It's been awhile!

Thought I'd drop in and post and update, seeing as it has been almost a year since my last post.

 Tyler has now finished his second year of post secondary education. It's interesting to see the changes in him each time he comes home and we're more than proud of the person he is becoming.

 I remember our first year of homeschooling, he was starting grade five and Brittney grade three. We were only about one month into it, when we received in the mail, a hand-written letter from a very concerned relative. The tone was very condescending as she made quite clear her thoughts on how we were ruining our children by homeschooling. There was a bit of everything in there and all the usual (plus some) "concerns" about homeschooling were covered. I was still a bit nervous, even though I'd researched it for a whole year. One of the assurances from seasoned homeschoolers seemed to be, "the proof would be in the pudding". 

We now find ourselves at that point.

 Tyler completed his second year with an overall average of 89%, which included a final mark of 100% in one course. He is well-adjusted, very focused on his studies and has great social skills (the concerns of most people when they hear "Homeschooling".) He worked during his first year of college and on all of his breaks (Christmas and summer)in order to put himself through school.

 Brittney is doing equally as well. Her average is well over 90%, she is self-motivated as she completes her courses through distance and on her own. Weekends are spent working as she too saves for her next set of courses (which she will most likely go away for).

 Jake continues on at home and is also growing in areas he previously had difficulty with (ie... sitting still lol) 

I'm often tempted to write a letter of response to the well-meaning but misguided relative to let her know, all is well. Homeschooling didn't ruin them and is one of the best decisions we ever made.

Brittney's Graduation

Another homeschooling family we know in central NL has a daughter 11 days older than Brittney. They wanted to do something to mark her graduation from "high school" and asked if we'd like to join in with them....which we did.

There are many things I like about homeschooling, but one thing...it allows each child to develop into who they are and doesn't push them in to being like everyone else. This was evidenced in many ways but really shone through with their choice of dress. Each had a very different style from the other and neither felt pressured to dress like the other one.

Here are some pictures. I took these with my phone and can't get the captions to line up with the pictures, but you'll see them as you scroll through them. The cake was really beautiful -- even had a cool pink grad cap on it!

Jake made a speech to his sister. I told him I had to read it first. He said he wasn't going to write it, just wing it as he went along and he wanted it to be funny. I responded with funny is ok, but not silly and reminded him that he didn't want to embarrass himself. He didn't miss a beat and came back with, "No, but I want to embarrass you." Sigh..... He didn't embarrass anyone though, it was a lovely speech to his sister. He did mention that he and Tyler were Brittney's brothers, but that Brittney liked him best (which drew a lot of laughs ha ha)

Lots of balloons. The other mother made the cap and gowns. All in all a nice night. Thanks guys for inviting us!

Click on the pictures to enlarge them


Brittney and Sara at home before...




Brittney

Interesting Insight

from Brittney today. She posted the following on her Facebook page:

"For those who are in piano lessons....even if it is sooo boring and hard... don't give it up! I absolutely love sitting down and playing now! So relaxing! Thanks mom(Linda) for making me stay with it :) "


So much for the thinking that says we shouldn't make our kids do anything they don't want to do! There have been some very intense moments over the years...let me tell you ;) However....she stuck with it (wasn't always her choice ;) ) and is obviously glad today that she did. Me too --- I just love to hear her play!

Next Steps for Brittney

Seems like yesterday she was like this .....




and now.....




It's hard for me to believe, but we now have two children in post secondary education.

Brittney has been busy for some time mapping out a route for her future. She took into consideration many things...such as...

~ Her deep interest in Science (Biology). Many times she's gotten way off track from her other studies because she couldn't put the Biology book down.

~ Her life-long interest in food *grin*

~ My health issues and improvement through alternative treatments (homeopath, naturopath, holistic nutrition)

~ Her own health improvement and overall well being through the same naturopath and holistic nutrition


A Holistic Nutritional Consultant.

From there she researched schools and courses until she found one that met her needs. It was a long route tweaking here and there but now that she's decided, it is a perfect fit for her. Once done this course, she wants to also pursue massage therapy but will concentrate on one area at a time.

She's registered, the books have arrived and she's now on her way. She's also started her own blog found here in case you want to follow along her journey.

Way to go, Brittney!