Wa alaikum salaam wa rahmatulahi wa barakatuh,

Whether to homeschool your child or not is an important dilemma that many parents go through as their children reach school going age. There are many things to think about in weighing up the options and the decision is made more difficult by the fact that it is a decision that will affect your child’s future. The good news is, is that there are many benefits to either approach and historically, children have been successful schooled using both options. You have done the right thing in thinking about this important decision ahead of time as it will give you a chance to be fully prepared either way.

In order to make the decision that is best in your case is to consider your individual circumstances. This will depend for example on your location and access to resources. For example, if you live in a rural area, then often homeschooling can be a useful option as it saves lengthy school runs on a daily basis. Likewise, if there are no good schools in your local area and you fear your child will be influenced in a negative way by their peers, then homeschooling can be a means to protect them from this.

Homeschooling, however, is very time to consume as you yourself will be the teacher and therefore it is a full-time job in itself, which obviously if you are working may prove very difficult from a practical perspective. You need to be very dedicated to homeschooling in planning which tasks your child will do each day that will be in line with their level of ability. It can be a very challenging role, but also incredibly rewarding. It might seem quite daunting at first as it may seem like there is a lot to think about, but there are also lots of support groups for other fellow homeschooling parents like yourself. Depending on your location, you may even find such support groups in a face to face environment. Parents will often organize to meet up and do activities together. This can be very useful, as one of the concerns that parents have about homeschooling is that their children might miss out on the social interaction that comes with attending a public school. Meet ups like this allow children to have social interaction and for parents to exchange ideas. Alternatively, you can simply enroll them in clubs such as sports where they will be able to interact with other children also.  If you live somewhere more remote than this might not be an option, but there are however many online support groups where you can ideas from others that will improve your skills and make homeschooling even more enjoyable for both you and your child. This is one of the benefits of homeschooling; that you are the one in control of what is being taught and you can teach it in a way that you know will be more compatible with your child’s individual way of learning. In a public school environment, there is often the concern that perhaps the child will not get the one on one attention that homeschooling can provide, or that the style of teaching will not work with their child. Homeschooling overcomes these difficulties.

However, as you can see, homeschooling can be very time consuming and hard work and sending your child to a public school would save the stress and give you reassurance that they are being taught according to the national curriculum, as well as being given the chance to interact with their peers on a daily basis as well as having access to multiple resources and books to assist their learning.

Whichever choice you make, be patient with it for a time and in sha Allah it will work out. However, also know that if it really doesn’t work out, then you can always switch to the other method of schooling.

Ultimately you need to take time to really ponder over your options and which you feel will work best for you in your circumstances. Whilst you consider these options, pray istikhara and ask Allah to guide you to make the best decision.

May Allah reward you for looking out for your child’s best interests. May He bless you with a pious child that will be a righteous, upstanding pillar of the community.