sleepymommy Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Dear Susan and Jessie, I thank you both for opening my eyes into the world of homeschooling. While I don't follow every aspect of TWTM method or use all the curricula recommended, your guidance has been immeasurably helpful in seeking out what does work for my boys and our family. I honestly don't think I would have ever had the courage to homeschool if it weren't for TWTM and this forum. My husband and I both attended your lectures at the Northern Va conference a while back and it really eased a lot of my dh's concerns over homeschooling. He enjoyed your presentations (both Susan and Jessie) and was very impressed. Please know that you both are so critical to the lives of so many of us homeschoolers. There is something about the way you present and write that makes me feel so much more confident with my role in my children's education. I am so very glad that I came across your book while still toying with the idea of homeschooling when my kids were just toddlers. ((HUGS)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 (edited) Thank you Susan for providing the framework to educate my children in the way I wanted, but lacked the knowledge or skill to pull together myself. I also appreciate the privilege of having this forum. Edited March 21, 2011 by Quiver0f10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Susan, Thank you, thank you, thank you for all you've done for homeschoolers and homeschooling. I had never considered homeschooling until I made a friend who introduced me to TWTM. Reading the book and finding this forum started me on the journey and the support I've found here has kept me from sending my children to boarding school. :D Sincerely, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classical Book Worm Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 After reading lots of material about homeschooling, it was TWTM that gave me the inspiration and courage to homeschool, and the feeling that I could do it well. Thank you so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Dear Susan and Jessie, Thank you for writing the Well-Trained Mind and for providing wonderful curriculum through PHP. When I first read TWTM 5 years ago, I knew that the plan you so clearly set out was the education I wanted for my children. Susan, I heard you speak at the convention and was so blessed by your talks, especially the ones on the real child and hsing the second time. Thank you for being so down-to-earth and yet still maintaining a focus on academics rather than parenting. Thank you for saying what needed to be said, for those of use who are conservative Christians but may not subscribe to some of the ideas prevalent in the homeschooling world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Thank you for this board, Susan! I'm so glad I have a place to hang out, share, laugh, cry, pray, learn, and even argue a bit. It is more of a lifeline for some of us than you can imagine. I heard you speak in Modesto a couple of years ago, and you were terrific. Loved your mom too :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iona Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 TWTM is a road map I'm excited to have with me as I homeschool (which still terrifies me). Thank you Susan for all of your hard work...for reading during free time instead of playing when you were in kindergarten. Thank you for wanting to have the debate, to have other voices heard...and for not banning us based on our bad grammar or writing.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Keeping on keeping on in spite of people making it unpleasant. You have helped countless people succeed at this enormous undertaking! Thank you running these forums and allowing us a place to get needed support, prayers, ideas, and help, as well as gripe, moan, complain, vent and even argue a little. :tongue_smilie: You are someone I'd love to be able to call, "friend," in real life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dymphna57 Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Dear Susan, I want to thank you for generosity in writing WTM and WEM. They have given me the words to express what my dh and I wanted for our children. Thank you for the generosity and vision in creating and keeping this site. There are so many ways of living the same dream. :cheers2::cheers2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Thank you, SWB, for changing the lives of my five future men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 First, I'll never forget the feeling of overwhelming relief when I found WTM over 10 years ago! I have not always followed exact curriculum suggestions, but I have stayed completely true to the philosophy and as I plan the rhetoric years I am completely confident in my approach because WTM has not let me down yet!! Second, SOTW (all 4 volumes) was the single favorite thing that we did in all 10 years of homeschooling! It gave my kids a love for history that has carried over to today. Third, this forum was a life-saver to me in my early years of homeschooling. I don't come as much any more, but I view this as the best professional development possible (not to mention the true friends I have found via this message board.) Fourth, I admire SWB personally as well as professionally! I've never read anything by her that didn't make me want to stand up and shout AMEN! (And, I'm pretty sure we don't even agree on a few things! ;)) And, I'm so excited to have a second set of kids coming up so that I can use all the writing materials that my bigs were too old to use when they came out!