The week they graduated from high school, my husband and four friends started on a celebratory adventure on the Appalachian Trail.  In their naivety, they chose one of the most arduous and challenging North Carolina sections of the Trail for their week of adventure.  In fact, just reaching the actual trail involved a 1 mile, nearly vertical climb.  

One third the way up the access trail my husband realized they’d lost his cousin Van.  The group retraced their steps and found Van slumped breathlessly against a tree, muttering to himself and throwing stuff out of his backpack.  Cans of gourmet food like Vienna Sausage, canned meat, and Beanie Weenies littered the downhill slope along with a radio, cooking utensils and a small cast iron frying pan. 

This is not to say that the others were any better prepared.  Two were hiking in tennis shoes, the tents leaked and they ran out of food within two days.  It was a unanimous decision to end their adventure at the lake resort they’d passed driving in.  The main attraction was the family style restaurant – forget the rewards of a challenge met, just pass the fried chicken!

Thankfully, my husband learned from this experience and gained more skill before we started hiking and camping together.   While we never made any serious errors, we have learned from numerous mistakes and adjusted our goals over the years. Our packing list has evolved to reflect our changing abilities and goals.  In the early days, we hiked to cover ground and while we were never “ultra light” speed hikers we chose to carry little excess baggage which would tire us out and slow us down.  Still, our ambition often caused us to exceed our abilities and sore muscles and blisters were the result.  In recent years, we have learned to set a pace that allows us to enjoy the scenery more and does not stress our aging bodies. 

A very good book on hiking called The Essential Back-Packer covers the essential skills needed to balance comfort and simplicity on the trail.  Taking a cue from this book, some items of comfort now head our “essentials” packing list: for instance, extra thick sleeping pads and a bigger tent that increase our comfort on the trail (plus, I carry a little bag of make-up now)!

Hiking is a good analogy for homeschooling; the lessons I learned on the trail are relative to the skills needed to become an effective, long-term homeschool parent.  With those skills in mind I’ve developed a few basic rules for the “Essential Homeschooler.”

1. Take along only what you really need to be comfortable and safe.  

When I first started homeschooling I carried too much excess baggage in the name of thoroughness.  Radios are as nonessential on the trail as TWO complete math curriculums are to the homeschool or four supplemental language arts books!  Having too many subjects to cover is another burden that plagued me early on and I still tend to add activities and subjects until I cannot possibly schedule everything in.  Better to leave these out entirely than throw them away after a few months.  If it doesn’t fit in my daughter’s school box – we just don’t use it. 

2. Equipment must also be suited to the task, the person and conditions. 

A cast iron frying pan is a great cooking tool but it’s too heavy to carry several miles uphill.  The same is true for much of the curriculum I have been tempted with over the years – it might be nice, but if it is too heavy I will get tired and frustrated before Christmas.   The most perfect, complete and popular material does no good if I am too overwhelmed with the details and directions to use it consistently.  Curriculum with simply instructions and sequences, written with homeschooling in mind is usually easier to implement.   Fortunately, like the overburdened Van, I have learned to quickly discard something that carries more weight than value. 

I once used a pack designed for a larger person and had a backache that made me miserable for the entire trip.  Ill-fitting boots left me with blisters and a sleeping bag designed only for summer use nearly brought me to divorce on my first fall trip.  Likewise, when I buy material that is not suited to my child’s actual ability level or learning style I am only asking for trouble.  It is better to sell something and buy new material for your second child than try to get them to work with a hand-me-down program that does not fit their learning style.  Look at what works for you, not what is popular.

