An Interview with Emma on Homeschool

Happy Graduation Day to Emma! 

 

Eleven years ago Daniel and I took a leap into homeschooling.  Emma was starting second grade and Lola was just beginning K4.  Those years were so fun and I remember being so excited to start.  Now here we are with Emma graduating and she is salutatorian of her class!  WOW!

So, to celebrate this wonderful achievement I thought I would give her a little interview!  I thought I'd give her some questions and let her tell us exactly what she thinks.  SO let's hear what she has to say!  Okay, Emma here we go........

1.  What is your most favorite memory of being homeschooled?

I think my most favorite memory of being homeschooled is a long time ago, probably when I was in  4th grade and my mom would read Bible stories to us in the morning. We would get to draw a picture of the story while she told it.  I don't know why, but that was probably the most fun part of school for me.  It kind of makes sense now because I love to draw and I love reading the Bible too, so it's a mix of two things I love!   

2.  What was difficult or positive about being homeschooled? 

The positives of being homeschooled for me are 1) being able to take a trip somewhere whenever you want to.  We would always take spring or fall break either earlier or later than public schools because all the vacation destinations aren't nearly as busy and crowded as they would be otherwise!  2) You can go at your own pace.  If you need to spend more time on a certain subject, you can because you aren't worrying about other students who are faster or slower than you are.  There's just less stress!  I will say one difficult thing is making yourself do the work.  Homeschool is really good for developing self discipline, because you have to make yourself do the work instead of having teachers make you do the work.  I have had to find a good order to do my subjects in.  I've found that if I do math in the morning when I'm fresh, and then all the other subjects afterward things go better, because I enjoy reading more than math.

3.  What advice or encouragement would you give to those just starting out on the homeschool path?  

Don't stress too much.  I always try to bend over backwards to get everything done and then beat myself up if I can't, but something I've learned is that one of the best parts of homeschooling is how flexible it is.  If you can't get it all done today, there's always tomorrow!  As long as your learning, go at your own pace.

4. Is there anything you wish we would have done differently?  

I don't think I do.  I've pretty much loved homeschooling the whole time we've done it.

5.  Do you think you will homeschool your own children one day?

Yes, I think it would be cool to possibly homeschool my own kids one day!

6. What's something you loved doing as a kid that you still love doing as an (almost) adult?

I don't feel like an adult yet, but two things I loved to do as a kid that I still love to do are drawing/coloring and reading.

7.  What are you most looking forward to reading, watching or doing this summer?

I love summer!!!  I am mostly looking forward to going to the beach, but I'm also doing an internship with our church's children ministry that I am excited about!

8.  If you had a YouTube channel, what would be your YouTube personality or focus of the channel? 

I think it would be fun do vlog where I explore all things FRENCH!  Ooh LaLa!

9.  If you were going to open your own business what would it be, and why?

I would have a greeting card business with other little gifts and things.  I'm actually wanting to open an Etsy shop like that pretty soon, because I love to do hand lettering and make cards for family and friends.

10.  What was the best class you took in high school and why?

When I was in 9th and 10th grade I took a class called TGC, which stands for The Great Conversation.  It was kind of like Bible, English and Grammar all mixed into one class.  We would read a bunch of books, fiction and nonfiction, learn about different world views, and write papers about them.  I liked the reading and the class actually helped me to enjoy writing papers more. 

11.  What are you most proud of in the last year or two?

Well, besides graduating, I actually performed Bach's cello suite at my graduation (aka the cello song).  It's a really hard piece and I was so proud of myself for learning it.

12.  What album, book or movie has shaped who you are as a person?  

The entire Anne of Green Gables book series.  My parents gave me the whole book set for Christmas when I was 12 and I LOVED them!!  Anne is my favorite character, and the way she recognizes and appreciates beauty around her made me recognize and appreciate beauty in the world around me.  I also love the fact that she always looks for the best in a situation.

13.  How have you surprised yourself while in high school?  

I think I've become less scared of everything the more I've grown.  In the past two years I've been white water rafting and zip lining!  When I was little I was afraid to even go underwater, ha!

Thank you so much Emma!