Our oldest will be leaving the home soon

Our oldest daughter will be leaving our home in April.

Here are a few of her thoughts about homeschooling and moving out:

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Some months ago I was asked by my dad to write a couple paragraphs about a homeschooler entering the workforce.

Now I have been asked to write on leaving home for the first time. This April I will be leaving home and traveling over halfway across the country. Faced with the tremendous change I have reflected on how being home schooled has prepared me to leave home. I will be echoing much of my workforce post; many of the points are the same. Homeschooling has made me self-driven, self-reliant, and probably more capable in laundry, cooking, and other homemaking skills then the average young adult.

Homeschooling has made me self-driven. One style of home schooling we went through was a weekly checklist. Mom would make up a checklist of all the school things we were supposed to accomplish in a week. Then she trusted us to schedule our own time. From this I learned how to budget time and stay focused.

As homeschoolers we often got to do weird or unusual projects. One year a group of us decided to organize a youth conference. Except for the parents driving us around, none of us could drive; we put the whole thing together ourselves. We held planning meetings, decided on a theme, found speakers, arranged for food, and picked out music all by ourselves. The youth conference was fun and several kids drove a couple hours to attend. This and other opportunities taught me to be self-driven.

One side effect of being home schooled is in your home all the time (except when you are not). When you are home your mom often has you help around the house. I have helped with sick younger siblings, done laundry, cooked, cleaned dishes, been shopping, cleaned more than the average young adult simply because I am home more.

Being home schooled has given me the skills I need to leave home and take care of myself.