When I first started homeschooling one of the first things I was told was that I needed to get the kids into a homeschool enrichment program. It was one of the best pieces of advice I had been given, so lets look at the benefits of enrichment.
For most homeschool families the biggest benefit of enrichment is to have a day where someone else will be teaching your children. There is someone else to hold their feet to the fire without Mom or Dad nagging to get their work done in an appropriate and timely manner and provide an additional accountability partner with the parents. But there are other benefits as well:
- Enrichment teachers can supplement where you have weaknesses or teach subjects you are not familiar with or that you don’t like.
- Enrichment gives the parents a much needed break from being with their children 24/7, so that Mom or Dad can get caught up on other aspects of their life.
- Enrichment allows students to be in fellowship with like-minded peers.
- Enrichment keeps a school-like schedule, providing structure that is useful should you choose to reintegrate your children into public or private schools.
There are two types of enrichment programs available. The first is one that has class choice, where the parents are able to choose classes that are a good fit for the family’s objectives. These types of programs will fill up fast and it’s a good 
idea as a parent to volunteer to get first choice at the classes for your children. The second type of enrichment is one that has a pre-determined class schedule and you sign up for the enrichment program and accept the classes they offer. Both are useful in your homeschooling program, but one may be a better fit for your family, so make sure you investigate both types of enrichment programs. MTHEA has a list that includes local homeschool enrichment programs.
It is important to note that enrichment programs should not be confused with tutorial programs. Enrichment programs typically do not offer grades, but are there to offer “enrichment” to your child’s homeschool objectives. Whereas tutorials typically do offer grades and are a more pronounced part of your child’s homeschool education.
As a mother of 2 homeschooled boys, I can’t tell you how much both my boys and I, looked forwards to our enrichment days!
