‘Real-world’ Homeschooling With Outdoor Trips
The main reason why most parents opt to home school their children is practically to educate them with real ‘real-world’ lessons; but unfortunately, this is much easier said than done, as homeschooling can lead more into structured daily ‘in-house’ lessons more than anything else. Not a pleasant thought when you consider that more and more of this generation’s youth are gaining more pounds, being more sluggish, and are increasingly retreating into their private seclusion of comfort: their rooms. This gets even worse if there’s an updated gaming console or eight hundred cable channels within easy reach.
Isn’t homeschooling intended to teach the child the real-deal lessons on life? If you’re homeschooling yours, remember that the child needs more than cranial education, but also a social experience. You can’t provide this in the home; you have to set him out in an outdoor or backpacking trip. Actually, this affords your child a twofold benefit; he or she will gain experience which can’t be obtained with any other activity, and the chances for being admitted to a future college are that much appreciable. Having such an experience to show for in their application transcripts profiles the child as a real-world individual who doesn’t fit with the geeky homeschooled stereotypes – those which don’t even exist in the first place.
It is not an overstatement to say that an outdoor adventure can become a life-changing experience for the child. If you have ever climbed a mountain, and have seen it from two vantage points, one from below and the other from the summit, the experience can provide nothing short of an epiphany on life! Seeing the world literally right in front of you makes you feel that you are ready for any challenge which life throws your way. These can be particularly helpful for the introverted types; you’ll be surprised with how much change a person can undergo in a week.
One of the advantages of outdoor excursion is that it forces the child to get really involved in the learning process. They do things instead of just reading about them. They talk about the day’s experiences, and the lengths at which they had to go through in order to surmount a challenge. It is true that challenge defines a person, and if it is overcome with the help of a team, it is all the more character-building. Outdoor trips which are of organized and quality to begin with should have a certain degree of reliability, in terms of the layout of scheduled activities and personnel competence. They should build on all aspects of the child’s character, pushing them out of their comfort zone, and placing them amidst the challenges of the real world. If you are homeschooling your child for the purpose of providing for him or her the education of real life, don’t miss out on the opportunity of offering lessons outside of the daily textbooks and computer programs, those which can easily be dealt with in an hour. Outdoor experiences provide insights which can last for as long as the child wishes it to be, and you, as a parent, must take the initiative and afford your child such an opportunity.