The start of school year is just around the corner,  bringing to the surface once again, our decision to home school.  So I thought I would put together a few thoughts on the subject.
Let me say first of all, that for many years home schooling was one of those things I said I would never do (never say never).  I’m not patient. I don’t consider myself to be very academic. I don’t think I’m a great teacher.  I really liked having that time during the day to do my own thing.  All in all I felt pretty darn unqualified to teach.  These were all reasons I said I would never home school. So how is it that I’m on my third year of teaching our son, Zane?
Well, Zane struggled both socially and academically in the public system.  He was angry much of the time.  He got picked on.  Heck, he picked on kids as well!  He didn’t feel smart or empowered. It just wasn’t working.  But I guess I would say that initially, I was cornered into home schooling.  We had moved to Mexico for the school year to put Zane into a Waldorf-Bilingual school.  After three months at this school we concluded it was neither Waldorf, nor Bilingual.  Zane hated it.  We hated the area. But our house was rented for another 6 months so we were stuck in Mexico.  Home schooling was the most reasonable option.
Let me say, that our first year was hell.  I think that may be the case for many families.  Why? Zane hadn’t bought into it.  I was way to structured and regimented. We argued constantly.  As a family we hadn’t figured out how it was going to work.  At the end of that year frankly, I was over it. I was determined to put Zane back into public school.  However, by the time summer was over and the next year was about to start, many of those bad memories had faded and we started discussing home schooling again.  After talking with the principal at the school, seeing a wonderful doctor that helped us understand so much about Zane and how he learns, and most importantly getting Zane’s support, we decided to home school again.  But this time we did it very differently…and guess what?  We had a great year! But I changed the way I was doing things.  I relaxed on the academics and structure.  I didn’t try to take the public school home.  I gave Zane the milestones, and let him decide how to get there. I followed Zane’s lead on what he wanted to learn and supported him however I could.  I let Zane take control for much of his education.  I empowered him.  The result?  Well, he took standardized tests at the school last year and was at or above where he needed to be in most subjects.   Now this may be a measure of success for some folks, but my measure of success is that Zane was happy and actually enjoyed learning.  Zane spends a fraction of the time most kids spend in “school”, but in our home learning happens all the time.  And because Zane has so much free time he gets to develop his other hobbies and interest.  His knowledge is far superior to mine when it comes to drawing and creating art on the computer.  He’s even done website projects for us!  He spends hours in the garage making and creating all kinds of things.  He has submitted several of his projects to Instructibles.com.  His interests are wide and varied.  He knows he’s smart and feels good about himself.
My concerns about not being qualified to teach my child are not gone, but they have diminished.  I realize now that I know my child better than anyone.  I understand how he learns and how to reach him.  I realize I don’t know honors Algebra for 7^th graders, but I do know where to find the information and how to teach him.  There are so many resources and qualified programs out there to help with home schooling!
Zane also gets to travel…a lot!  He’s been to more countries than most adults and most of the states in the west.  And of course, we incorporate our learning into our travels.
Is home schooling perfect?  No way!   We continually struggle to find social activities for Zane.  That’s hard in a small town.  We still have our moments when we want to strangle each other. There are days that I feel like a bad teacher and an even worse parent.  But I feel so fortunate that I get to be a part of his education and watch him develop into this amazing wonderful person.  I believe I am teaching him not just about academics, but about life. Home schooling is a reflection of how we choose to live our life how we would like Zane to live his as well.

I’m on the news for a Colorado Springs TV station.  It’s a little blurb about Ouray.  They only have a second of me on there, so don’t blink.  I even took some big climbing falls, but they must have cut that footage out.  Oh well, what can you do…

http://managekoaa.worldnow.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=3750812&h1=Amazing%20Ouray&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=382400&LaunchPageAdTag=News&fvCatNo=&backgroundImageURL=&activePane=info&rnd=28828067

-Jason

So we are now in Cahuita, just north of Puerto Viejo. It’s a great little town that hasn’t yet been ruined by Westerners…but give it time.  So far, I think we like it much better than Bocas.  It has more of a Caribbean feel to it.  We have a nice little cottage with a kitchen for $30 per night.  We are near a National Park Beach and another black sand beach.  Today, we did a 10K hike on a trail that followed the beach and saw lots of animals..Capuchin monkeys, Howler monkeys (little thieves), leave cutter ants, a pit viper, several hermit crabs, vultures, a three toed Sloth, a Coati, Raccoons and something that looked like a giant rat.  Zane did great and loved seeing all the wildlife.
One of the down sides to being in Costa Rica is the danger of theft.  I’ve been told about it from so many people and sure enough.  We have been here less than 24 hours and know of two people that have had things stolen.  They came in at night (they left their doors unlocked) and took a camera and some other stuff.  I don’t think violent crime is an issue, but it kind of sucks to have to be that watchful all the time.  It’s much different than Panama.
I think I am now just getting into the groove of traveling and we leave in about 10 days.  I can’t imagine how folks make due with two weeks a year of vacation. If there were more climbing in Panama I would consider living here for a year.  I was doing a little calculating and even with all the money we have spent on tours it’s about 1/2 what we spend in the US to live there.  If you rented a house it would be really cheap.!
The border crossing into Costa Rica from Panama was hilarious.  After a short chat with the exit patrol we walked with our many many many bags over a very long rickety bridge….yes, we have way to much shit here and we are reminded of it every time we get on a bus, hire a taxi and try to find a hotel in a new location. When ever I travel it leaves me with a desire to simplify my life at home. Really, we have so much shit it’s just ridiculous, and we have a pretty simple life.