3. There is a lot to be said for comfort! 

Though comfort is somewhat subjective, you must learn to balance comfort with use, value and cost.  The super thick inflatable pad and the three-man dome tent are heavier and much more expensive than what we started with; but a good night’s sleep is essential to my overall enjoyment of the trip.  Getting a few “non-essentials” that make your homeschooling easier or more comfortable is a good idea.  I was actually thinking “maid service” for this one; but since that is out of reach financially, I’ll settle for a math curriculum that cost a bit more than some others but has made the difference in my attitude toward this subject.  Other comfort items: a really nice CD stereo that helps set the atmosphere at home and books-on-tape have allowed me to have a literature-rich curriculum when I was short on time!  Look at what your child needs to be comfortable as well – that glitzy notebook might make your child excited about writing

4. Don’t exceed your personal abilities. 

In the beginning, we would set a walking pace that wore me out in one day and we often chose routes that were far above my level of physical conditioning.   Sometimes I packed too heavily for my strength and simply could not carry the load for the distance.  Similarly, setting too may goals for the year, trying to implement too many subjects and attending too many “enrichment” experiences will simply wear you out before February!   Slow it down and enjoy the journey a bit more.   Homeschooling is not a sprint, it is a marathon and you must pace yourself and pack light.   Some of the best advice I ever picked up at a conference came from Valerie Sheppard (Elizabeth Elliot’s daughter); she said “Stay at home and use what you have!”  That works for me most of the time when I get worn out.

5. Load the heavy stuff first for stability. 

When you hike narrow trails and have to scamper over obstacles you need a low center of gravity to be stable.  Pack the heavier items in the bottom part of the back pack – put them in first – so they rest on your hips and not your shoulders.  This same principle applies to homeschooling.  Maintain your stability by being sure that each day you get the most important things done by doing them first! Don’t let the less important tasks crowd out the really important subjects. 

Some people (like me) use walking poles to give the security of “three legs.”  Having a friend to share your frustrations with can be a life-saver.  A co-op can make your burden lighter as well as provide a social network for your child.

6. Consult detailed maps and follow the advice of hikers who have been on the trail itself! 

We once hiked over five miles on a trail that was supposed to be a two mile loop!  The problem was the markers were not well-maintained and we didn’t carry a map that would have cleared up the ambiguities.   Then one summer we discarded a planned day hike when the local store clerk warned us that “moderately strenuous” actually meant “headlong hike down steep ravine”!  It was simply too dangerous to attempt that trail with children.  

There are “map books” for homeschooling.  Good advice from experienced homeschoolers is available through support groups.  The best advice you will find comes from people who have homeschooled the longest because they have perspective gained over years of experience.  Listen to what they say before you rush off in your own wisdom.  

When we are planning our children’s educational program we begin with the end in mind.  If you know where you want to go, it is much easier to plan the route.

Even experienced hikers with maps and compasses can take a wrong turn.  My son called one weekend during his “adventure staff” training for a summer job.  “We hiked 8 miles today,” he said, “well, some of us hiked 12 miles.  I missed the turn and my group had to back track two miles.”  The important thing is to take stock of where you are often and turn back at the first sign you have gone astray.   In homeschooling, this principle comes into play when we realize that our approach to some subject isn’t working or our schedule is just not getting us where we need to go.   Don’t be afraid to turn around and find your path again when you sense that you are off your trail.

7. Finally, the longest hike is completed one step at a time and there are rarely shortcuts.  

When you consider skills such as reading, writing, spelling and math, remember that a little bit of practice done consistently every day is more productive than trying to squeeze in hours of catch-up work whenever you get behind.   

Hiking and camping are activities which have provided some of our most memorable family experiences.  These were fun and valuable times in our family’s life.   Hiking is usually the more challenging aspect of our outdoor adventure and usually the most rewarding even if it seemed hard or unpleasant in the moment.  Sometimes you enjoy the challenge of a climb and sometimes you enjoy the level ridges.  Sometimes the quiet and solitude is a solace and sometimes the isolation is unnerving or lonely.  For long miles you can’t see anything but the narrow trail under your feet; but with persistent progress, the trail suddenly opens into a breathtaking view that invites repose and makes you forget how much your feet hurt.  

Homeschooling is a hike of a different sort.  I wish you joy in the journey and comfort in the process.  Pack lightly and enjoy the process so you will be able to rejoice in a goal met when you reach the end of the trail.