Saturday, June 26, 2010

J's Series Finale

It's that time of year again for the annual assessments to be mailed in.  Yes, I still use the same format that's in my sidebar from 2005.  The highlights are fun to add, because I go back to September in my blog and make a note of most of our classes, activities, and trips.  Having it all here makes things so easy.  J's assessment was hard to write.  Where I normally put "J will begin ____ grade in September __", I put that J will begin 9th grade at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts in September 2010.  Wow.  That was the last bit of homeschool paperwork I will write up for her.  I didn't have to put that.  I've always liked to, just to make sure the district and I are on the same page with what's going on.  This time, though, it was more for a sense of closure.

I remember when I was first considering homeschooling.  At 8 years old, my daughter started to hate to be taught anything, became indifferent to anything new, and 4 teachers told me she had ADHD.  She was in a great gifted school and had tons of friends, but was not the same kid she used to be.  Where was her bubbly personality?  Her enthusiasm?  Her zest for life?

Gone. 

Homeschooling gave me my daughter back.  She started becoming her old self in only a matter of a few months.  I knew it was the right thing to do.  She taught me so much in our 5 years at home.  I learned to see life through her eyes.  Life (all of a sudden) became fun and exciting again and full of incredible things to experience.  And we tried to experience it all.   I will treasure every moment of it.

This new chapter in J's life is something she's more than ready for.  She's spent over 5 years becoming someone who is confident, independent, and ready to take on any challenge.  Since she was 3, her passion has been dance.  It's what she eats, sleeps, and breathes.  Acceptance to a high school where she can live her passion is the ideal finale to these incredible years of homeschooling.  She is living her dream and I can't ask for anything more.

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