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The Benefits of Homeschooling an Only Child

Ah, homeschooling an only child!  It is so much fun!  But are there really benefits of homeschooling an only child? When people find out that I am a homeschooling mom, I am welcomed with a variety of reactions.

“How do you do it? I would never have the patience.”

“Wow!! I admire you!  I could never be a homeschooling mom.”

“Don’t you ever worry about socialization?”  **Yep, that’s one of my favorites!**

But inevitably I get this question–and not just from non-homeschoolers.

“Is she your only one?  Are you Time.

And my answer is always the same.  Yes, she is our only one. No, we are not planning on having more.  And yes to the unspoken question I see on their faces….homeschooling still rocks with only one!!

In fact, I can even say there are some benefits to homeschooling an only child…both for the parent and the student.  Please understand this is not to say that I don’t see the blessings of many children as well…or the benefits that situation offers.  Because I do.  I just happen to see all of the good things about the focused time that being the homeschooling mom of just one gives me!  Those are our blessings.

Looking for more information about how to homeschool an only?  Check out our resource page for homeschooling an only child.

The Benefits of Homeschooling an Only Child

1.  Lesson planning for one? Yes, please!

I spend much less time lesson planning for one.  It is fairly easy to plan out our days, weeks, and months when I only have one student to consider.  If I make a change to the schedule here and there, I can keep track of it fairly easily.  Just one little change on my spreadsheets, and I’m done!

2.  Curriculum costs do not match the spending of a small country.

Let’s face it.  I love curriculum.  That’s one of the reasons that I began blogging…to share my thoughts on all of the crazy awesome stuff out there for homeschooling moms.  With just one to buy for, my curriculum budget is not as high as it would be if I had several students.  So I either save money on curriculum costs OR I do not have to think as hard if I need to make some changes during the year. And in choosing curriculum, I only have her learning style to consider.  It makes it fairly easy to select the right products for us.

3.  My taxi service only has one passenger.

When considering outside classes, I do not have as many children to purchase classes for, AND I only need to schedule in time to shuttle one back and forth.  If there is a class she wants to take on Wednesdays, I don’t have to find another class at the same time for a sibling to make it work.

4.  “How can I help you with that?”

Having only one child gives us much more time to get school done in a day.  I am 100% focused on her.  She does not have to wait for me to finish with a brother or sister to get help on something she is having difficulty with.  With just one, most days are really, really great school days.  But what about the others?  When they occur, we can simply focus on the problem at hand and forget about the rest.  No worries at all.

5.  “Tickets for two, please.”

Zoo and museum memberships, tickets to plays, admission to water parks…all cost less.  And very rarely do we do these things by ourselves, so it isn’t as though she is alone all the time.  Yes, she is alone more than other children with siblings, but we have an amazing group of friends and a willing Grandma who often join us for these activities.

And my favorite one of all….

6.  She’s my best girl.

If I want to call off school for a day, or a morning…or really any chance I feel the desire to…to go do something fun with just the  two of us….I can.  Every single day is a mommy/daughter day.  And if her daddy’s schedule allows, he can join us too.  We are an extremely close-knit family of three.  Even before we began our homeschooling journey, we were tight.  I believe that our self-reliance (we are also a self-employed family) has brought us all even closer.

And that, my sweet friends, is the best part of it all.

Are you a mom of an only child? We would love to know what means the most to you about the quality time you have with your precious one! Share with us what your benefits of homeschooling an only child have been. 

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25 Comments

  1. I also homeschool just one. All the reasons you give in this post are very valid. My daughter always wanted another younger sibling and sometimes I think the peer pressure of having another sibling to do school with her might have pushed her to want to learn more. Regardless it is all good.
    Blessings
    Diane

  2. We only have one child and I have encountered all of the above, along with: “I could homeschool too, if I only had one child”. We are our own little tribe and love it. Thanks so much for sharing!

  3. Yep! Homeschooling one here, too. Only this is my 3rd child. There was a 10+ year gap between #2 and #3, and #2 attended a private school for senior year, so this child has always been in a class of one.

