First Day Of School in 9 1/2 Years

It all began with a cupcake. Meg and I surprised my niece by pulling her out of her grade eleven class to bring her a birthday treat and a wee squish. She was thrilled. Somehow that little trip turned into a visit with the guidance counselor, which trickled coversations that led to a flood of events and eventually, Meg's enrolment in her parents' old Christian school. In February, this kiddo stepped onto the bus for the first time since grade one. I took photos like a mom with a brand new kindergartener, and the whole family stood waving at the door.  Things have been quite different around here.

Humouring her momma with a "first day" photo.

Saying goodbye to a little sister one morning.

Amidst the homework and early mornings, our girl adores her new routine and has made countless friends already. There are missing moments here at home, but all in all, the Lord's leading is obvious. Now, we are witnessing our next teenager rise to new heights of responsibility. An unexpected wonder. God bless you in your new school, Meggie!

(Attempting to go back and catch up since January and regretting not keeping up! So many photos! Stay tuned! And, thanks Sarah and Betty for reminding me I have ignored my blog for too long :)

Day Twenty-Three: My Dear Wormwood

This was a week of letters for the older and the younger children. Learning about formal letter writing in an era of casual, slang, and poor grammatical communication is essential, in my opinion. Our Pastor was the recipient of two, and there was the other one penned for a friend, but it was the one written to a fictitious character that gave my husband and I that sense of satisfaction and pleasure that settles in between our mutual expressions when a child seems to "get it". We listened intently as Meg read her assignment that was designated by her Sonlight English course. She had just finished reading, The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis, in which Screwtape, a lead demon, writes letters of advice to his junior, Wormwood, on how to secure the soul of his human "patient". Meg's homework comprised of writing from the perspective of the archangel Michael to a subordinate angel concerning the lifestyle of their "patient" and how to draw him to God. Meg's eloquence in using Lewis' style of language, along with her understanding of how to assist the secondary angel through doctrine of Scripture was impressive. The discussion that resulted demonstrated the wisdom and awareness she had gained about spiritual warfare, not to mention, an obvious growth in writing. Praise God!

And, of course, a trip to the woods was in order :)

 

Savannah Sparrow

 

 Night Heron. We were thrilled to see it! Stickers on that page in the bird books for three of them!

 Singing House Wren

 

Kingbird taking a rest.

Day Twenty-Two: Counting Credits and Blessings

After the last bang of fireworks blasted through the night air, I made the kids turn around for a photo. We had rushed to the next town to catch what was left of the Victoria Day show and that meant pulling over at the side of the road and climbing onto the truck to get any type of view. As my children turned toward me, Oliver shoved from his side and Emily nearly fell off her end. It was quite the spectacle as crowds of firecracker fans bustled past, racing to their cars to beat the predictable traffic rush. I ordered my kids to just sit nicely and, for Pete's sake, stop arguing. But in the dark, after my flash faded, I laughed to myself and counted my blessings--all four of them. 

Proposing that we're not like other families and that we are always kind and generous does no one any good. I stand with my mouth agape at the way my children can behave in public, and they are quite astonished, I'm sure, at the way I can behave at home. I'm more civilized in public ;) The truth is, we all struggle to follow Jesus, and I'm just so thankful (in case I haven't mentioned it here before) that His mercy toward me is from ever-lasting to ever-lasting. I need it. 

Besides counting blessings, we are doing a lot of credit counting as Meg's mind is constantly on her future and what she needs to enroll in her desired university. These discussions can be intense as fears swell in waves as she attempts to steer the ship of her schooling. Now and then, she passes the wheel to me and we sit and count again. I pray for her to relax in knowing she's on the right track and that God has a plan for her life. We talk of kids she knows who are writing fewer essays but doing better in math. We look at the requirements for different schools and are set at ease in one area and bolstered in another. It's a time of deep emotion and excitement, of trepidation and elation all at once. I'm sharing it all with her, regardless of how tense it can become, and I count blessings as we count credits.

Day Twenty-Seven: Homeschooling Highschoolers

I sat shoulder to shoulder with other eager parents as the keynote speaker for Homeschool Legal Defense contended for carrying our children through their highschool years at home. I'll never forget how he challenged us to think about why we would place our child into the school system just because they enter grade nine. Who made that grade disassociated from grade eight and what makes us suddenly abide by a standard we've been ignoring up to this point? What makes those children abruptly profit less from home education? Learning is still learning and how you arrive at the knowledge and skills your child needs is a decision each family makes. Whatever level that child is at is the level you continue to teach, regardless of the credit system being something the general population adheres to. I wrestled in my mind as to whether or not I could handle teaching highschool. Then I realized I had already trained my girl to become an independent learner and she has been mostly working on her own for about three years.

My Homie

 

I slipped off my shoes when I walked through my front door and mulled over what I had learned. I began boiling a pot for the potatoes when my husband entered the house. I shared all the nuggets of wisdom I'd gained that day and he agreed there was no other way for our family but to simply continue what we were doing with our oldest. "Highschool" would just be the name of the next step, not a daunting idea or an overwhelming change, but just another grade.

Plastering Daddy with a concocted yogurt facial while he's watching the game?--priceless :)

 

However, fear did begin to grip me as I later rifled through websites looking for answers for curriculum choices and advice. The more I read, the more I became confused. When we sat down with our daughter and told her we felt she should stay home the following September, she was quiet. She shared that she had been hoping to attend the Christian highschool where her cousins went but only part-time. She still wanted to be at home but take a course or two there. We thought about the possibility and concluded that schooling the other kids and running her back and forth for classes in another city wouldn't be feasible. She responded well. I asked her what her desire was for curriculum, promised her a laptop for grade eight graduation, and planned what we'd be involved in for her grade nine year so she could look forward to it.

 

Now second semester is quickly approaching and Meghan is tracking her hours and credits. She strongly desires to have everything she does quantified and so we looked up the Ontario requirements and do our best to stay close to them. Our friends and family have opted to use highschool resources that do not require tests and exams and will decide what to do about transcripts at the end of grade eleven. Since many homeschooled kids have entered university by being placed in school in their senior year or by taking correspondence or online courses for their transcript, it is a viable choice. Thankfully, in Canada, homeschooling is legal in every province. But each family and student must make their own decisions based on how it works best for them.

selfie

 

As we journey, I'll be better able to give wisdom on the subject of homeschooling through highschool but at this point, we know that our daughter enjoys the extra time for her competitive dance and to connect with her friends and family and we love having her around! The more families we encounter who homeschool through highschool, the more kids we see who are simultaneously planning their futures while using their schoolwork to achieve an early acquisition of this objective . Some of them already have small businesses! Many are aware of what career path they want to take and are streamlining their subjects toward that goal and even taking university courses concurrently with highschool. The possibilities are wide open for these kids. Our daughter has known for a long time that she would like to open her own Christian dance studio with nutrition and wellness as a large component. You go, Girl!

 

For more information and support, you can click here for the Home Scholar and here  for the Homeschool Mom and here for Homeschool Legal Defense and here  for Ontario Homeschool.

 

If you're planning on joining us in the journey of highschool at home, may God bless you as you do!

After All These Years

After all these years, some of our highschool friendships have remained strong. It's so crazy and fun to get together, with all of our kids, and be able to hang out and share old memories but also make new ones.  

 

 

Way to go, Darryl, for flying in from B.C. alone with your three small kids (missed Jodie though)! Nathan and Carmen, it's so great knowing you guys are right around the corner and homeschool your five kiddos too :)