Homeschooling From A Teens' Perspective

        I am thirteen years old and technically in seventh grade, I go to a homeschool campus called One Day Academy for advanced science and math classes. Every year is a bit different being homeschooled, it has its' ups and downs. In this essay I will be discussing the highlights of my year, being that Summer is almost here ( ha, I rhymed).

At The Blanton Photo by: My Mom

          I start my week by waking up Monday morning and getting ready for school then go to my local ODA campus where I sign in and go to science, after science I have a two hour time gap until math so I have time to chat with my friends. I have worksheets for both math and science that I complete every week to turn in next class and testing on Fridays. Both teachers say I'm great at turning in my  worksheets and I currently have the best grade in the math class.
        I have been going to an art class that is linked through O.D.A and I have to say I have immensely improved in my drawing and animation skills. My teachers are wonderful and I have plenty of class mates to talk to in my free time. It took me about two to three years to get used to the organization aspect of homeschooling but now I have a system. Now I know that I should do my math in the morning because that's when I'm most focused. Ive also become pretty good at keeping track of my homework, though my folders are messy I've never lost any worksheets.
        So far this year I've learned about the make up of an atom, radioactive decay, the speed of light and sound, color spectrums and much more! One thing that I learned was that there is a huge misunderstanding when it comes to radioactivity, The Fukushima disaster was not as terrible as we think, of course, the tsunami was still tragic but the meltdown was not that big of a deal. (this article will give you a more detailed explanation).  My physical science book helped me understand this interesting fact, "We are exposed to beta particles and gamma rays each time you get close to someone because people themselves are radioactive." Another interesting fact about radioactivity concerns a safety device we all have in our homes; smoke detectors. These devices expose us to alpha particles because the main component of a detector goes through alpha decay. (1) All this information supports the rules of the scientific method, which involves properly reading charts and measurements and following the laws of physics.
             After discussing the highlights of my seventh grade year, I would like to highly recommend homeschooling. As a reader of my blog, If you decide to consider homeschooling you might ask: "Well, what do you do all day?" I do school work just like any other student. "Do you ever make any friends?" Yes, of course! I get a chance to talk to a good handful of people every week. "Are you learning the same amount of  knowledge as the public school kids?" Yes, in fact I'm in some advanced courses which is a mix of seventh and eighth grade work. "Is your curriculum any good?" Well, it's far better than public school curriculum. See my earlier post to understand why. Overall, the experience has been the best Ive ever had regarding school. To be bluntly honest, public school couldn't have done better.

Resource:
Exploring Creation With Physical Science, Second Edition, May 2014. Dr. Jay L. Wile. Module 13, page 330.