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Please know that you have changed lives for the better. You have saved many, many kids from poor educations. I am a secular homeschooler and I :001_wub: your materials. Thank you for trying to walk that very fine line. I can't wait to see you in PA! Capt Uhura Thank you Susan for changing the way I looked at education and the courage to speak of that change to others. :iagree: I'd never heard of classical education until my closest friend (a dedicated afterschooler) loaned me her copy of TWTM. I discovered that it was the education I always wished I'd had, but I could never have identified what I was lacking and pulled it together to provide a superior education for my own children without your guidance. I deeply appreciate you sharing your experience and knowledge with us and providing this forum to help us in our ongoing quest for excellence :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 SWB your books are a mainstay in this home school! Thank you so very much! We have passed on many recommendations and guidance of yours. Dd 16 can hardly make it with a different history book. "But I like the way SWB has it laid out for me!" :D Don't worry about what I have to say, you have a generation of students to speak for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizaG Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Thank you for promoting a style of education that's academically rigorous, and for making it accessible to so many people. (We just got back from B&N, where I was able to get a good look at all the levels of WWE before choosing one. It always makes me happy to see so many of your materials there. :)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 My sisters and our families love your books, especially Story of the World. We have all learned so much and appreciate the content you pour into them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jentancalann Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Thank you, Susan, for all that you do for the homeschooling community. Your books have been a true asset to this homeschool and my children will be better prepared for life because of them. For the record, I didn't think you sounded bad this past weekend, and I'm so sorry you had such an unpleasant experience. I loved your seminars! :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Dear Jessie and Susan, In part because of your work... Our three daughters have all learned to read well and eagerly at early ages. They have memorized beautiful poems and hymns, listened to classic stories and fables, and stored up so much rich language. The girls have been exposed to classical music, art, history, geography, science, and French, all while laying a strong foundation in the basics -- reading, writing, grammar, and math. We have embraced a long-term commitment to educate our girls at home, probably through graduation. The Well-Trained Mind was the first book I ever read about homeschooling, long before I had even met my husband. It remains the top reference to which we return again and again. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Dear Susan and Jessie, Your books have given our homeschooling a clear, enlightened path. I cannot thank you enough for all the work you've done for the homeschooling community. I think I own almost all your books and will continue to support and recommend your curriculum and philosophy, even though we may end up using something else for certain subjects. You do an amazingly adept job in balancing the secular/religious aspects so that your programs are accessible to all. I am humbly grateful for your forums you have provided for all of us. People from all homeschooling methods utilize the forums. I cannot believe how much I learn here. It is not easy to run a popular forum and keep it open to the diverse ideas. You (and your team) do an amazing job. Thank you for making such a remarkable difference in our family's life and eagerness for knowledge! Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Susan, I never elbow my way to the front of the line at your booth to speak to you because you are always so busy selling your product and answering questions for those parents who need help - and I know that you're in between tiring speaking sessions, as well, so I don't want to bother you. However, I may be getting toward the end of my homeschooling journey if my youngest doesn't stay with me all the way through high school, so I will be making an effort to speak to you personally someday soon, before I leave the homeschooling world forever. Your ideas, your presentation of knowledge, your kindness in extending these boards to us where we may glean more knowledge from others has been of inestimable value to my family over the past 13 years. You share in the credit for my older son (despite his learning challenges) receiving a decent scholarship to a good college that is perfect for him. You share in the credit for the love of great books that both my children exhibit. Your method is my mantra whenever and wherever I talk about homeschooling with others, and I am asked about that method often. There is seldom a venue where I spend time waiting on a child who is participating in an outside activity where someone doesn't approach me with questions about homeschooling. Never have I had anyone speak out against you or your products. I know that it can be tiring to hear what seems like constant criticism, but in reality I fully believe that there are many more people who use and truly appreciate your educational methods and books than those who shun them (and as long as well educated parents continue to seek solid educational methods for their children I think that will continue to be the case). I sincerely hope that you have the time to rest and rejuvenate prior to the Cincy convention - and I hope to see you there (although you probably won't see me, again, LOL).... Regena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Oh. my. goodness. Backspace is out to get me today. Dear Susan, Thank you, most of all for creating this space for all of us. You rock, lady! ;) Warmest Regards, Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnG in Arizona Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I will happily and sincerely chime in to say "thank you". Thank you very, very much, Susan. My husband and I so appreciate the first class resources you have written (Story of the World, Well Trained Mind, Writing With Ease) as well as the forums that you provide. We have used many of your curricula with great success and look forward to using others at various stages in the future. Both your curricula and this online community are rare resources in the homeschool world - voices that gently encourage excellence and rigor, and that strive for intellectual honesty. The home education world would be a more monolithic, colorless world without you. I am profoundly grateful for the way in which you manage to provide a home for the many homeschoolers, like myself, who don't seem to fit in elsewhere. I am profoundly grateful for all that you do. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Bumping this so Queen Susan doesn't miss it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Bumping this so Queen Susan doesn't miss it. :) We love you Overmind! :) :grouphug::grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Bumping this so Queen Susan doesn't miss it. :) :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I think the audience is going to keep on screaming until you come out to take a bow...