Homeschooled Homeschoolers

My name is Emily Timmerman and I was homeschooled from preschool all the way through high school. Growing up, being homeschooled felt so normal, that I would be taken off guard by people asking why I wasn’t in school: “Well, we just do our school whenever we are home, what do you mean?” Being homeschooled became my identity, who I was, and something I was proud of.

I attended a co-op, which I loved, and I had a great community of homeschooled friends. As for homeschooling itself, I loved it. I am a self-taught learner, so it was a great method of learning for me. I remember doing oral reports for my family, and I loved the input I had on what I would be learning. If we wanted to study medieval history, even though it wasn’t in the traditional syllabus, we could!

Homeschooling in High School

In the high school years, I did most of my work through textbooks. But, my parents helped with plenty of questions and tutoring of the material. They naturally taught responsibility and how to manage my time during those high school years. I was given the option to go out to high school; but, homeschooling just worked better for me as a lifestyle because I loved the flexibility it offered me.

Homeschooling through high school gave me the opportunity to start my career in office administration during Grade 12. Because of the flexibility I had, I was able to spend time pursuing other opportunities like music, nannying, and other hobbies. I am naturally strong in the area of administration, so doing self-led school work helped me to hone those skills during high school. I really think homeschooling actually trained me better for my field of work than postsecondary ever could have.

My husband, Zach, and I met at our homeschool co-op. Zach completed his BMOS degree (with honours) at Western University. He is a testament of making it through secondary homeschooling and doing exceptionally well in university, as well as in his careers in banking, and now real estate.

Homeschooling Our Own Children

Now we are coming full circle with beginning the homeschooling journey with our kids. Even in the preschool and early grade school years, we have seen how naturally you can learn just through daily life. We love exploring different methods of teaching at just the right pace for where they are. Homeschooling is already proving to be a perfectly flexible option for our family.

As a kid, I remember our family always having an HSLDA membership. Now that we have our own family, we understand why. HSLDA provides us with peace of mind and even more…our children now have access to an ever-expanding digital library full of audio books and titles perfect for each of their unique interests.

I’m glad I was homeschooled and that my husband and I can share this experience with our own children. I’m also thankful for the added support and protection we get by being members of HSLDA.