Yes, I know it’s January 2023 and I am writing about the summer of 2022. But, it was so crazy busy (in a good way!) that it took me the fall of 2022 to recover, lol. I want to share all of the amazing adventures we had, some as a family and some individually, because I want to show what a life of unschooling can look like and how much freedom it allows us to do so many wonderful things.
In 2020, as a family, we decided that we would visit the 48 contiguous states and Washington DC over the next few years. As of today (I am writing this on 1/19/23) we have been to 37* together (my husband and I have been to a few more than that but this is just to count how many states the kids have been to so far). So, the summer started with a 10-day road trip toward the end of May to Ohio, Michigan (including the Upper Peninsula), and Wisconsin. We visited four of the Great Lakes, several museums, multiple state parks, and more.
Two days after we returned, my son’s (I will refer to him as E, age 15) truly epic summer of Boy Scouts began with the first of five camps. First, E spent a week at National Youth Leadership Training which he has said was absolutely life changing and a true turning point in his maturity and leadership. After a week home, he attended our local council summer camp for five days with his troop. At camp he was elected Senior Patrol Leader (leader of the troop and responsible for the troop’s overall operation). After being home for one day, he then left for a high adventure camp at SeaBase in the Florida Keys.
The SeaBase trip was supposed to happen in 2020, but you know, Covid happened. This trip was a five day, live-aboard SCUBA adventure. They would do multiple dives a day at different locations around the Keys. Every night they slept on deck gazing at the stars before falling asleep. E began working toward this trip in 2019 when he started the process of getting SCUBA certified so it was pretty exciting that it finally happened.
These first two camps took place during June. While E was out of the house, my daughter (I will refer to her as M, age 14), had friends over almost every single day. There were so many sleepovers I couldn’t keep track. And of course, with friends over, that meant I was the chauffer all day every day, lol. Shopping, Starbucks, trampoline parks, etc., – you name it they did it!
In July, we had an exchange student (age 17) from France come stay with us for three weeks. So, this meant we had more adventures because we wanted to show her around and make sure she enjoyed a nice visit. We took her to museums, bowling, roller skating (her first time ever!), shopping, Top Golf, drive-in movie (our first time ever!), a Major League Soccer Game, and more. We even took a vacation in the Florida panhandle and rented a boat for a day!
E had two weeks home before his next camp which was during our trip to FL. This was a five-day camp about six hours away that he attended with his troop. Lots of fun and adventurous activities that aren’t offered at the local camp. E had one week home before his fifth and final camp of the summer. He attended the National Order of the Arrow Conference with his Order of the Arrow Lodge. This was another week of growth and leadership and truly cemented his love for scouting and philanthropy.
The day after our exchange student left, M had a friend (I will refer to her as A) from Florida come visit for a week. M and A have known each other since they were 4 years old. Since we moved from Florida a few years ago she has come to visit one or two times a year and stays for a week. They have soooo much fun together! And, yes, this means a lot of chauffeuring for me again, lol. Manicures, shopping, a waterpark, and all the other fun things teenage girls like to do!
While the kids were having their amazing adventures and spending time with friends, my husband had a lot of work travel. But he and I did manage to have some date nights where we saw movies, had good food, and listened to live music. We also went to an Indy Car race and a rodeo! Unlike the saying, it WAS our first rodeo, lol, and it was really fun!
Our unschooling lifestyle allows us the freedom to have all of these opportunities. We aren’t tied to anything that we haven’t chosen. Our learning is joyful and individualized. All four of us are learning every day through all of our unique experiences.
In the photo you can see my son has on a sling. At the beginning of May 2022 he broke his collarbone playing soccer. We weren’t sure if it would negatively affect his summer – thankfully it didn’t!
*AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MO, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WV, WI