“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” —Alexander Graham Bell

Spring is here! Yet before the urge to put on your swim goggles and head to the beach or off to the mountains on a family retreat strikes too hard, it is best to think ahead a bit toward the upcoming school year. Remember that it will help to reduce any mid to late summer panic attacks as fall approaches, or some critical mistakes in curriculum choices.

Did you ever imagine that the world of homeschooling could be filled with big game animals, dangerous hunts, and wild adventure on far away continents? Bridgeway Academy student McKenzie Sims of Evanston, Wyoming – and star of the television show “Young Blood” on the Outdoor Channel – tells us firsthand how exciting the life of a homeschooler can actually be with the right opportunities!

The decision for your family to adopt the homeschooled learning environment for your children may have been difficult – or it may have been quite simple. According to the National Home Education Research Institute, more than 2.04 million students were being homeschooled in 2010 – it’s a recognized and valuable educational format that is increasing rapidly with each passing year. And with such increases come a fresh wave of choices in curriculum – which although is both exciting and full of promise, can be a bit confusing and doubt-inducing for parents.

Most of us today would agree that the traditional school system is flawed. Percentages show that public schools are struggling to produce an even moderate trickle of motivated students ready to embrace higher academic learning. Drop-out rates, poor grades, and lack of enthusiasm in general are still the norm in many districts – and money woes including severe economic budget cuts are not helping matters. The past few decades of education have been coined as the “Industrial Age” of learning, where students are assembly-lined through the educational process, often burning out along the way.

To many teens, attending the high school prom is considered a crowning moment of glory in your youthful history – a time of romance, good times, flirting, dancing, and dreams come true. On an exit poll, I would strongly wager that the general consensus is – “not so much.” Homeschooled teens have an even bigger dilemma with many questions attached – can I even attend a prom if I wanted to? How? Who with? Where?

It is a valuable lesson for children to understand that community service means so much more than merely fulfilling course requirements or sharpening up a college resume. Truly, there can be no real community without the service of its individual members. And nothing can prepare our children or teens to go out into the world with a wide range of understanding as to the way a community functions as a complex whole than individual personal service, and the leadership skills necessary for success in the adult world.

“I want to be one of the greatest soloists in history.”

No indecision, no second thoughts – Bridgeway homeschooling student and violinist Kitsho Hosotani began playing his instrument of choice at age four because he knew, instinctively, it was his dream to be the best.

“Tell me and I may forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand.”

~ Chinese Proverb

George Washington, Winston Churchhill, Ronald Reagan, Bill Gates – we can all agree that they have been monumental influences in American history. How can we, realistically speaking, even begin to aspire to be like them? Many homeschoolers are quite motivated – but some of us are shy and hesitant, quiet, a little bit lazy, or just plain unable to believe that we could ever lead a nation, a state, or a corporation – no matter how hard we try. But here is one big fat hint that you would do well to remember at this point in your life:

Many of us envision “leadership” as something that takes place in the boardroom, or in a graduation valedictorian speech. Leadership is seen as the measure of ultimate success in the business world or in academia. But truly, leadership encompasses more of the very manner in which we live our daily lives, the decisions we make, the way in which we carry ourselves, and the full measure of our inner self worth. Leadership is about how much we love and trust ourselves, and how well we communicate with others.