It hit me at 3 a.m. that homeschooled children get to sleep, on average, at least an hour longer than their schooled peers everyday. Often two hours longer, judging the sleep of children in this house and figuring most middle schoolers average bed time at 9 and wake by 7. I'm guessing stress at home may be about half of the stress encountered by school kids? That is a wild guess, based on personal school experience and observation of kids at home. Life is generally a lot less stressful at home...as long as Mom gets the sleep she needs... Anyhow, sleep and lack of stress probably have a lot to do with the academic advantage homeschooled kids enjoy.
Here is an interesting resource. Homeschooling: The Pros And Cons
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ReplyDeleteWe also laughed that maybe this is why the kids grew so tall too--all that gorgeous sleep. Teenagers here sleep about 12 hours a night, incredible as that sounds. The first week of high school James said he felt sick, "Like I have a fever, only I don't." We were sure it was adjusting to the new sleep hours--being out the door by 6:15 am. love, Val
ReplyDeleteWhat a COOL study that would be! I thank the world daily when my girl wanders in at 9 AM. I am regularly so very glad she is not ousted from her slumber at 6 AM. But, BUT! what if home schooled kids as a group tend toward above average height just because they sleep decently!? That would be amazing. Growth hormone and sleep, another reason not to get on the (short) bus.
ReplyDeleteDepression, stress related illness? As long as we could separate the types of homeschool: unschoolers, middle of the road people, and intense homeschoolers, it would help. love, Val
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