There are so many advantages to homeschooling our children.
We get to choose what curricula to use, when to bump up a level and when to back off.
We get to do Bible every day, math every other day and history twice each day {if we want.}
We get to structure our days exactly how it works best for our kids. We can start late in the day and teach through dinner. Or we can start at 6am and be done before The Price is Right comes on.
We can pursue something unique that triggers our kid’s fancy, we can alter what we read in books or we can skip topics altogether.
We are blessed to grow extra close relationships with our kids all the while helping them learn and grow and mature.
But, another MAJOR benefit that recently struck me as an ENORMOUS BONUS that cannot be matched via any other educational option is
being able to structure their education NOW to meet up with their career goals LATER in life.
I only have one example to offer but I am completely and utterly positive that there are a gazillion examples of how to make this work for YOUR KID.
Our son, who is now 12, has wanted to be a zookeeper FORbasicallyEVER.
Now, a LOT of kids like animals and many seem to really LOVE them so none of this surprised us. We catered to his likes by visiting zoos in multiple cities and states, taking him to live animal shows and watching several reality-based zoo shows as a family.
Like most parents, we unconsciously assumed he would change his mind, but, his childhood dream hasn’t waned at all. He simply wants to be a zookeeper.
While he was in the middle of his Seventh Grade year, my husband decided to begin researching the path to zookeepering. And, one of the biggest surprises that we discovered was the suggestion {made by many renowned professionals in the field of animal keeping} that young adults need to have SIGNIFICANT VOLUNTEER TIME under their belts before they can even begin to dream of applying for a paid zookeeper gig.
Now, I’ll admit. This suggestion of SIGNIFICANT VOLUNTEER TIME gave me visions of a college graduate living in my basement for years while he schlepped down to the local animal shelter or maybe shoveling stalls at a nearby farm.
But then I had the realization that this kid of ours can start volunteering NOW. He’s only 12. But he has the time and he has the dream. So, I did some quick thinking (not a lot of options in our smallish town, which is located no closer than 90 miles from an actual zoo,) and I landed on our local museum that just so happens to have
two giant tortoises
an alligator snapping turtle,
an alligator gar,
more snakes than I want to acknowledge,
one bat,
several frogs and toads,
two chuckwallas,
a couple of water monitors,
a pair of red slider turtles
and about 1000 mice
{because they purposely breed them to feed everything above.}
So, I made some calls on Wednesday, our son had his first ever interview on Friday and he began “work” Monday morning at 9am!
He now spends about 6-8 hours each week helping care for this menagerie of animals and working toward his dream job!
I could write an entire post on the benefits of this experience {and I probably will} but the point of this post is this…
He’s ONLY 12 years old and is actually actively working towards his career goal!
I think that is an ENORMOUS BONUS of homeschooling! Don’t you?
YESSSS! So my two oldest kids are 25 and 22 now. They were home schooled for most of their lives. My son put in three years of volunteer time at the local science museum before he even graduated high school! Now, they are both grown and successful, the oldest got a business degree and is the VP of marketing at her job! With a 15-year-old, three-year-old and two-year-old twins at home, we are sticking with home schooling for sure! LOVE this colorful, beautiful blog, by the way!
Oh! How cool about your son volunteering at the museum! My son is absolutely loving his “job” and it has had so many amazing benefits already! Good for you for sticking with HSing. It’s so worth it!
I think kids learn better when they are actually really interested in the topic!
TOTALLY true in this house for sure!
Love incorporating the animals!
Thanks! I need to get some more pics of the various animals he works with. It’s quite the menagerie!
This is awesome! I’ll be honest, I barely remember the stuff I learned in high school other than Math (mostly Algebra, no memory of Pre-Calculus) and English because I liked to write. There are times that I feel like I’ve missed out on opportunities that I would have LOVED to do when I was younger, but it would not have fit into my schedule. I’m glad that these options are now becoming more popular for our younger generations to have a better starting point.
Me too!
I so applaud your family that can do homeschooling well! We have asked our kids a number of times if they’d like to be homeschooled, but the answer is always no. We have strongly considered it a number of times for our youngest, as I feel he’d really benefit from it, but no, we just couldn’t do it. I guess we just like our space too much. Mad props to you, mama, and to your awesome young man who is on his way to achieving his career goal!!!
I think it helps that our son never experienced public school so he didn’t feel like he was missing out. Now, he’s adamant that he has no desire to attend.
I love that you are carving out the path. This is something all parents should do but it seems like it would be much better as a homeschooler.
Homeschooling definitely has its perks!
I love this post. Volunteering at an equestrian ranch for four years was definitely a growing experience for our son. He learned many valuable skills, as your son is, as well. Good job, kiddo! I beat you’ll make a great zookeeper!
Yes, the amount our son has grown in such a short time of volunteering is nothing short of amazing!
That is so awesome that at 12 he can get that experience already! Light years ahead of his peers. I’m sure he’ll make an awesome zookeeper before you know it.
