My son graduated today. Homeschooled from Kindergarten, he is truly and finally really done. The ceremony was huge and amazing. Hearing his name being announced and seeing him walk across the stage in his cap and gown was something I have dreamed of since forever.
For the last 6 months W was in a free NYC program where he went to "school" 5 days a week for 4 hours a day, which culminated in passing the TASC equivalency exam. W had fantastic teachers who he raved about daily, got to go on a bunch of field trips, and had the same days off as a public school. There was even a parent-teacher conference where I spoke with his teachers about what he was learning. I loved that. All the teachers loved him and told me how mature and well-spoken he is. But of course, I knew that, lol. He will be attending one of the CUNY colleges in the fall - with no red tape or hoops to jump through.
Sorry, but I was dreading the thought of having to create a transcript or course description or any other bullshit documents colleges ask for. W was unschooled and every subject blended into each other. I'm not that creative to pull it all apart on a document - my stress level and blood pressure would have gone through the roof. He had a fun time in that program (no, really) and now has an equivalency legal document that he'll have for the rest of his life. W is so happy he got to do a 6-month subject review instead of having to endure 4 years of high school.
My unschooled son, who got to follow his passions every day, experience amazing trips and classes, and even overcome dyslexia (didn't even need extra time on the test) has now fully and officially completed high school. He is so looking forward to college. I'm so proud of him.
That's it. My last baby is done. K, J, & W - thank you for giving me the opportunity to get to homeschool you and talk about it in this blog. Whether it was for 1, 6, or 13 years, it meant the world to me and I hope it's something you will carry with you for the rest of your life and treasure it. I sure will.
