Fall is official!! Hello September 21st and good riddance summer. I know I say this about every season I've written about, but I love the fall season. I really do adore all the seasons, because they all have their anticipated qualities. Spring offers florals and blooms of all kinds. Summer is the season of travel and adventures. Fall is flannels and pumpkin everything. Winter is simply centered on Christmas and all it entails. Currently, we are in the season of flannels and pumpkin everything. I'm not exaggerating. Pumpkin has somehow slipped into many of our bakes lately and let's not even mention the PSL and all it's pumpkin spice splendor. I've indulged on a few already this month... this week. Not ashamed. In this particular part of Arizona where I live, leaves do not change color. I would have to drive at least 2 hours to see Fall in action. I've yet to do so this year, but it's definitely on my bucketlist. Now the weather has decreased ever so slightly and Arizonians are seeing glimmers of hope of wonderful weather that is to come. I'm stoked for this season and am definitely going to make the most of it.
I'm coming up on the year anniversary of The Art of Simplifying and have just passed the year anniversary of being back at homeschooling. Nothing has felt more right. I love homeschooling and wouldn't want it any other way. This semester I'm pushing myself harder academically by adding in three AP subjects and really exploring the things I love in an academic way. We're really taking advantage of our flexible schedules by focusing on those subjects that make us smile. Also, we're we are taking the growth of our character and faith much more seriously, and I love it.
But I'll be honest, homeschooling has gotten a bad rep. Not many people know that is how homeschooling can be. A lot of people I know base homeschooling off these stereotypes:
1) I wear p.j.s all day
2) I can start and end school whenever I'd like
3) School is super easy
4) Totally anti-social
5) I have weird hobbies
6) And a Dugger like lifestyle.
I can't blame you if you've ever thought these things about homeschooling; I have too. There are homeschoolers out there who fit that criteria, and I've met some of them. We've all seen the Duggers and praise them on their godly boundaries and unique lifestyle... but is that the lifestyle for every homeschooler? Sure isn't mine. All I can do though is giggle a little and then let them do them. And I'll do me.
There are plenty of homeschoolers out there ( like me ) who are relevant, social, and likeable that don't get much credit and are just labeled as the "weird homeschooled kid". But my normal day doesn't differ much from that of my friends attending a public school. I take normal subjects, and I do book work. I wake up at 6:30 and get dressed. I can't imagine walking around in my P.J.s all day. I'd think I was sick or something. I hang out with my friends on the weekend and have normal hobbies that don't involve fangirling Lord of the Rings. ( Though I am a sucker for Harry Potter. ) I'm a writer, a reader, a baker, a hiker, and a normal kid. I hate math because it's hard and useless. I take AP history, English, and physics and it's difficult. Being a junior in highschool requires the student to push themselves and strain for those credits. I'm looking at colleges, applying for scholarships and freaking out over PSAT.
I can relate to my friends a lot more than I think they realize.
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| In much need of Barnes and Noble school days. |
Now, homeschooling isn't just sucky math and waking up early. It has it's perks. The reason homeschooling is so magnificent isi because I can create the schedule and I can set the pace. I can spend an hour on one subject and half an hour on another, or vice versa. Even though my material is mostly chosen for me, I can tell my mom "Hey, I need to split this up into two days of work," or "Hey, can I get more work, because this turned to be easier than I thought," Hello to my favorite part of homeschooling. Because of homeschooling I'm able to move quicker in some subjects and slower in others because that's the pace that works best for me. Also, my schedule can be really flexible. We learn in many different ways and environments. When our house gets boring, we just head up to Barnes and Noble and do school there. While every other kid is in school, we take our fields trips to wherever we want out of genuine curiosity not because it's an assignment. We do school throughout the summer but our winter break is the whole month of December and out fall break last about two weeks with occasional day trips here and there. That's the beauty of homeschooling. Making it entirely your own. Creating an environment where you can learn best and become your best.
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| Built in 1895, The Rosson house stands as a beautiful portrait of Victorian era. |
Today we took a long overdue field trip to downtown Phoenix to tour the Rosson house. Currently we are studying the Industrial Revolution ( my fave ) in history and all agreed that this field trip would coincide harmoniously with school. Built in 1895 and reconstructed in 1974, the Rosson house is a superb example of Victorian life and is furnished with several antiques from the era. It's beautiful exterior was enough to suck me in. The house did a marvelous job of making the late 1800's seem romantic and enticing. I fell in the love with house and have decided I'm moving from Mesa to live in the Rosson house. There was a simplicity about the era I crave today and a loveliness about the way the family lived and operated. It was a great day, We were in no rush, we had no essay to complete when we got home.
I love field trips like that where I'm not worried about taking notes or trying to think of a thesis statement for an essay. I can just go and simply enjoy.
That is homeschooling. That is why I love it so much. Just because my education environment is different doesn't suddenly make me this weird, anti-social kid. Homeschooling is a wonderful thing and it fits my lifestyle like a glove. I've flourished, I've grown, and I've learned a little more about who I'm becoming. So I hope this gave you a better picture of what homeschooling really is and gave a better rep to those homeschoolers like me.
XOXO - Em
