Takara BullockMy three girls took part in a keiki business showcase hosted by Impact Hub Honolulu, a beautiful co-working space located in Kakaako right across the street from the Queen Street Whole Foods.
They worked hard on their business idea for an entire week and I’m so proud of their work ethic and sales skills! They were really good at sales! When preparing for the showcase, we focused on creating a budget, creating a list of items, managing allocated funding, production, quality control, and packaging/branding. As their mother and homeschooling teacher, it filled me with so much joy watching them have fun learning and creating.
Participating in the showcase and reflecting on my girls’ experience inspired me to create a list of things I love about homeschooling in Hawaii. If you are considering homeschooling in Hawaii, or if you’ve been curious to learn more about it, I hope this list will offer you a little more insight into our experience. Several of these are not Hawaii specific.
1). I love knowing how my children learn.
I had no intention of homeschooling my children. As a graduate of a public school, I intended to send my girls’ to public schools too, case closed. It was my husband who first suggested we consider homeschooling our children- and my response was a look of bewilderment. “Why on earth would I want to do THAT?”
Fast-forward to now. I really liked knowing how my children learn. I like knowing what they struggle with. I like understanding what they enjoy.
2). Hawaii has perfect homeschool weather.
If there were ever a place to consider homeschooling, Hawaii is the place. It’s beautiful, the weather is nice pretty much all year long. And, homeschooling before going to or while on the beach is always an option for us. I usually give my girls a writing or reading assignment if we are on the beach, something they can complete within 10-15 minutes.
3). Hawaii is a homeschool-friendly state.
Hawaii is considered an easy state to work with for homeschooling families. You don’t have to jump through an endless amount of hoops to homeschool your child. The process is easy, the follow-up is simple, and you aren’t hassled or harassed for homeschooling your children. In addition, there are a LOT of homeschool coops, groups, and resources at your disposal, so you can really customized how your family would like to homeschool. Here’s a good resource for researching homeschooling laws in Hawaii: http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ParentsAndStudents/EnrollingInSchool/Choosingaschool/Pages/Homeschooling-FAQs.aspx
4.) Homeschooling is so common in Hawaii that it’s rare to get a negative response.
I love that in Hawaii, whenever I tell someone I homeschool my girls, the response is positive. We are often asked in our building elevator, “How was school today girls?” or “Headed off to school?” And they respond, “Yes, we are homeschooled.” Not once has someone responded negatively. Often times, we’ve been met with positive anecdotes about their nieces/nephews being homeschooled and how awesome it was, or something like that.
I’ve only ever homeschooled in Hawaii, so I don’t know what it’s like to homeschool in other states. I will say, I have been pleased with our homeschooling experience so far. The local school principal who receives our annual progress reports always responds to our reports positively with a note “We appreciate all that you do!” and that simple gesture warms my heart. Knowing there is no hostility towards us at all for choosing to homeschool our children.
If you are considering homeschooling your kid(s) in Hawaii do your research. Ask questions, meet with other homeschool families and decide for YOUR family if it’s the right choice. I can be reached at takara at funlittleohana dot com for specific questions.
love + aloha,
Takara
Takara Bullock
