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Confessions
of a Former Box Checker:
How We Moved Our Homeschool off the
Page and Into the World
by Jessica
The box at the edge of the page was missing
the satisfying checkmark of completion, and
the emptiness was taunting me.
About the Author:
Jessica and her homeschooling
family of four boys can be
described in one word-average.
They are a middle class family
living in Middle America right
smack in the middle of the
suburbs with 3 bedroom 2 1/2
baths and a minivan. Together,
they leave ordinary behind
to set off on extraordinary
adventures around the world.
Stories of their travels can be
found in Family Fun, Dallas
Child, and at the family’s travel
blog Suitcases and Sippy Cups.
Sippycups blog
As a stalwart box-checker, I take great satisfaction in seeing all
the boxes filled, but this box was particularly troublesome because
I had planned a field trip to coincide with the completion of the
book. The field trip was scheduled to begin in a little less than
two hours and we hadn’t even cracked the pages of the book yet.
I fretted over the lost educational opportunity as I packed lunches
and readied the car for the trip. If only I hadn’t procrastinated, the
kids would be completely prepared for the field trip with all the
knowledge from the book, I chastised myself.
Still hoping to salvage the experience, I started furiously reading
The Story of the Erie Canal as soon as everyone was buckled
into the car (don’t worry, my husband was driving.) As I read the