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Happy birthday, Mom!

Susan Wise Bauer
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Michelle in MO

Michelle in MO

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Posted

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Wise! You have been a trailblazer in the classical Christian homeschooling movement! The way you homeschooled your children has been an inspiration to literally thousands of us.

 

God bless you with many more years of good health, joy and peace!

 

(From one December birthday to another; what a great time of year to celebrate! :) )

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Chris in VA

Chris in VA

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Happiest of Birthdays to You!!!

 

I'm the sappy sort, so I'll tell you it brings me to tears to think I will get the honor of telling you how grateful I am to you and Susan for all you've done for homeschooling in general, and my family in particular.

 

Homeschooling wasn't really ever on my radar, until I moved to VA and met a dear friend who was getting ready to homeschool her two boys. She told me to read WTM, saying it laid out a doable, challenging, classically-inspired plan. I got a copy out of curiosity; my youngest had started to read a bit, and, because of Nicole's example and the info in WTM, homeschool seemed less daunting and a real possibility. I read the whole book, felt empowered, and began to see myself as a potential homeschooler. I trepidatiously approached my hubby; he beat me to it, mentioning homeschooling for K before I even got the words out!

 

Then my eldest son, who was working as a page in the VA Senate, asked if he could do high school at home. Because I had read about homeschooling high school in WTM, I was able to say YES without feeling like I was about to jump off a cliff...:D He has Aspie tendencies, and we felt it would help him work around some of that.

 

As homeschooling became part of our identity, my middle son, whom we let stay in

public school, began to exhibit more and more mental health and addiction behaviors. Sadly, we had to put him in a residential setting, not once, but 4 times. It was a heartbreaking time for all of us, but, because we were homeschooling the other two kids, we were able to keep them close and work thru their difficult feelings. We were able to "build into" them, and build their faith, too.

 

Homeschooling allowed us the flexibility to do the tough things a family in crisis has to do--attend court, attend therapy (and be able to get therapy more quickly b/c we weren't limited to after school hours), and rebond as a family.

 

I NEVER would have even attempted to homeschool if it hadn't been for WTM. And we were successful, too, using the curriculum recommendations for grammar stage, especially. (I needed a touch more hand-holding for high school, so we mixed in Omnibus and Sonlight)

 

I can't thank you enough, Mrs. Wise, for being such a great advocate and educator. I can't thank you enough for perservering when it was difficult for you to homeschool your own kiddos. We never really know the influence we have--even the little things you did, things that you had no idea would be so important, have been used to mold and shape the next generation of homeschooling families.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you--

 

May every day of your future be filled with grace and blessing.

 

Sincerely,

Chris Binder

Edited by Chris in VA
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Aubrey

Aubrey

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Dear Mrs. Wise,

 

When I read WTM, it was your words that stood out to me. Your experiences somewhat mirrored my mother's, although her homeschooling journey was much briefer than yours. Between the two of you, I felt that I had a paved road where others had had to blaze trails.

 

I'd planned to homeschool my kids from the time my mother had to stop homeschooling me, but over the years, I was plagued by the overwhelming task of teaching *everything.* How would I know if I'd missed something? I'd spend my free time sketching out plans for my own curriculum.

 

Then, when I finally had a child on the way, I found WTM in the library, surrounded by other homeschooling books that said not to worry about college--it's not for everyone, anyway. You introduced me to the classical method, a plan or a process for making sure that I taught my kids everything--well, at least for deciding what to teach & what not to teach instead of feeling like it was all a matter of fate.

 

It has taken a few years to come to the point that I can say this, but thanks to you, it is true--homeschooling is everything I'd ever hoped it would be. From the bottom of my heart, for generations to come, thank you for taking the time & effort to put The Well-Trained Mind into words that I can hold & read.

 

Happy Birthday.

 

Aubrey

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missmoe

missmoe

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Happy Birthday! I just want you to know that when I first started homeschooling , I thought of you often. I thought of your kids sitting at their desks with the American flag up front. I thought of the fight you fought for your kids. I thought about how you did what you felt was best for your kids even though others did not support that decision. I thought of you following your instincts without many resources. I thought about how you left the box behind, kicking it to the curb. I thought about how you must of put your kids' needs ahead of your needs most of the time. I thought about how it worked out pretty well for your family. I thought about the adults your children grew into.

