It’s been over 20 years since we first began homeschooling our four children. They have all graduated our homeschool and went on to college. Three have earned Bachelor’s degrees; the remaining one is working on one. In December 2016, my oldest graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelors’s degree in Film Studies with a Journalism minor. She is currently living in Los Angeles, working as an eCommerce Manager and freelance writer. Click here to visit her website and see some of her work. In December 2018, my second oldest graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelors’s degree in Communication Studies, with a minor in Psychology. She has completed a Master’s degree in Counseling, has earned a mental health counseling license, and is now working as a counselor. When she’s home, she likes jamming with her siblings in their 4 British Men group. My third child graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in business finance with a real estate concentration. He’s working on getting his real estate license, contractor’s license, and is interested in real estate developing. He is currently working on his first project: building a house. He also likes to write songs. Visit his YouTube channel here. My youngest has earned her Associates in Fine Arts: Music degree and will continue her education at a four-year university in the fall. She enjoys writing her own songs. Visit her YouTube channel here.
Homeschooling On A Budget
When I first started homeschooling, I bought a single, expensive curriculum that I knew nothing about other than the fact that most of the families in our church were already using it to homeschool their children. As I began to understand my children’s learning styles, and grew more confident in my ability to teach them, I was able to branch out and supplement the curriculum, or sometimes replace parts of it entirely when something else worked better. This became easier to do with the development of the Internet, and access to so many good, free resources to enhance learning.
This site began as a way for me to catalog all the great sites out there that can be used by people that can’t afford, or don’t necessarily want to “lock-in” to any particular curriculum or teaching method. After all, one of the great benefits of home education is the ability to mix and match resources to tailor to each of our children’s learning styles and needs. The accessibility of free educational resources through the Internet makes that possible more today than ever. I hope that by putting some of my “finds” online, others can also benefit.
Our Roadschooling Experience
In September 2007, after 15 years of “building equity” through gradual improvements to our “fixer-upper” home, we sold it to set out on what would become a 20-month adventure, traveling across the USA while living in an RV. Not only was it a lot of fun, (not to mention a great tool for teaching about “living with less in much less space” – yes, it can be done!) but it was an invaluable educational experience for our children. You can read about some of what that trip was like here.
We so enjoyed that trip that, eight years later, we decided to take a similar one with our two youngest children (who were too young the first time to really appreciate it!) We were out for four months and had a great time!
The “Socialization” Thing
The idea some people have that children educated at home are “unsocialized” (i.e. isolated, maladjusted religious freaks who grow up to become bad citizens) because they don’t sit in a classroom six hours a day is an ignorant, ridiculous notion. It’s a stereotype that persists despite the fact that homeschooled children are involved in all kinds of extracurricular activities, just like their publicly- and privately- schooled peers. In addition, through technology, the learning experience is no longer confined to a particular place. Online classes and mobile devices allow students to learn from anywhere, and this is becoming more common to all types of learners. Learning is also becoming a more flexible, customized experience for everyone. Despite the naysaying, homeschooling has proven to be the best education option for many families.
I chose to call the site unSocialized to indicate our choice to not have our children “socialized” by the state system. We have never believed that the school system was the best place for our children to be socialized. Rather, we chose an environment that we felt was more conducive to learning, and where we would be free to impart our values. Home education is not something that would necessarily work well for every family. But I’m grateful to live in a country that recognizes our rights as parents to choose what we believe is best for our children.
We feel blessed that we have been able to homeschool our children. There have been rough patches along the way, and there have been times of doubt, but I have never regretted the decision. I hope this site offers you something useful, and that our families will continue to reap the many benefits of home education.
It’s all about the journey… But as Christians, we know it’s also about the destination.
Colossians 1: 12 – 14
To God be the Glory!
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