I had been home schooling my kids ever since my oldest was old enough, actually since he was born. We didn't have strict schedules like some home schooling families. So when I had a chance to take them on a trip out of state I considered it all  part of their learning. This trip was taken in the Spring of 1994.

My 17 year old son, Eric, wanted to go to a NCACS meeting (National Coalition of Alternative Community Schools) of which he was a board member.  It was to be held in Roanoke, Virginia, and he asked me to drive him.

I decided it might be fun, so I got prepared for the trip.  One of the first things I did was to write to home schooling families who were listed in a home schooling newsletter I subscribed to. There's a place in the back for families to list themselves if they would like to host other home schoolers visiting their area.  So after writing to about 5 families, 3 were willing to host my girls and I who were going beyond Roanoke to Raleigh.  I had decided to show my younger daughter the city she was born in, Raleigh.

When my kids and I went to Raleigh we were invited to go to a state home schoolers get together at this beautiful park about an hour's drive away.  Here are some photos of the parents and kids that I took while visiting them.

This was a scenic lake where the kids would flock to swim and play in. Some of the moms and dads got in the water too, including me. The water was warm even though it was Spring, and the people were friendly and accepting of us strangers.

 (Right) My daughter, Anna, is in the middle between her new friends, walking back. You can see part of  the outdoor auditorium at the left in this picture too. There was a talent show there.

Here are the families gathered for the talent show. It was a fun evening and no one was a loser, everyone who participated were winners.

My son arrived at the camp a day after the girls and I got there and he decided to participate in the talent show. He did some magic tricks, right.

It was such a wonderful experience, no matter how talented the child was, they were supported and encouraged. I guess it sums up the homeschooling experience in general. At least my type of homeschooling. There are other ways and beliefs, but that was not what I was drawn to and the people I contacted were like minded.

Every family brought along food to share and also contributed to a fund that paid for other meals. We took turns preparing it and cleaning up.

< Some of the kids serving themselves.

                                                          My son on the left with some of the other families helping themselves to a meal.>

                          An overall view of the dining hall with the families.

                         There was a friendship and caring among not just the parents but the kids, just like all the other home schooling groups I have been around. There was a caring for younger siblings, a lack of concern about being seen with younger children, related or not, and I didn't see the kids competing with name brand clothes or trying to be one-up anyone else.  I only saw cooperation and playing children with parents who take the responsibility of rearing their children seriously but not too seriously. 

I found the parents easy to talk to and especially enjoyed talking with several of the moms who were also midwives. There was always a gathering of moms, dads, or moms and dads having great conversations.  Here's some of the mom's talking near the main cabin, the cabin where we ate, and the cabin where we sat on the porch at night and sang all the songs we ever knew with much gusto.

        Most of us stayed in cabins, a few camped in tents.   This is the tent that the woman who brought my son to the camp stayed in. She was attending the NCACS conference in Virginia and decided that this get together would be interesting so she combined the favor of bringing my son with the pleasure of attending the gathering.              

                             There are lots of pictures of our home schooling friends. I am working on making them soon. We had so many good experiences with all the different families we met. I never met any that I didn't feel totally comfortable with. The kids seem friendlier and get along with adults better than schooled children in general. I know that sounds like a generalization, but it has always been true in my experience. Of course it could be I saw things that way because I was expecting them to be like that. But I have heard and read other people that see (or expect) the same thing. Its one of the benefits of having kids in the real world more than the artificial schooled arrangement where their world consists of peers and the teacher. I have seen older kids holding their parent's hands, and not being embarrassed. I have also seen them showing responsibility for younger siblings more than in the general population. I am only telling you what I have seen.