My Views on Homeschool by Ian

Homeschool in a Global Classroom: PE & Science, Gulf of Thailand

My mom asked if I would write down my thoughts about this year’s education scheme. I found homeschool to be good in ways and bad in others, but it opened up the window of going into other parts of the world.

Our life was very dissimilar in all the different places we visited this year, but from September until now, homeschool was always a regular part of our week. When we were in Fiji, we were in one place for a long time so we had a much more regular school schedule. We spent a good part of each weekday studying. In Tasmania, we drove around a lot and explored. We barely did any school aside from exploring the countryside and visiting Port Arthur museum. In Bangkok, we sort of got back to a regular school routine, but we had the Hresko-Hurd Family to visit with and many temples to see. We worked from early in the morning until mid-day so we could go out and do things. In New Zealand, our focus has been to finish up school and the trip on a good note. We have done quite a bit of traveling by campervan but managed to do some school while learning a lot about the geography, history and government of New Zealand.

Campervan Math, Matauri Bay, New Zealand

The bad things about home school were that we only had our family. Some people might think that it would be a breeze to have their family with them 24\7 but it is not. We had our moments but over all it has been okay. Another thing is that you have less school time at homeschool but some of it is not fun. For instance, our math program this year was very boring, and the writing was boring, but we survived. The third thing that I did not like was that when I was doing writing with my mom was that we always got the bad room that did not have a table and only a bed or two when Tica and Dad got the nice room with the table. The final bad thing was that in Tasmania and New Zealand, we were moving around the whole or most of the time. It was hard to move everyday and do school so we kind of got out of the habit sometimes.

Glaciology Studies in Mt. Cook NP, New Zealand

One of the good things about homeschool was being able to snorkel every day for four months and see sharks and rays and all sorts of marine critters. I learned how to Scuba dive in Thailand, and I swam and went birding. I saw more birds than I ever imagined. We got to meet new people, make new friends and learn about different countries and cultures. Another thing was that we had a lot more flexibility to do things when and how we wanted to. Being able to go at our own pace was great. At home, we always have a schedule and only so much time to do what we want, but on the trip we haven’t had those regular activities or so many hours in school, leaving more time in the day to explore. I will miss that.

This might be my last blog post so thank you for reading the blog and giving your support this is what I thought of home school. If I had the chance to do it again, I would because I learned a lot of things in a very short period of time. When I home though, I want to go back to regular school on Bainbridge Island. I miss my friends and am tired of just having my sister for a classmate.