10 Reasons to homeschool a creative child

My children are creative, how about yours?

And there are loads of reasons to homeschool a creative child.

I have children who are creative in so many different ways.  I know that some people think about children who are creative they imagine a child who paints all day.  Well looking at the word creative - it is really one who likes to create (and I believe that can be any kind of medium).  So by this definition all of my children are creative.

1.  They can follow their passions
We have drama and singing lessons on a Monday morning (yep they are all rather dramatic and sing-a-long-ish).  The boys atttend a Tekioo (woodworking) class once a month.  Turns out that Ethan is the only one who is truly passionate about this and Declan is giving it a good go.  Chad gave up on this and said he wasn't interested.  So I let him.


There are so many other classes they attend.  When I see an interest, I try as best as I can to allow them to explore those passions.  Sometimes lessons are too expensive but then I find a way around that (for example guitar lessons online).

2.  They can discover more passions
Because we are not bound to a classroom or a large group of children, we can really experiment with a whole range of interests.  I know schools really try to do their best but they are limited by budgets to only offer limited creative classes.

3.  Creative expression everywhere
By incorporating a holistic approach to learning - there are lots of ways to include all forms of creativity in the learning experience.  Lapbooks, blogging, design, journal writing - the list is endless.

4.  Creativity is not limited to gender
Why shouldn't boys knit?  Or girls do woodwork?  Their talents do not determine their values in life.  My boys are boys that love to rough and tumble, but when I gave them the task once of learning to knit and to knit a scarf for winter - they loved it!  There I said it! My boys love knitting!  When they see me knitting they want to knit.

5.  Freedom from boxes
There are no boxes in our home.  We don't all learn in the same way, we don't do things the same way.  Homeschooling brings real freedom to be creative without having to be like the class average.

6.  Learning can be centred around their talents
Why should the more "academic subjects" always take preference.  Homeschooling allows learning to take place around talents and creative endeavours. 

7.  Creativity can lead to business
What a fantastic opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills around their own talents.  They can really get a head start on the market and develop some key business skills. 

8. Focused Individual Attention
My kids get a teacher all to themselves, not having to compete with 40 other children to learn or to be mentored.  I also find that their experiences are more like mentoring than teaching - which involves a great relationship and allows for some real hands on learning.

9. Trusting and Uncritical Environment
The last thing I want,  is for my children's creativity to be stifled or criticized. I want it to flourish and grow!  Though they can attend classes with other students, they are students with the same passions and who have the same interest in a subject.  They are not subjected to peer pressure or destructive comments.

10.  Their creativity encourages your own
I know that a lot of people think that homeschooling is only for the children.  I disagree.  I love the learning process and I love learning more all the time! And you know what?  I never had the chance to tap into my creativity because well meaning parents insisted that I do academic subjects like Accounting and Maths. And so now because I am stimulating their creativity

And I am linking up with Top Ten Tuesday (on a Wednesday:)