Xpost - Thanks TWTM Board: a 10 year Reflection.

[debbiec]

Having just graduated my oldest son from homeschooling, I wanted to send a thanks to everyone and have a reflective moment of appreciation for how this board, and all you wonderful women have shaped my homeschool education and out family. Just a short walk down memory lane:

 

When my DS was at the end of 2nd grade (2002), I was lamenting at a church picnic (Memorial Day incidently) to some women about dreams fulfilled and unfilled about the education of my oldest in public school. My mother and mother-in-law were both retired teachers, so I had plenty of ideas from them about the strengths and weaknesses of the public educational experience. An aquaintance asked what I thought a good education should look like and when I was done rattling off my bullet points, she confidently stated that I needed to be classical homeschooling. I knew of homeschooling, but frankly, never knew a family who homeschooled (except her, but did not know her well). She talked with me a little about it at the picnic and recommended I check out from the library, or purchase Susan Wise Bauer's book - TWTM. I came home that Memorial Day Monday, looked it up on the internet, found the website and boards, ordered my book from the library and then stayed up the entire rest of the night reading here and other websites, about homeschooling in general and particularly classical homeschooling. It was everything I was looking for and never knew was out there. I spent countless hours into the wee hours of the morning the next several weeks, reading and reading and taking many notes (and sad I had missed our May curriculum fair to "see" things first hand).

 

Ten years later - here we are with a homeschool graduate! Sure, we had a year of private school and a year of public school thrown in there to mix it up a bit....but we did it! I can clearly say I would never had done it without many of you on this board (who probably have never heard of me, but I have scrubbed the boards clean looking for bits of advice and information as you all have shared your own homeschooling journeys and curriculum reviews which has always been VERY valuable to me!). You all have helped me to educate myself in "what is a quality education" and how does this fit into real life.

 

I have another son who has special needs and for a variety of reasons, we have chosen to keep him in public school because of services they can provide well that we cannot. Although, it is not a perfect situation, we do "after school" him and summer school him in the things that matter to us for him that we can do welll and the school can not (hats off to Veritas Press Self Paced History courses, Saxon Math and Rod and Staff English). Although our educational journey is quite different for my younger child, he is reaping the benefits of a community of home educators that walked with me (mostly unknowlingly) with my oldest child.

 

Although, we are "done" on the homeschool front, I wanted to take this "10th anniversary" and graduation moment to thank you all! Thank you for the countlesss hours of time those of you "ahead" of me spent giving opinions about things with such a wide range of ideals represented on these boards. Hours of reviews, encouraging others, and opening up your lives and experiences for the benefit of others. The resources here are unmatched to anywhere on the internet and the beauty of it - available 24/7 :001_smile:. Love and Thanks!!!!!!

 

Debbie in Nashville, TN

[kalanamak]

Congratulations!

 

I hope to putting up a post like yours in a few years!

[LG Gone Wild]

Wonderful!

[Mommyfaithe]

Congrats! Good job, Mamma!!!