Interview with Alison Treat: Homeschool Graduate and Homeschool Mother

Hi, Alison, welcome to back to my blog. 

Thanks, Sandy. It’s great to be here again.

Could you tell me if you think having been homeschooled made it easier for you to decide to homeschool your own children?

Making the decision may have actually been more difficult for me. Initially, I felt that if I started out homeschooling my kids, I would be stuck and never be able to send them to school. I also knew the homeschool “culture” a bit and didn’t feel that I fit into it. I overcame these fears by Read More
deciding to do things on a yearly basis. We reevaluate each year whether what we’re doing is working for us—be it curriculum choices or method of education.

Has your experience as a homeschool student helped you in homeschooling your own children?

When I finally decided to homeschool (after my daughter had gone to Kindergarten at a Christian school for five months), I think my background made it a little easier to relax and know that my kids would learn. Homeschooling is not an easy task, but it helps to know that I have a good education, and I succeeded in college myself after being home educated. One of my biggest reasons for homeschooling is that I want to instill a love of learning in my kids, something that I gleaned in my own years of schooling and still carry with me today.

Are you doing anything differently from what your mother did?

Somewhat. I’ve become more interested in a classical approach to education, so I’m implementing some of that this year. My kids are different from my mom’s kids and require different methods in some ways, but I have a lot of similarities to my mom as a teacher. We both love reading and incorporate a lot of great literature into the curriculum we use.

What do you see as the benefits of homeschooling?

If I had not initially sent my oldest to Kindergarten, I might easily forget the benefits of homeschooling. I don’t think it’s beneficial for young children to be in a structured learning environment all day. I think free play is important to their development and learning. Structured “school work” takes place on a daily basis in our home, but my kids have a lot of free time to play and build relationships with each other, to do chores and contribute to our family. Homeschooling has also given us the flexibility our family thrives on. During our days and throughout our school year, we can use time as we see fit. We spent a week at the beach this September and during the winter, we go skiing as a family on week days if we want to. We aren’t forced into a rigid school schedule. Rather, learning takes place when it works best for us.

How do you answer the “What about socialization” question?

My kids get plenty of social time. We are very involved in our church, as well as in a homeschool co-op. I do think it’s important for kids to spend time with other children of all ages, as well as adults. We probably have a harder time limiting social time so we get enough time at home just with our family!

You have published a book. Did being homeschooled help you along this path in life? 

Yes, I think it did. As I mentioned earlier, my mom loves reading. She instilled a love of reading in all of her children and that led me to writing. The self-motivation that was required when I was learning at home as a child has helped me to continue to motivate myself to write and research.

Thanks, for visiting, Alison. I hope you have a wonderful homeschooling year. 

After graduating with an English degree from King’s College, Alision Treat worked in the behavioral health field  and wrote for newspapers. She, her husband, and three children live in Northeastern Pennsylvania. You can find her book One Traveler on Amazon. She also writes a blog about her daily life as a writer and mother, Joy in the Journey. Pennsylvanians, you can meet her by attending her next book signing at the Hazleton Public Library November 6^th at 6:00 P.M.