 

And it helped me realize educating my kids at home is what I wanted to do and that it was possible to do.

 

Happy Birthday Jessie!

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laughing lioness

laughing lioness

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Dear Mrs. Wise,

 

You are one of my true blue heroines. Thank-you for all that you've done in this world to pave a way for the rest of us who needed a path. My life and the life of my family is richer, broader, deeper and full of more passion because of your life's work. Thank-you.

 

Praying that your birthday ROCKS and that God's vision for your future blows you away.

 

Love in Him,

Lisa & family

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Rebecca

Rebecca

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Dear Mrs. Wise,

Your book (WTM) was the first one about homeschooling I EVER read and it opened my eyes to a whole new world. It has been my standby for over 8 years and a faithful companion.

 

My children have also gone through First Language Lessons 1/2 and it part of our "required" curriculum here.

 

I hope you have a lovely, blessed birthday.

 

Thank you for taking all the time over the years to invest in your family and in homeschooling.

 

It is appreciated,

Sincerely,

Rebecca Borger and family

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Rebecca VA

Rebecca VA

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Happy birthday, Mrs. Wise! I saw you at the Northern Virginia homeschool conference several years ago, but I was too shy to come over and introduce myself. I thought at that time how lovely-looking you were, so slender and ladylike and gracious. Thank you for the wonderful work you did in educating your children and for being a power-behind-the-scenes in TWTM.

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Woolspinner

Woolspinner

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Thank you for being the "older woman" and teaching us "younger women" how to teach our children!

 

I met you several yrs ago in C'ville and you went out of your way to be a tremendous help and encouragement to me. Oldest child is now in college and still have two more at home.

 

May you have a Blessed and Happy Day!!!

 

Brenda

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ABQmom

ABQmom

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Happy, happy birthday! Thank you for all the hard work you put into homeschooling your children and then taking the time to share your experiences in the form of a book. The Well-Trained Mind gave me direction early on in my homschooling journey, and it remains an important foundational book in my home today. I taught three of my children to read with Ordinary Parents' Guide, and am using First Language Lessons with my fourth and youngest child right now. I couldn't be happier with the results of both books! Thank you and have a wonderful day.

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ariasmommy

ariasmommy

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Happy Birthday, Mrs. Wise! You've definitely been a blessing in our homeschool. We are using OPTGR and my son's reading is coming along so well! Thank you!

 

I also appreciated reading about your homeschooling journey in the Well-Trained Mind. I feel a kind of kinship with your family, even though we've never met, as my mom was also a former schoolteacher who decided to homeschool her children when homeschooling was still relatively unheard of (and frowned upon by some of our family and friends). But I'm so glad she persisted, as I'm sure your children and grandchildren are. :)

 

I hope you have a wonderful day!

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iona

iona

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Happy Birthday!

 

Thank you for WTM and OPGTR. When my oldest was not even one I read WTM for the first time and I remember the section on reading and how three times you repeated "reading is easy" and it made me think I could actually do it. I am currently working through OPGTR with my oldest (he is 6 now) and he is reading well.

 

I hope you have a wonderful day

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C_l_e_0..Q_c

C_l_e_0..Q_c

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Posted

Happy Birthday Mrs Wise!

 

As many others have stated here, TWTM has allowed us to homeschool with confidence. My son was 7yo when we found the book and, while we were already homeschooling, I had no idea how to do it. We were rudderless.

 

He's now 13 and in high school, and we're still homeschooling. I doubt I would have tackled high school without WTM.

 

Thank you, and Feliz dies tibi sit!

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WTMCassandra

WTMCassandra

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Happy Birthday! Thank you so much for all you have done and continue to do for the homeschooling community. Your effort with Susan produced the first multi-generational book of the modern homeschooling movement, and that pooling of experience really stood out to make a high-quality educational plan do-able. Thank you!

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