Ten-hut! Troops, effective immediately, I will be performing the duties of your primary educator. As such, I will be responsible for your academic and moral character development. Please remain standing at attention! As I was saying … I will be conducting classes … no, Honey, Mama can’t kiss your dolly right now … where was I? Oh, yes … maintaining command and control will be essential … please put the cookies back … control … oh, yes, that’s a pretty picture … bearing and behavior … uh … oh, never mind, let’s go read a book together!”

Such was life in our home when we first began homeschooling. I had been in the Air Force for almost 12 years when we decided it was time for me to come home and raise our three daughters. And then I heard about homeschooling! Of course, I could do this; after all, I had supervised numerous troops and could march an entire flight of airmen in precise formation. I’d worn chemical gear and heard simulated bombs go off right nearby and never lost my cool. How hard could it be to educate three sweet little girls?

Hard! VERY hard! For some reason, they didn’t respond as well to my commands as the troops did, and I had no recourse over them like punitive punishment. Plus, they were so cute and fun! When we first began homeschooling, it wasn’t unusual to find me frustrated and in tears. I’m not sure exactly when it became easier, but it did. And all these years later, I would change only one thing. I’d have done it sooner!

Randy, my beloved husband and best friend, has decided, after 23 years, to make a career of the Air Force. He is responsible for dragging us all over the place in order to experience as many different homeschooling laws as possible. He says he will stay in as long as he is “having fun” and can keep up with the younger troops.

Of our three daughters, two have already graduated from our homeschool. Our oldest daughter, Courtney, now 23, graduated and then ran away to college. She holds two degrees and recently graduated with honors from Eastern Washington University, where she was on academic scholarship. She is a sign language interpreter but has decided to try a new adventure and become a flight attendant for a while. Where did we go wrong?

Our second daughter, Chelsey, “The Invisible Child” (SO NOT!), is 19. Currently she is carrying a full load as a college freshman in Delaware and working part-time to pay her tuition. She plans to go into theater and the arts. How could we have failed so miserably?

Caitlynn, 14, and better known as CaityBug, is beginning her freshman year of highschool, plans to never leave home (she’s our favorite!), and so far is the cheapest to support. Well, except for orthodontics! Okay, maybe her sisters are our favorites …

We never used a formal curriculum until three years ago, when we began to use Sonlight with Caity. She needed more structure than the other two girls, and this provides enough for her and not too much for me! For the other two girls we mainly did unit studies that I created myself. For high school, I relied heavily on materials from Barb Shelton. While we didn’t do anything different from the way we had always done things, she provided a method for us to place the things we’d done into terms the traditional schooling environment would recognize. We did our own diplomas and transcripts, and the girls have not had any trouble using them for college.

Being a military family that homeschools works beautifully for us. We get to do some of the best field trips ever. Our last one was to Hawaii and took us almost four years to complete! Currently we are doing an American history field trip on the East Coast using Delaware as our home base. Homeschooling allows us flexibility to work with Randy’s schedule and mission requirements. Whenever he has had to be away from us for long periods of time, we simply adjust and take as much time as we need to reconnect as a family.

Being a military homeschool family has its challenges as well. We face family separations, numerous relocations, and, especially in our earlier years, the challenge of living on one limited income, not to mention the increased stresses of serving while our country is at war. I cannot rely on Randy to share in teaching responsibilities, as we never know when he will need to leave. We continuously have to readjust to new state homeschool laws, locate new support groups and resources, and get connected within the homeschooling community. Add in to this mix the needs of high school students such as SAT prep and testing, driver’s licensing, and residency requirements for college.

Please don’t misunderstand and think I am complaining, because I’m not! I am ever so grateful for the lifestyle we have and the way that the Lord has orchestrated it to work together so well. I try to approach each move and life itself with humor and in complete trust of Him. I don’t know which has taught me that more, homeschooling or military life. Our motto? Our home is in Heaven; our house is where the Air Force sends us!

The Nonakas are currently assigned to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. As the Military Coordinator for TOS’s Homeschool Nations, Trish maintains the military blog (www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/military) and is the editor for TOS’s monthly e-Newsletter for military homeschool families, The Home Front. She also serves as co-manager of Homeschool Nations. In her free time, she’s trying to keep her crafts organized, finish some scrapbooks before she forgets where and when everything happened, and enjoy a lively game of Sudoku!