You would think that gasoline is the one thing homeschoolers do not have to worry about. However, it is a bigger concern for homeschoolers than it is for many public school students. The reason is that homeschoolers usually have to commute to take local classes, to participate in sports, to socialize.
There was a time when I would drive an hour to allow the kids to hang out for an afternoon. I would pick up and go to the library on a whim. I would drive the kids to several homeschool events and field trips a week. It was not unusual to go through a tank or more of gas in a week.
I have been taking steps over the past year to minimize my gasoline use. I was lucky that the program where my kids take classes moved closer to my home. We have changed our library location to the library near the kids fencing center so that we can stop at the library before fencing and cut down a car tip per week. The kids are getting together with homeschooled friends a little less, and local relatives and church friends a little more.
On my homeschool email lists, I have noticed a movement to homeschooler changing membership to join groups closer to home. This is the best idea right now as kids can get together more, we can discover homeschoolers that live close to us, and if someone needs help with something, we don’t have to go quite so far to help them out.
So far, I have located two homeschool groups that meet in the area between my home and our Fencing Center (which is as far as I am willing to travel). I am now trying to locate homeschoolers in our children’s age range live close to us.
From making these changes, and making changes in the way I shop, and socialize myself. I am now down to 1/3 tank of gasoline a week. Therefore, while as a homeschooler I was once willing and able to use a great deal of gasoline to keep my kids enriched and happy, I am now using the flexibility that homeschooling allows me to reign in my gasoline use.
Read:
Schools Deal with Rising Gas Prices
Do You Visit Gas Tracker Sites
Summer Travel 2008–Gas Tank Getaways
Summer Travel 2008-Gas Tank Getaways Part 2