One change that came to mind this morning, as I drove my kindergartner to school, was how homeschooling is going to help us be even more green.
Transportation
I won't need to drive my kids to and from school five days a week, 9 months a year. We might have field trips here and there, but for the most part we'll be at home and either bike or walk to our destinations, like the park. No brainer there that that will cut down on the amount of fuel we consume in a year, not to mention how much less pollution will be emitted by us.
School Gear & Supplies
New school clothes, new backpacks, new lunch boxes, new school supplies. At home, we don't really need a whole slew of new clothes to 'keep up' with the trends. My kids can keep on liking what they like, coming into less contact with peer pressure to switch from one popular thing to the next.
Curriculum
Besides being able to green the focus my curriculum, there are so many used books and online resources for homeschooling that I won't need to purchase anything brand new unless I want to. Most homeschooling parents I know share and reuse materials from year to year, and that advantage will help not only with costs on my end, but also cut down on the amount of new material needed to produce such books and items.
Food
What better way to teach children how to eat healthier than to involve them in the process, from garden to table. Each of my children have their own 'plots' to grow whatever they choose in the garden. I've always sent my children to school with a packed lunch, and tell them to bring home their recycling. But next year will be different as we'll all be together for lunch! My mother used meals as a way to teach us about many different subjects - math, reading, cultures. She didn't know it, but when we weren't at school, she was always homeschooling us, and it was always fun.
Do you know of any other green pros to homeschooling?
How have you incorporated green teachings into your schooling?
How have you incorporated green teachings into your schooling?
I've managed to make my children's school year this year as green as I could, and I was happy to find that the school recycles paper and school lunch trays, which are made of Styrofoam. It's a start with a lot of room to grow. Wanting to insure my children live green is not my reasoning behind my choice to homeschool. Except switching to homeschooling is wonderful since, by doing so, we will be able to be more green!.
And isn't that always one of our most important goals as a family?
Love each other...Love our Earth...
:)
THanks for sharing the pros and cons! :)
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