Top 3 Reasons to Homeschool Your Military Child
By Crystal Niehoff
Homeschooling is the rising star of educational choice for military children. There are many reasons families make this choice and here are three of those reasons.
1. Flexibility
We’ve all been there, last-minute PCS orders, canceled leave, rescheduled deployment dates. As a military spouse, I write everything on my calendar in pencil! Homeschooling provides the flexibility necessary for military families with our ever-changing, on-the-go lifestyle.
No need to juggle family life alongside a public or private school calendar with its fixed vacation dates, teacher conferences, and student activities. When our servicemember returns from TDY or we receive PCS orders mid-year, we can take days off without worrying about our child falling behind on schoolwork.
*Bonus…Block leave vacations can count as homeschool field trips!
2. Stability
According to the 2021 Blue Star Families’ Annual Military Family Lifestyle Survey, 31% of active-duty families report their child’s education among the top five issues affecting their family. The survey report explains that they are seeing a “Continuing a trend . . .in Blue Star Families’ 2018 MFLS.
There are elevated numbers of active-duty family respondents (13%) who choose to homeschool their children; nearly 2-4 times the proportion of children ages 5-17 homeschooled in the general U.S. population.” The report goes on to add that 35% of respondents state that “poor quality school options” are a factor in their decision to homeschool.
Academic standards are wildly inconsistent from school district to school district, which may cause children to struggle and fall behind their peers when moving to a new school every two-three years. Homeschooling gives military children stability and consistency in their education.
3. Family Connections
Another factor to consider when making educational choices for your military child is family connections. This is to be considered for two main reasons.
- Parent deployment: Homeschooling allows children to spend ample time with a parent preparing to deploy and upon redeployment after months apart. Secondly, homeschooling makes it easier to maintain connections with extended family. Our military lifestyle often calls us to live hundreds, even thousands of miles away from loved ones.
- Flexibility to travel: Homeschooling provides families with the ability to travel for visits, or take time off when family comes to visit, at a time that works best for you (around block leave, TDY’s, etc.) without adding a school calendar to the mix.
What other homeschool advantages can you think of? Feel free to drop some of your homeschool advantages in the comments below. With so many incredible benefits, it’s no wonder homeschooling is the rising star of educational choice for military families!
*Looking for a history supplement for your teen or family devotional? Check out Crystal’s weekly History for Christian Teens podcast
*Looking for more confidence as a Homeschool parent? Read an earlier post called “The Imposter Syndrome” https://armywifenetwork.com/imposter-syndrome-am-i-doing-homeschool-right/
These are great points, Crystal! During the pandemic, we chose to homeschool our then-2nd grader, and one of the things I loved most about it was the flexibility and family connections. As you mentioned, military families often have irregular schedules, so getting to see extended family is important but not easy. Last year, when we were ready for our summer trip, we planned our school schedule around it. This year since my daughter is back in public school, we are at the mercy of their calendar… and this is the first year that they are doing year-round school schedule! (Ew!) Thanks for sharing this insight with our followers!