Opportunities

In my daily conversations with homeschoolers across the State the topic of opportunities keeps coming up.
There are many opportunities that come our way as homeschoolers. We are able to use the time that your student wakes up to the time they go to bed towards their schooling. Learning never stops! This is an awesome opportunity for us.
For example, I have witnessed several groups heading to the State House recently to allow their students to be pages for a day, what better way to learn more about your government than by actually being part of it, even in a small way. They follow it by touring the State House, State Museum and other places in the State Capital.
There are opportunities to take trips that you would not otherwise be able to take because the children would be in school. We have had the pleasure of working with families that take a trip across the country in an RV and do their schooling on the road while learning about geography and much more.
Other opportunities might include a trip to visit a grandparent for a month or so that lives in another state, to work with someone learning how to sew, repair lawn mowers, take care of animals, help a neighbor with their chores, things that come up randomly that allow us to learn many things that are necessary in this world we live in.
As our children were growing up and we homeschooled them there were many times that we would get a call about a legislative bill that was coming up for a public hearing that we might be inter18990789990_b170356def_zested in. We were able to just get in the car, travel the two hours to the State House and testify on a bill. (There is no age limit to do this, by the way, our daughter testified on many bills from the age of 15 to 17).
We had days when a family member ended up in the hospital in another state, we would just pack up and go and use every opportunity as a lesson in life. The children would learn about hospitals, what to pack when traveling, we would listen to audio books on these long trips. Hank the Cowdog was one of our favorites and Lost on a Mountain in Maine to just name a couple. There are bingo cards you can print online for finding different traffic signs or license plates, etc. while traveling. We have some great memories from those spontaneous moments.
Now our children are grown and moving on as adults, it is the memories that we have of those years as they were growing, the fun, spontaneous things, that brings a smile to our faces. The many mishaps that happened like when we got a flat tire almost to the NH border and another homeschooling family drove 3 hours to bring us a tire we had at home and then as we continued our trek with the blown tire strapped to the roof that was whirring like a helicopter, ahh, how we laughed.

Take full advantage of as many opportunities that you can. Your children will be all grown up before you know it and you are making memories. The bad days will not really matter over time. Just keep on plugging away and enjoy the moments that you have. Homeschooling is a lifestyle and everyone has a different way of doing it, not one way is right or wrong.

If you have a desire to homeschool in Maine but are not sure how to get started you are welcome to contact me to get some answers.

I have had the fortunate opportunity to help many families with getting started homeschooling. I have seen many children graduate and start families of their own. Now their children are ready to start schooling. Do I feel old? No, I feel blessed to have a little glimpse into the lives of so many people that I love. I love my job!

Have a great day.

Trisha

Photo credit:  Amy H. ~ Thank you.

Trisha White

About Trisha White

Trisha White and her husband Jim live in Central Maine. They have raised and educated three children on a small farm. Their children are now graduated, grown, and productive people in the community. Their desire has been to help others homeschooling in the state and in 2002 they started Guilford Christian Academy.