Our first guest post in "My Homeschool Journey" series in from my sweet friend Anna Busenburg. Anna and I met in the summer of 2007. I am always so encouraged by Anna's commitment to the Lord, her husband and family, and healthy living.
Where did you grow up? What years were you homeschooled?
I grew up in Columbus, IN from 4th grade through high school. I was born in Texas and I started being homeschooled in 1st grade after attending a private kindergarten at a local church. I was homeschooled from 1st-8th grade. Then I attended a public high school in Columbus, IN for my 4 years in high school.
Were your parents homeschooled? Were/Are they “teachers” outside of the home?
My parents were not homeschooled. They grew up in the public school systems from kindergarten through high school and then both attended Purdue University for college. My mother is a licensed teacher and has taught at the college and high school level. My father is a pastor and was involved with our schooling as well.
Were your siblings also homeschooled? If so, for what years?
I have 1 younger sibling. She is 4 years younger than me and she was homeschooled with me as well. She attended public kindergarten and then homeschooled from 1st through 8th grade. My parents did have her take some classes at our local public middle school when she was in 7th and 8th grade and we also participated on their school cross country and track teams. She then went to public high school in Columbus, IN as well for 4 years.
Did you enjoy schooling with your siblings? What did a typical day look like?
I love being homeschooled. I thought it was a great experience. We were involved with a homschool group in Texas and in Columbus, IN. It was great to be involved with various activities outside of the classroom. We would get up each morning, go running with my Mom, come home and eat breakfast and get ready for the day. Our school day would start at 8am and we would do school work through lunch. My Dad would come home for lunch and we would eat together. Then we would normally spend 30-45 minutes reading with him. Then we would resume school work until we had an afternoon activity. We did lots of things including piano lessons, choir, 4-H, sports (soccer, basketball, track, softball), church after school club and our homeschool group. We normally were done with traditional school lessons around 2-3pm in the afternoon each day.
Did you go to mainstream school at any point? What was that transition like? Were you glad to go to school? Did you ever return to homeschool after that?
I did attend public high school in Columbus, IN. It went extremely well. I entered in 9th grade and was involved with the soccer the summer prior to high school so by the time I started school I had a whole team of friends. I also to high school with a couple of friends from our homeschool group who also went to public high school at that same time. Honestly, there were no major problems. I did realize all the time that is wasted in public schools with the transitions between classes, taking attendance and then having to go home and do homework at night. I loved my time in high school and was very involved with various clubs and sports. I played varsity soccer and ran varsity track all 4 years and participated on the speech team and with the Key Club. It was a great segue from being homeschooled, to high school and then getting me ready for college.
Were your parents homeschooled? Were/Are they “teachers” outside of the home?
My parents were not homeschooled. They grew up in the public school systems from kindergarten through high school and then both attended Purdue University for college. My mother is a licensed teacher and has taught at the college and high school level. My father is a pastor and was involved with our schooling as well.
Were your siblings also homeschooled? If so, for what years?
I have 1 younger sibling. She is 4 years younger than me and she was homeschooled with me as well. She attended public kindergarten and then homeschooled from 1st through 8th grade. My parents did have her take some classes at our local public middle school when she was in 7th and 8th grade and we also participated on their school cross country and track teams. She then went to public high school in Columbus, IN as well for 4 years.
Did you enjoy schooling with your siblings? What did a typical day look like?
I love being homeschooled. I thought it was a great experience. We were involved with a homschool group in Texas and in Columbus, IN. It was great to be involved with various activities outside of the classroom. We would get up each morning, go running with my Mom, come home and eat breakfast and get ready for the day. Our school day would start at 8am and we would do school work through lunch. My Dad would come home for lunch and we would eat together. Then we would normally spend 30-45 minutes reading with him. Then we would resume school work until we had an afternoon activity. We did lots of things including piano lessons, choir, 4-H, sports (soccer, basketball, track, softball), church after school club and our homeschool group. We normally were done with traditional school lessons around 2-3pm in the afternoon each day.
Did you go to mainstream school at any point? What was that transition like? Were you glad to go to school? Did you ever return to homeschool after that?