Time sure has flown! We’re 2/3 of the way “done” with raising him. Eeks!
That is so great! I am considering home schooling our daughter at least to begin her schooling. She is 3 so I’m looking at preschool currently, but she is such a sensitive little soul and so smart. I have noticed she learns a bit differently than most kids her age and just wonder if the best option for her is to home school.
Homeschooling has been such a blessing for our family! You should seriously consider it.
Super important! I also find that finances are not exactly taught in public schools either. Banking, credit, debt, savings, retirement, etc. Give them the bug early!
Absolutely! There are so many topics that are missed in public school…not that the teachers don’t care; they just don’t have the time.
Love this! Kids learn so much more and better when they actually enjoy the topic or subject. I don’t even remember half the stuff I learned in school….and they told us them it was highly important…
Oh, indeed!
Wonderful for your son that he gets to “test” out his career choice at such an early age!!
Yes! I wish I had had that option too! I went away to college with a plan of one career goal but as I got more and more involved in those classes, I realized it wasn’t for me. Then, I floundered for a few years trying to figure out what I wanted to be/do.
That’s so awesome! My girls loved music, and by homeschooling they were able to practice their instruments way more than they would have if they had gone to school. One got a full scholarship to study viola and the other received a mostly full ride to study violin at a private university. I loved homeschooling for all the reasons you mentioned, and I’d do it all over again.
How cool! Homeschooling affords our kids so many beautiful blessings!
I love this so much! I’m still on the fence about yanking my daughter out of school and doing this. I know I can teach her all kinds of things but she loves her social time at school… and I don’t want to take those experiences and lessons from her
There are so many social opportunities for homeschool kids these days. Sometimes I wonder how we ever get schoolwork done with all of the social stuff we do. YOU CAN DO IT!
Great post! Your thoughts are right on the money.
I wasn’t homeschooled, but my family allowed me to audition for roles in NYC when I was young, and I was able to start acting professionally by the age of 13. If I’d waited to start exploring my career goals and passions until I was of college age, I’d have missed out on a lot of lessons and had a much harder road to travel.
Starting that young also gave me an opportunity to decide whether I really did want to spend my life doing this (I did, and have) early enough that if the answer was no, I could have pursued other things and not wasted years or a degree on something I didn’t absolutely love.
I wish your son much success in all that he does.
Very cool!
Wow! This is amazing. He is only 12 years old and already working towards his career! Great job parenting!
Thanks!
Great post. How fun for him!
Thanks!
Kids do learn better when they have an interest in it. Love that he has “found” his career and so early. He is definitely ahead of his peers. Great job Mom!
Yes, he has learned so much in such a short amount of time. It has been amazing.
I don’t homeschool, but my daughter would love to volunteer with animals. What a cool opportunity for him. I’m glad he loves it.
It has been awesome! There is another boy who volunteers after school so it might be possible for your daughter as well.
What a great opportunity for your son! Very astute on your part to do the research and find this for him!
Thanks! It has been such a wonderful experience!
I loved the years I had homeschooling my kiddos. Such fabulous experiences and adventures on the journey.
It has been such a blessing!
Wow!!!! Not only the career-specific experience, but also the responsibility of having a “job” at 12 will help him tremendously as he becomes a teenager.
EXACTLY! The first time I saw him cutting vegetables for the chuckwallas at “work,” it dawned on me that I had never let him loose in the kitchen. This has helped him in so many ways but it has also helped me find some areas that I need to help him with.
I just want to add here that some public schools do alot of this, it depends on the school. I know people who got crappy education at home and also public school, so it depends. All of the public schools in our area really work around providing an individual learning experience for all kids. In fact, at my youngest daughters school, they start a volunteering program at kindergarten.
Very cool! There is indeed a wide variance of public school experiences. I taught in PS for a decade prior to homeschooling so I know how varied it all is. What a blessing that you have access to such a great school!
How cool is that! That’s an awesome benefit of homeschooling.
It sure is!
Yes! This is one of the advantages to homeschooling. I homeschooled all three of my kids through 12th grade. Each knew at an early age what he or she wanted to do, career wise. We began bringing in opportunities for them to gain experience, volunteer and meet professionals in their chosen fields before they entered their teens. My kids were awarded scholarships to our local university, with one entering as an honor student. Today my children are fulfilling their chosen destinies. My son is a police sergeant, one daughter is a nurse in private practice and the other daughter is the COO of a cutting edge, innovative company. Blessings on your son as he prepares for his future!
Very cool! Thanks for sharing your stories!
I love this aspect of homeschooling! We have homeschooled our three boys on and off throughout the years and for various reasons. At current, I have the youngest home for health reasons, but he plans on going back to brick and mortar next year. However, having him home has provided him ample opportunity to expand his knowledge of coding, something he absolutely LOVES, LOVES, LOVES! I’ve also enjoyed pacing according to our needs.
Wow, so wonderful I think it’s such a great thing to see a young man pursuing his life goals at such a young age! Who knows where it will all lead he may be the next Jack Hanna! 🤗