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsbaby Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Coming in late here, but wanted to add my thanks as well. I was so lost when I started homeschooling. I read many if the recommended books on getting started, but nothing really "spoke" to me. I didn't know what direction I wanted our homeschooling to go in and really floundered for an entire year. I finally discovered the Well Trained Mind. I found myself saying "yes!" and "exactly!" throughout the book. I finally felt I had found an approach I loved. We started implementing most of the recommendations and haven't looked back. So, thank you Susan. You are an inspiration to me and I appreciate all you have done for the homeschooling community! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JESSICAinMD Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thank you Susan! Thanks to you my girls know a long list of prepositions and I have the confidence to teach them. Keep doing what you are doing. I can't wait until the Northeast Home School Convention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Once Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Dear Susan Wise Bauer, Thank you for publishing curriculum which help me educate my kids and myself well. Without PHP and "The Boards" I would be lost. I will be putting my wallet where my mouth is and supporting you again and again and again. Please know that your voice of reason and careful Christian behavior is neccesary and appreciated. May you have all the time and strength you need to do your many jobs well! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I think the audience is going to keep on screaming until you come out to take a bow...... I have a feeling she's too stressed out and too charged up these last few days to read anything on the boards except the thread she's started. I don't blame her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linguistmama Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Dear Susan, Thank you for these boards. They have helped me feel supported and taught me so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker25 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 When we were in the process of adopting our children I knew I would homeschool. I could not wait. I read and read and read. When I found your book, TWTM, it all clicked. I was SO excited about homeschooling. I ordered everything you recommended and when the adoption was finalized we began our journey. Here we are almost five years later and I have drifted to other ideas. Over the past few weeks I have realized that we are just kind of hanging out in the middle of the ocean with no direction. Today I dusted off my copy of the WTM and found my passion again. Thank you, dear Susan. Back then I had two in the early grammar stage. Now I have three in early grammar, one in between grammar and logic, and one starting logic. What an adventure. I am excited about homeschooling again. Thanks for your books and for allowing us this forum. This is where it started to come back to me over the last few weeks. I thank you and someday my children will thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manamana Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I'll join in on this one. Dd9 would like to become a history teacher/professor because she loves history so much. I think this is largely thanks to the Story of the World and the great literature resources that have been recommended in it. She would also like to be a writer. We heard Jon Scieszka speak today and she wrote him a nice letter that she handed to him when he signed her copy of one of his books. For a 9 yr old the letter was well written, thanks to all the practice she has received from Writing With Ease 1-3 assignments and First Language Lessons. Thank you for writing The Well-Trained Mind and for staying focused on the call which you have been given. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Dear Susan and Jesse, Years ago when TWTM was first released, a board I frequented had some pretty vocal detractors of the book. I determined to get my hands on a copy and see for myself how bad it was. When I picked up TWTM for the first time, I remember feeling like I'd found something I didn't know I was looking for. I think I was doing a pretty good job already feeling my way around in the dark, but was so sick of reinventing the wheel every few months. Your books have given me the tools and confidence to do a GREAT job guiding and teaching my children (and myself!). Our lives have been enriched thanks to your family. Thank you, Barb and her Well Educated Minions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thank you, Susan, for this forum. I don't really consider myself a classical homeschooler but I have found this forum welcoming- and immensely helpful- nonetheless. So thank you for making it available- to all of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison in KY Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thank you Susan and family. I've been a part of this group since I first began homeschooling. It's a place I always come back to for questions...on anything. It's such a blessing, truly. Alison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Dear Susan, Just over two years ago my son was becoming a "non-learner." My husband and I were at a loss, we could not afford private school and there did not seem to be any other options. I did an internet search and "The Well-Trained Mind" popped up. Out of desparation I bought it. The opening chapters from your mother and yourself spoke to me. My husband and I, formerly anti-homeschool, took our son out of school trusting you to hold our hands and lead us. You have. My daughter is now home. She is reading the "Story of the World" series, First Language Lessons 4 and the novel list in "The Well-Educated Mind." You are remediating her education and preparing her for high school. Formerly, she was happy with the idea of becoming a manager at Food Lion, how I wish I was joking. Now, she hopes to attend VCU, SCAD, or W&M. You have given her hope, a view into the world, and grammar. My youngest is reading. He is learning phonics per the instructions of a woman that I regard higher than any teacher I had in