Outside the Home - TOS Back to Homeschool Blog Hop

Today we are going to talk about extra-curricular activities and field trips!

I began home schooling in 1992. My oldest was in Kindergarten. I joined a support group, and most of our outside activities were the support group's activities. We had a six-week co-op in the spring and the fall, and we went roller skating on Friday afternoons. My oldest participated in a co-op Spelling Bee

and Science Fair.

On our own we liked to visit the zoo and the Natural Museum of History. We were living in Denver at the time and had very little money. The Denver Zoo had periodic free days, and that's when we went. We made our Fruit Loop necklaces for snack and we packed our lunch and took our own water. One year we were able to buy a one-year museum membership, and we tried to go there once a month. We also found other local trips, like the Denver Children's Museum and the Amy Farm.

In 1994-95 we (my husband) were given a one-year temporary job assignment in the Washington, DC area, where we (Mom and Dad) were originally from. We lived walking distance from the house my aunt and uncle used to live in! I call this school year the year of the field trips, because in DC all the federal buildings (zoo, museums, etc.) are free (paid for by taxpayers). I never knew if my kids would have this opportunity again, and we tried to take a trip to a DC site weekly. For some reason I don't have photos from that era. I think I spent all my money on transportation!

After that year we ended up selling our Denver house and moving to the suburbs outside of DC after all. Do you think I continued the field trips? It was unsustainable!

We got plugged in to a local church, a home school support group, and joined 4-H. At the time I had two girls. We also joined a girls' group at our church that was called Ambassadors (we made it as an alternative to Girl Scouts). Now we were busy! So we let our younger daughter play soccer!

Because when you are busy, of course you are looking for more things to do, right? :-O

Our girls' group went camping, hiking, had bonfires and weekly meetings. Our 4-H group had monthly meetings, ice skating, project meetings, and visited the local nursing home. Our home school support group did co-ops, field trips, Christmas ornament day, Science Fair, History Fair, etc. Our challenge had now become how to be less busy.

Daughter's soccer team dismantled at the end of the season, and we did not look for another team. We had to carefully pick and choose our activities. 

As the girls aged, and we added another child,

the girls aged out of Ambassadors and 4-H became our primary focus. Our club was called Pets-R-Us. Through the years we did cooking projects,

pet projects, elderly projects, a llama project.

In 2005 my oldest was 4-H Queen at the County Fair!

My younger daughter found her niche in the Dog Club and training her dog Milly. They won many awards!

My younger daughter was aging out of 4-H just as my youngest was becoming of age for the program. My son tried the 4-H Fun Club, the Dog Club, the Electric Club ... And 4-H just wasn't for him. Not the right fit.

Meanwhile we had also started him in Cub Scouts as a Webelo,

and we found Cub Scouts/Boy Scouts was where he was a good fit! He also did AWANA for a number of years. So we (I) volunteered with AWANA and with Boy Scouts as an Assistant Scoutmaster. Eventually dad came on board and was actually Scoutmaster for two years!

Now the Scout has reached the rank of Eagle (April) and is almost 18 (aging out of Scouts).

Two years ago he also discovered Civil Air Patrol. Where he thought Scouting was his niche, he found CAP was actually his perfect fit! And youth in CAP can be active to the age of 21! So he is transitioning his focus to having CAP as his only activity in his senior year.

CAP also has senior memberships -- for adults. So my husband joined CAP to support my son. 

Well, in his senior year my son is also taking college courses... When he turned 16 in 10th Grade we started him in his first Dual Enrollment class at the local community college, and it was an answer for us for problems we'd been having getting school work done at home. He now takes two classes per semester, and even took one during this past summer. When he graduates high school we anticipate he will have 31 credits already earned!

It has been a busy 26 years of home schooling, with lots of outside activities. I again warn you, the challenge is reigning back on the outside activities to make sure you get the schoolwork done! It's been fun.

To the new home school mom I say:

• make sure the school work also gets done
• find activities that fit your child; if it doesn't fit, find a different activity
• count outside activities as school work, and
• take lots of photographs! 

Use judgment and constantly re-evaluate so you can balance home, school, and outside activities so that they are fun, with the least possible stress. (There is always stress!) Most of all, try to see that everyone has fun!

Hope you have enjoyed this family's journey through time!