Homeschooling Perk #10

Posted by Cheryl | 0 comments

Wow, it’s hard to believe that October is already here. Fall has arrived here on Vancouver Island, and the wind, rain and many falling leaves are telling their story in the skies. In honor of a the new 2008/2009 homeschool year. I thought I’d share with you my top 10 homeschooling perks. Each month I will share one of these fabulous and hopefully unique little perks with you, starting with October and…

Homeschooling Perk #10: You can take “off-season” family vacations!

This is my 6th year of homeschooling and coincidedly, the first year that we took advantage of this as a family, and let me tell you – this is a great perk! Vacationing off-season allows for many benefits – the biggie of course, being the opportunity to save piles of money on reduced hotel rates. Depending on where you decide to vacation, there are many other benefits to be discovered. If you happen to visit a theme park on your vacation, then obviously not having to deal with enormous crowds of people is a major advantage. Our September getaway took us to Anaheim, California – non other than the happiest place on earth: Disneyland! Which by the way, in September, has virtually no crowds.

In September, I wrote about how my summer was an opportunity to rest, and rediscover lost loves of sorts. This was a much needed time of introspection and relaxation. We had decided (much earlier) that in September, when everyone else was back in school, we would try what many other homeschooling families had tried and raved about: taking a family vacation off-season.

Homeschooling, you see, allows one to do just this. Homeschoolers are not bound by the typical summer vacation status quo. We can pick up and go any time of the year, because we don’t have to take the kids out of school to do so. If needed, we can make up for lost time (if any) in many creative ways, perhaps working through spring break or working a few ‘extra’ days here or there. In our case, only being one week, we found we didn’t lose any time at all.

In addition, many homeschoolers will use their ‘vacation time’ as a learning opportunity of sorts. Many a road trip has turned into an extended field trip. Geography, history, science and art (to name a few) can be explored in a very real, tangible, and often unforgettable way. It is one thing, for example, to read about and look at pictures of the Grand Canyon, but it is quite another to travel right through it. Atlases are pulled out, kids learn to read maps, cities are pinpointed and routes are highlighted and landmarks visited. On a bus trip from Anaheim to San Diego, my kids learned quiet a lot about the state’s history and various geographical landmarks along the way.Homeschooling families end up spending quite a bit of time together, and taking a vacation off-season simply allows for an enriched vacation experience as the holiday tends to be a little more relaxed from the get go – an yes, this is possible even in Disneyland.

Cheryl has been married to her ‘do all’ husband for 13 years. They live in British Columbia, Canada on beautiful Vancouver Island. Cheryl has been homeschooling their two daughters ages 8 & 10, for 5 years. Her approach to homeschooling is mostly Classical with a dash of Charlotte Mason. She used to be one of those parents who thought they could never homeschool – boy, was she wrong. She enjoys blogging to encourage others that they too can homeschool if the desire is upon their hearts. She homeschool simply because – her kids are worth it. Please visit Cheryl at HomeSchool Journey.