Home and school – those may be two separate concepts for most families, but for many Whidbey Island kids whose parents choose to homeschool, the two are inseparable.

For Navy mom Arika Kunter, and her husband, Greg, an Aviation Support Equipment Technician, the homeschooling option looked attractive for a number of reasons.

“We made the decision to school at home several years ago, while stationed overseas,” said Kunter of their two children, Jarrod, age 13, and Hannah, age 11.

The Kunters make their home in Coupeville. Greg is currently stationed in Italy.

“Every parent has priorities for their kids’ education: Ours is for our (kids) to be good citizens, and good Christians. We felt that we could best accomplish those goals by being home educators,” said Kunter, although she noted there were other reasons, too.

Military transfers often mean children face the prospect of being pulled in and out of different schools every few years. Kunter, along with other Navy parents, feels that homeschooling gives their children’s education more continuity, since they are in control of the curriculum and the calendar.

“Along with that freedom, I’ve found that homeschooling allows us more time to go in-depth in certain subjects,” said Kunter. “For example, if we need to spend more time reviewing math, we can do so, without feeling that we’re shortchanging the other subjects. It allows us to tailor our curriculum to our children’s individual needs.

“We also have the opportunity to teach our kids important life skills,” said Kunter. She said learning to do laundry and home repairs may not seem glamorous, but points out  they are essential skills nevertheless.
Kunter said just because a family homeschools, that does not mean they necessarily stay “close to home.”

“When we were overseas, we spent a lot of time as a family visiting battle sites. What a great history lesson those visits turned out to be,” she said.

Kunter’s journey into homeschooling began in Okinawa. While there, Kunter found herself doing what many other parents do: Volunteering at her children’s school. In fact, she volunteered so much that some of the teachers asked her,  why she didn’t look into becoming a substitute teacher. Kunter did, and discovered she loved it. Over time, she found she preferred to be home with her kids, so homeschooling seemed to be the best answer for her family.

Interestingly enough, others besides her kids benefit from her love of teaching. She’s also teaching a crochet class to other kids and adults in her homeschool support group, Homeschoolers on Whidbey (H.O.W.).

“We were enjoying a movie night that H.O.W. hosted recently, and I had brought my crochet project along to work on during the movie. I overheard others say they wanted to learn to crochet, so I thought, ‘Why not teach it?’”. The crochet class taught by Kunter now meets on Friday afternoons at a local Oak Harbor church.

Kunter’s husband will be transferring to his next duty station soon, so the family is already making plans to move across the country. Even though the schooling may be put on hold for awhile, they have the confidence of knowing they can pick up where they left off. However, Kunter makes one concession in her routine, due to Navy life:

“When Dad’s in town, we don’t do school for awhile,” she said. “That is, we take time to enjoy his company, and while he’s here, we continue to do the reading, field trips, and life experiences that we can all do together as a family.”

Family togetherness is a cherished concept among many homeschool families, and the Lauritzen family is no exception. Rob Lauritzen, a retired Navy senior chief, and his wife, Marj, also like the idea of not being tied to a school calendar when teaching their 14-year-old daughter, Olivia. Like the Kunters, that is just one of a number of reasons, and religious reasons rate highly.

“We appreciate the freedom of teaching our daughter to know God, and love God,” said Marj Lauritzen.

“Maybe homeschooling is not for everyone, but for us, it’s been terrific,” said Lauritzen. “With homeschooling, (you) get to know not just another child, but their siblings, and their parents, too.”

Lauritzen also appreciates the opportunities for students to focus on special skills and talents, such as music.

“Olivia is enjoying a dimension of piano that I’m convinced she could not have achieved in a traditional school environment, “said Lauritzen. “This year, for the first time, she began teaching lessons to other students.”

Some parents turn to home education for both practical and philosophical reasons. That was the case for newly retired Navy physician Dan Fisher, his wife, Sara, and daughter, Katie, 14.

“When we were stationed in Japan, Katie was 4 years old,” said Sara. “She loved to read early on. We desired to build on that love for learning by combining what we could offer her with homeschooling, plus the dual-language programs that were available in Japan.”

The Fishers enrolled Katie part time in a Japanese neighborhood school called “yochien” (meaning kindergarten). They supplemented her education with visits to museums, art galleries, and other field trips.

“We read everything we could get our hands on, went to picnics sponsored by the museums, and in many cases, took advantage of nearly empty museums on the weekdays,” said Fisher. “Lots of times, that meant we enjoyed what amounted to a private tour with docents who wanted to devote lots of time to their subject.

“For instance, science museums in Japan – I remember speaking with retired physicists who were on hand to give lectures. Compare being in a tour group of two on a weekday, with being in a group of fifty during a crowded weekend – there is no comparison,” said Fisher.

Like the Kunter family, the Fishers anticipated the mobile lifestyle that awaited them in the Navy.

“We knew we would probably move around a lot, so we wanted to have a measure of stability when it came to education,” said Fisher.

Now, Katie stays busy with academics, art lessons, and 4-H activities. She plays violin in the Fidalgo Youth Symphony, and even finds time to keep studying Japanese. Recently, Katie learned to sew from a close friend who wouldn’t have had time to teach lessons in the evening.

Sara Fisher says their philosophical rationale for homeschooling remains the same.

“Challenging one’s self is good. We learn not only the subject matter, but about the learning process itself, that it requires time and work,” said Fisher.

Parents say homeschool students get the  same range of learning experiences enjoyed by students in public or private school settings, like field trips, sports, and extra-curricular activities, such as drama.

Families who homeschool, including those in the Navy, may do it for different reasons, but they all share one common theme — they value their children and want to give them the best.