February 17, 2010

Another Lovely Guest Today!

I am so excited to introduce my second guest today. She and I have been friends since we were very young. I have many good memories of homeschooling alongside her. She has played a large part in helping inspire my love for writing, and we enjoy sharing ideas back and forth about homekeeping, baking or cooking, and what's growing in her garden.

My name is Amanda. I'm 27 years old and I live on Pender Island. I have two younger brothers, and we are each two years apart. I am interested in beekeeping, knitting, farming, food sustainability, reading, writing and music. I am currently working as an insurance broker but I went to university for a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Writing and Psychology. Unfortunately, I did not complete my degree and I am continuing this education online this year, seven years after my initial class. Since graduating high school at 16, I have lived 5 years in Ucluelet, BC. I have travelled to New Zealand and through the South Pacific Islands as well as throughout Europe.


My parents initially began homeschooling because my younger brother was not fitting into the school system. He was far advanced for his age group and he was a sensitive kid so they thought it best to try to educate him at home. They wanted to consolidate the family and pulled me from public school after I completed grade 3. After this initial decision, they decided to homeschool us because they saw our motivation for learning increase and they wanted to provide us with every opportunity to pursue our interests.


I think that because I was homeschooled, I learned how to be self-motivated, which I found very useful in University and in other correspondence courses that I have taken throughout my adulthood. I do not find pacing myself very difficult and because I was responsible for most of my high school education, taking correspondence courses, I developed a good understanding of time management. Also, I think that because of the way I was homeschooled, I gained confidence in my own abilities and in myself. I had my peers and my teachers (my parents) encouraging me and loving me in a secure and safe environment. This has served me well in my adulthood because when I decide that I want to try something new, I find the confidence that has been reinforced through my childhood to attempt new pursuits. Also, I find that I have a want to learn. This "want to learn" was really encouraged in my homeschooling experiences. As soon as I expressed interest in a subject, I was provided the material to learn about that subject, or as I grew older, I was provided the resources to find the answers to my questions. I attribute that "desire to learn" to being homeschooled.


Homeschooling has armed me with the confidence to pursue my dreams and my interests. It has equipped me with the tools to learn from my mistakes. It has also instilled in me the value of family.
My husband and I hope to homeschool our children. We look forward to teaching them what we have learned and being responsible for their education. Homeschooling is a beautiful way to interact with your children on a purposeful level and be involved in their lives. We also both appreciate the time management and time saving that homeschooling offers. We would not have to commute to school, and we found that when we were homeschooled, we only had to spend a couple hours in the "classroom" to effectively learn what it takes children in the public school system 6 hours to learn in a day.

Favorite memory of homeschooling: When I was about 12 years old, a homeschooling family near us owned a farm and we had the opportunity to dissect some of the animals just butchered under the supervision of a Doctor-friend. It was very educational for me to see the inner workings of an animal and to enjoy this experience outside, in the fresh air and without the smells of formaldehyde and chemicals.

You can read more about Amanda's interests and pursuits at As A Bee



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1 comment:

Nepperess said...

Great post Amanda! Great blog Karina!