Benefits of Homeschooling With YouTube: Comfort in Community Is Only A Click Away (Part 1)
Community
Online classrooms.
Brick and mortar schooling.
Homeschooling.
What do all of the above have in common?
The need for community!
Need encouragement?
How about tips for educating your special needs child?
Whether you live in a rural area, inner city, or suburbia like me, homeschooling, like parenting, can feel lonely sometimes. As a homeschool mama of one, I have learned I should not expect myself to be the sole source of my child’s education. While I do consider myself highly qualified to teach my child, I also know the importance of surrounding myself with a strong community of fellow homeschool families. I am thankful for this village of lifelong learners!
While we are part of an active in-person homeschool community, we also appreciate the value of our extended virtual community.
Safety First
While I defend the use of YouTube in our homeschool as a learning aid, I want to make clear our use of the platform is not without caution. YouTube safety is paramount.
While I use YouTube as a way to share our homeschool experiences and life events with others, we have made the choice in our homeschool to not allow our child’s face to be shown in the content we create. The decision was a personal one and we respect others’ decisions to do the same or the opposite.
Should you prefer to exercise a bit more caution, you can choose to keep your uploads private and share the links individually with family, friends, and co-op members at your discretion.
If uploading content to share publicly, consider editing your videos with software using blurring technology or fun stickers. Or consider shooting content videos with your child facing away from the camera.
In all reality, the only way to guarantee full privacy is to never share your images with others. Even old-fashioned film development labs were not foolproof.
As far as viewing goes, there are other precautions you can take to make YouTube an ally and not an enemy. Want to learn more about parental controls, parental monitoring, and making playlists? Check out our blog post, “YouTube Schooling: Dangerous Enemy or Powerful Ally?” for suggestions on how to use the platform safely in your home.
Benefits of a Virtual Community
While I certainly do not recommend you embrace a virtual community in lieu of an in-vivo one, I recognize there are times when it is quite helpful to have options. A virtual community can help you:
Find Others Who Share Your Passions – Our homeschool family has benefited on multiple occasions from online interactions with others. Our beloved Books N Bricks: A Hands-on Book Club for Kids was born over Facetime and Zoom calls as a way to connect during a long period of social isolation in the early days of the pandemic.
Gather the Courage to Learn a New Skill. Learning a new skill can be intimidating. YouTube classes provided our homeschooler music lessons, art lessons, research skills, and Lego-loving friendships when we were in between co-ops. Not ready to take the plunge and commit to a long-term class? Try one out for free on YouTube!
Get Moving – As a mom of a kiddo living with both Sensory Processing Disorder and Developmental Coordination Disorder, I can assure you, Movement Matters. Fun-loving, energetic virtual P.E. classes like Bobo P.E. and Sweat Kids TV help us stay active and provide much-needed brain breaks when we simply need to “get the wiggles out” or want to ensure we actually can tackle that cursive page without tears.
Maintain Long-Distance Connections. We moved to Texas when our son was two months old. All of our extended family members (both sides) were now two states away. While we visit once or twice a year, and frequently vacation together, there is a noticeable void of missing loved ones. Uploading videos of life events, such as earning a new belt in karate, moving up a level in swim class, or shooting a bow and arrow for the first time allows our extended family to share in our child’s achievements and soothes the ache of separation until we can be together again.
Traveling Companions
Budget-Friendly Travel. I don’t know of a better deal than well, FREE. Oh, the places we would go…if only we had unlimited funds! While I do dream of one day visiting far-off lands and soaking up all the history and culture these places will offer, for now, I am content with tagging along with one or two world-schooling families as they trot all over the globe.
Vicarious Experiences. In my daydream life, I would like to think that I am a “cool enough” mom to pack up our schoolbooks, program my GPS, pile my family into a camper, and take off out onto the open road to see where the journey takes us. In reality, I know we A.) Do not own a camper and B.) I pack three different types of bug spray and two brands of sunscreen for a week’s visit to the beach (and usually still end up a sweaty, sunburned bug buffet anyway). Thank you, road schoolers for letting me live vicariously through you.
Virtual Field Trips. Museums, live webcams of habitats at zoos and aquariums, and historical and national monuments galore. All without fighting traffic, crowds, inclement weather, or “shy” baby elephants not feeling their public personas that day. Oh, free admission is nice, too.
Other Ways to Use YouTube As Part of Your Community
Celebrate Creative Accomplishments. Record your child sharing his or her songwriting talents, music recitals, building block creations, or artwork.
Encourage Accountability and Perseverance. Keep your own digital growth chart. Post videos of your child’s progress as they work towards a goal or complete a project.
Polish Oratory Skills. Have your kiddo practice their public speaking skills by uploading videos of scripture memorizations, poetry recitations, book reports, or essays.
Coming Up
Be sure to check back in with our blog for Part 2 of our Benefits of Homeschooling With YouTube Series. In Part 2, we will explore the world of skill sharing.
Looking for more inspiration from folks supporting their communities or homeschool moms willing to impart a bit of advice? Check out our podcast series over at YouTube! The Salt and Light SERVE Spotlight highlights outreach, service, and volunteerism, while Shelf Indulgence Book Chats offers intimate conversations with fellow homeschool moms who also happen to be authors.
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Blessings,
Kimberly
IOH Mom
This website is not a professional counseling website and nothing here should be construed as professional counseling advice. Although Kimberly Bennett, LPC is a Licensed Professional Counselor, she is not your counselor, and no counselor-client relationship is established unless she has signed an agreement with you. All information provided through this website is for informational and educational purposes only. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure statement. Thank you for visiting!