school, you. Thank you. Thank you for helping us get out of that school system. Thank you for helping my daughter escape from that brutal pecking order. Thank you for giving me the tools I need to teach my children how to learn. Thank you for the understanding. Thank you for the hope. Thank you, the Lion Family We could never have done this without you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlefurfamily Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Susan, Thank you. You are kind of a rock star around here. My son and I were just talking about you last week.....well we kind of talk about you in our family all the time. I had ask my son if he credited you with his history-genius abilities. He said "well...mom you get some credit. I remember when you read the first Story of the World to me and you lit a spark...but yeah, Susan Wise Bauer lit the fire". His dream is to be a history professor. And my daughter, as we are going through WWE literature selections, says "Can I get that one to read the whole thing?" She is a book-worm. You are a blessing in our house......a voice of common-sense in a crazy world. You have given me a path to follow of academic excellence...without having to pull my hair out. And thank you for this forum. I have learned much about varying view-points and tolerance here. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thank you, Susan! Your books and this forum have greatly enriched our homeschool journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partyof5 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Dear Susan, I am so grateful for having been handed TWTM when I first considered moving my oldest out of public school, because your book was what really helped me commit to this adventure. I will never forget reading those opening chapters and cheering inside that someone was actually speaking to me about the way I believed education should really happen, but I could never have put into words like you. It was like you took the chaotic ideas I had squashed down deep while studying to be an educator in college and organized them into the "manual" I had always wanted! So, while we diverge from true WTM methods from time to time, I always always always come back to your book to get grounded again, focused on what I had originally intended to pursue with my children, and energized to journey on. Now, with my youngest, I am finding that WWE is the perfect fit and I am again grateful to have you and your materials as part of our routine--what a gift you are to the homeschool community! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daughterofsarah77 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thank you, Susan! You were the one to truly challenge me to provide a top-notch education for my children...I can trace most of my growth to your inspiration. I started out wanting to hs for strictly religious reasons...and I have grown for beyond simply that. I now understand that my highest aspiration is to not just teach my children, but to teach them to think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guateangel Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Dear Susan, I am forever grateful to you for writing TWTM and for this board. You are a gem and the reason I am homeschooling my kids. Thank you, Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarlaB Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thank you for your work, your writing and particularly for this board. This board, as an extension of your ideology, has served as mentor, motivator & inspiration for so many. Through your books & convention speeches (3 yrs running) I have grown to greatly admire your perspective. You have challenged me to provide the best education possible- not only rigorous, but age/stage appropriate. It was a marvelous thing to find your voice of experience & expertise to rely on early on in our homeschooling journey. In my opinion, you have unequivocally 'raised the bar' for what homeschooling can (& should) be. Your humble authoritative voice has earned a place in our homeschool, and I am proud to whole-heartedly recommend your work to anyone I meet. :) Thank you. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thank you Susan and Jesse. Your curriculem has been an invaluable tool for me and my family. My husband and I share HS duties, I don't know that we would be HS without WTM. My husband and I are very particular about the content and the quality of the materials we offer our children. I appreciate that you have placed so much into your work, which does so much for children. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaney Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Susan, Reading your book was the biggest "AHA" moment of my life. I never, ever, considered homeschooling and mocked it for being a sham. Now I can't see my life without it. Your youtube videos have you sitting there with your diet coke looking so...normal! You broke through the stereotypes, made it simple to understand, and presented your information in small parts I was able to digest. You gave me permission to stop, go, and backup. This board is an AMAZING source of information and opinions. I turn here for sanity and guidance. Thank you for all you do. PS-Would love for you to churn out a full curriculum like TOG......in your spare time of course.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thank you Susan (and your family) for all of the time, effort, wisdom and HEART that you have put into your curriculum and resources. I learned so much reading TWTM. Also, thank you for keeping this forum going. It has been an invaluable resource on so many levels. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 another Bump to make sure that Susan does not miss this.:lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan Wise Bauer Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 It doesn't seem adequate to say "thank you" for the encouragement. Much needed, and so much appreciated. SWB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepymommy Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 It doesn't seem adequate to say "thank you" for the encouragement. Much needed, and so much appreciated. SWB :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 It doesn't seem adequate to say "thank you" for the encouragement. Much needed, and so much appreciated. SWB Oh! HUGS! :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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