.   

2) Reja, a homeschool mama of 4 children from the UK @razandrej , writes

“There’s so much I love about it! It really is a pleasure (most days!) and a privilege to be able to spend so much time with my children. I love being around them to nurture them at a tender age and give them a solid Islamic foundation. We can integrate Islam into everything we do alhamdulillah; for example while studying the fall of Rome in History, we discussed what made some Roman leaders fail, and how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him ) was the best example of great leadership. If reading a novel which mentions orphans, we can discuss the Islamic approach to orphans and the reward for looking after them. Quranic ayahs and hadith can be intertwined into every aspect of our day, without Islam being imposed on the kids; this way it’s something natural for them, simply the way they live their life. The children are also memorising Quran alhamdulillah and so I love that homeschooling allows us to incorporate this into our daily routine.

I also love the fact that they can develop at their own pace without having to conform to any arbitrary school rules or standards. We don’t need to be seated at a desk with a pencil and paper to learn; instead we can explore topics like Vikings by having a Viking feast where we eat foods typical in that era, whilst reading Viking mythology and literature. Reading aloud to my children and bonding over books is probably one of the most enjoyable aspects of homeschooling for me.

Finally, I really love that I’m able to learn alongside my kids. I grew up in Saudi Arabia where we didn’t really have much exposure to nature or art, so now doing things like nature study with my children is a totally new experience for me and I love it as much as they do! “

3) Habiba Anwar, (@eatwritebe) a  British homeschooling mama of 2 , residing in Pakistan. gives her reasons on what she loves about home education below :

“I love that it allows me to spend so much time with my daughters, and the flexibility it gives us as family; flexibility not just to travel whenever we need to, but also on a day-to-day level: to wake up late and stay in our PJs, or to do our learning over a plate of dinner, or to do nothing at all if that’s what it seems is best for all of us that day! “

4) @silkroadkeepsakes, a Muslim mama of 4 , residing in Scotland – ” I love that I get to spend so much time with my children in their formative years. Home educating enables me to embed a love of learning into my children, without the added pressure of tests and homework. “

5) Brooke Benoit @br00kebenoit- unschooling mama of 7 childres, residing in Morocco – “Mmmaybe having a very family-focused lifestyle. I don’t know how that would have been different if my children were in school, but I definitely love having access to each other all day even though sometimes that can be overwhelming. “

6) Hina Malik, @rainsbows_of_learning – a homeschooling mama of 4 from the UK- “I enjoy teaching varied subjects and I do like the challenge of creating activities for subjects that are also new to me. Some topics I haven’t covered since I was in school so its lovely to share fascinating information with my children through the activities I set up. “

7)   Leslie Monroe @besimplybetter- An American homeschool mama of 2 says :

“Freedom.  That one word, means so much.  We have the freedom to adjust, relax, shift focus if we need to.  When husband takes a week off we don’t have to check with anyone’s schedule.  (We often take a vacation the week after Labor day….and we always have the place to ourselves.)  If we get sick we can rest, recharge and recover.  We get to choose the format and subjects that we like!

Time.  We enjoy the luxury of being responsible for how we spend our days.  We teach to mastery NOT to a clock.  If it takes longer to master a skill that’s fine.  (We have 18 years to get our kids college ready….to pass a college entry test they need to know how to write and essay and do some algebra…that’s it.) “

8) Umm Hajar @homeedder, a homeschooling mother of 2 from the UK writes : ” The one thing I love the most, is the fact that I have had the opportunity and continue to have the opportunity to spend time with my children. I firmly believe home educating has allowed me to really get to know these little people, and enabled me to watch them grow and develop. Being with them more has also meant we have a beautiful and strong bond MashaAllah. Home educating also means I can ensure they aren’t stressed by matters that shouldn’t bother them, or pressurised by exams and targets. “

9 Umm Affan , an Australian homeschooling mother of two children  https://www.instagram.com/the_odd_muslimah/ – ” The flexibility! And also no school runs because Allah knows I wouldn’t have been able to take that stress! Huge respect for those mamas. “

10) Jessica @threerivershomestead – an American homeschool mom of 6 says – “What I love most about homeschooling is the way it unites our family. Other educational options can run the risk of fracturing the family unit, but home education seems to deepen both the parent-child bond and sibling bonds. Creating an environment , where my children feel like an essential part of the family unit and where we are working and making memories together builds character and a bond that will benefit them in so many ways as they grow. These are things the public school system cannot replicate. “

11 Hana, @gardensofarabic -a homeschooling mama of 5, who resides in Saudi Arabia says: “The fact that you can go at the pace of the child and not feel he needs to understand certain concepts at certain times or to be able to do certain skills at certain phases of his life just because everyone else is or because the curriculum dictates it. “

12) Sabah, @sabah.homeschool – a homeschooling mama of one girl – “ I love the quality time I spend with my daughter and I couldn’t imagine it any other way! I love being involved in her learning and getting to know her learning styles as we continue in this journey. “

13) Umm Ameerah, @bilingualhomeschooler – a homeschooling mother of two girls who resides in Saudi Arabia writes : ” The best thing about homeschooling is the flexibility and going at the pace of our children, knowing their strengths and weakness we can push or slow down as needed. “

14 ) Shannen (@middlewaymom) , a homeschooling mother of 4 girls : ” What I absolutely love about home schooling and why I hold on to it even when it is extremely hard and I think I’m not doing a great job at it, is I love learning with my kids and I truly believe that my love of learning is a gift to them to see that learning does not end when you graduate. I joke sometimes that the one good thing I’ve done as a parent is instill the love of books in all my kids (I know I’ve done more than that, mashaAllah). It is just a part of our culture at home, and with homeschooling, we get to dig into books together and discuss them. A really close second to what I love about homeschooling, though I do think it is connected, is being able to take my kids to museums and plays numerous times each year. Again, we get to learn and explore together and it is just such a joy . “

15 ) Faryal– @life.of.faryal , a homeschooling Mom of 4 children, from New Jersey, USA gives her reasons on what she loves about home education – ” I love the flexibility and the relaxed nature. As my kids are getting older, I can see how their personalities have shaped for the good by spending so much time with us, their parents. There are definitely many things to love about homeschooling.  “

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post. If you are home educating your children, I would love to hear from you and what you love about taking this unconventional path.