    I find it has its challenges, too. When my older two girls were both home schooled, they were motivated to finish quickly so they could go off and play. #3 does not have this motivation, because when he if he finishes early there is no one to play with. Except me. And I’m a older mom, now, and my idea of what to do when school is done steers towards laundry, vacuuming, decluttering, blogging, walking the dog… Yeah, I never catch up. Even with only one. I got into a hole when parents passed away in -06 & -07, and am still trying to find the way out of accumulated clutter.

  4. We’re homeschooling just one as well and also a self-employed family. The greatest gift about this, is we’re always together. Both of us are her teachers and go with our strengths, when we teach. Wouldn’t change a thing. 🙂 Lovely post and may you and yours, be blessed.

  5. I have two children BUT my son is 22 and my daughter is 5. And she is my last. I’m 45 and single to boot :-)We just started kinder this year. It was cool reading your post and all the advantages of homeschooling one! And she is “my best girl!” I’m glad I found this post on Pinterest. Can’t wait to start following you by email!

  6. I homeschool one here also. I have a wonderful daugter, but the positives are not always there. I think she has too much of a stubborn streak in her genes. She is starting High School this year at our homeschool. Love her so much and homeschooling her from 3rd grade on makes me wish I started straight from homeschooling, and never put her in a public school to start with.

  7. Us too! And loving it. We are a very close family and do lots together. We would love more precious ones, but for now God’s plan is one. And that’s good enough for me.

  8. Thanks for this! I have an only child (4 now) and we are just getting into homeschool. It’s nice to know there are other onl-ies homeschooling.

  9. i have been feeling like i want another lately, but im realizing it may be indirect peer pressure “she needs a sibling”.. blah blah.. but reading your post has reminded me of just how blessed we are to be able to devote all we have to her, she has a TON of cousins and i doubt she will fight lonliness, thank you!

  10. i am the proud mama of one amazing five year old girl. We just began our homeschool journey two weeks ago and we are loving everything about it. She and I are extremely close and I can see how homeschooling will allow us to form an even stronger bond. I can relate to everything you mentioned above, especially about socialization and her being an only child. Once people realize how incredibly outgoing and verbal she is, they seem to back off. And whenever they ask about other kids I reply by saying God gave us one perfect girl and we are happy the way we are. Honestly most of the time I think other mothers are jealous they didn’t stop at one because all they do is complain about their kids while I spend my time praising my only and cherishing every moment I have with her. I am very happy to know there are other happy and lucky only child home schools out there.

  11. Thank you thank you thank you for this! I homeschool our only daughter, Amelia, and it is a blessing and a joy! So nice to hear someone be positive about it. Having struggled with secondary infertility has been a painful journey. I appreciate so much your words of encouragement about the blessings of having just one very special child!

  12. Does anyone know of a group for homeschooling singletons?
    We homeschool my 6 1/2 year old “lonely” only and I feel so guilty sometimes because our location (and the fact that most of her friends go to PS) doesn’t allow her much “friend time”.

    1. Marcie, you might want to check with local homeschool groups or churches. It may be that they know of others who are homeschooling only children. It’s possible you may find help at your local library too. I would suggest just going to them (or contacting them by phone or email) and asking if they know of anyone. You can then offer your contact information and ask if they’re willing to contact the other person/people since they’re probably not allowed to give out the other person’s contact information without permission.

  13. Thank you! I feel like in the homeschool community there are a lot of families with large amounts of children and that just wasn’t Gods plan for us. There are blessings and challenges with having just one or many kids. There’s just not a lot of information or encouragement when it comes to homeschooling an only child.

  14. I’ve never taken the time to comment on a blog before, ever. But I had to take a moment to tell you how needed this was for me today. I am a mom of one (by choice) beginning our homeschool journey. All of the families I know/have found who homeschool are big families and I have been questioned constantly (and worry myself) about homeschooling an only child. Will he be lonely? Am I crazy? Is it what’s best for him? Am I a mean mommy to keep him home AND without siblings? (lol). Suffice it to say this post quieted all my fears, both rational and irrational, and for you I am thankful.

    P.S. we are also a self employed family 🙂 I enjoyed your point of view so much!

  15. I’m a homeschooler with one son. He is 10, he is so clever. I have to say its not the same as it was when he was 5 and 6, I’m not the coolest anymore…He actually gets annoyed at me now. We are going through a change with him for sure. I’d love some encouraging feedback to keep the sanity in tact…lol

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