I did attend public high school in Columbus, IN. It went extremely well. I entered in 9th grade and was involved with the soccer the summer prior to high school so by the time I started school I had a whole team of friends. I also to high school with a couple of friends from our homeschool group who also went to public high school at that same time. Honestly, there were no major problems. I did realize all the time that is wasted in public schools with the transitions between classes, taking attendance and then having to go home and do homework at night. I loved my time in high school and was very involved with various clubs and sports. I played varsity soccer and ran varsity track all 4 years and participated on the speech team and with the Key Club. It was a great segue from being homeschooled, to high school and then getting me ready for college.
In your years at home did you want to go to school? What did you feel like you missed? Did you know you missed it then? Do you wish it have happened any differently?
My time through out elementary school and jr high I never felt that I missed out on anything.If anything I was able to do more than kids in public school, because I got my homework/school done earlier and I could participate in my extra-curricular activities. I am glad that I went to public high school, because I think that provided lots of great opportunities. My parents felt that public school would give me more opportunities than what homeschooling could give me. I could participate in high school athletics, I could be in science labs that were better than what my parents could try to create at home, I could get pushed more with mathematics and have a chance to take such a wide array of classes and determine what I would want to major in by the time I started college.
When did you graduate high school? Where did you attend college?
Do you feel like homeschool adequately prepared you for college? If not, how could you have been better prepared?
I graduated from Columbus East High School in 2006 with academic honors. I then started at Purdue University in the fall of 2006 with a double major in Dietetics, Nutrition, Fitness & Health. I went through 4 years of the under graduate program and then got accepted in the Coordinated Program in Dietetics for their year long internship program from 2010-2011. I then graduated with my duel bachelor science degrees in August of 2011. I believe that all my education leading up to heading off to college was helpful for me to succeeding and doing well. I learned different skills being homeschooled and attending public school. I learned to be very independent, self motivated and able to find answers to my questions while being homeschooled. When I attend public school I learned how to work with the school system and successfully complete a program that they have put together.
What do you do as an adult? Career? Hobbies? Awards/Advanced Degrees?
I work at St. Vincent Women's Hospital in the NICU. I am a pediatric registered dietitian and I work with mainly premature babies. I calculate their nutrition needs and help make sure these infants grow appropriately. When you have a preterm infant their nutrition needs are much higher than a term infant. So they need a specialized nutrition plan to grow and develop appropriately. I have not gone on for a Master's degree yet, because in my field/specialty area it is not required. I have thought about it, but have chosen to complete a national board exam in pediatrics. I may complete a Master's program in the future if I find one that is focused in my specialty area.
In terms of hobbies, I enjoy being active and I run frequently. I have trained for multiple half marathons and last year completed my first marathon. I also enjoy doing yoga to help balance out my running. I enjoy cooking and trying out new restaurants around Indianapolis. My husband and I spend a far amount of time hanging out with friends and even traveling around the country to see friends.
Do you feel as though you developed adequate dating and social skills? Are you married? Was your spouse homeschooled?
My parents took an extremely conservative approach to dating/courting. I think some of that was influenced by the homeschool groups they were apart of and their own religious beliefs. I do not completely agree with all of their ideas in regards to courting/dating, but I am thankful that they wanted the best for me. In terms of social skills, I think that I developed just like any other child would. I had tons of social interactions through various extra curricular activities and I never felt like I missed out on anything. I am married and actually met my husband at a christian church camp and then we ended up at the college. We were friends first and then started dating. My husband was not homeschooled. He went to a combination of private and public schools from kindergarten through high school.
In the future, if you have children, will you consider homeschooling them? Why or why not?
I have thought about potentially homeschooling my children. It really depends on the child and what is best for the family unit. My parents chose to homeschool me because of my Dad's vocation. As a pastor, he worked evenings and weekends and if we were in public school we would rarely see him. Since we were homeschooled we had that chance every day at lunch to see and interact with my Dad. That worked great for our family. In terms of my future, I don't know what I will be called to do. I love my job and I don't feel called at this time to be a teacher and teach my children. I think being homeschooled as made me very open minded to different forms of education (Montessori, charter schools, etc) and I am interested in working to give my child they best education in form whatever is best for them.
If you'd like to follow Anna on social media please join her on her personal blog: Life Through Green Eyes or for healthy living news join her at rdanna.com
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