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.
12 comments:
Congratulations all! The end of an era, but I'm sure you've been segué-ing into the next phase already. Enjoy the changes!
Thank you Miranda. I'll never forget that 15 years ago, your blog and homeschooling life was so inspiring and gave me the confidence to give it a shot. Thank you for that, as well.
Thank you for your blog. I've been reading for several years now, and I've read all of your posts and have used so many ideas from them. I have been homeschooling my grandson since first grade. He is twelve years old now and about halfway through a college math major in terms of math but is at normal grade level in his other subjects, so he doesn't fit well in regular school. What I have enjoyed most about your blog is how you have supported each of your children to pursue their interests and your pride in their accomplishments. I will miss reading about your marvelous family--maybe you will still post occasionally?
Jeanne, thank you so much for your kind words. It feels great knowing I have inspired someone on their homeschool journey. You sound like you're doing a fantastic job. Congratulations, and I wish you and your grandson continued success. As far as my posting again... well, never say never, right? LOL.
Congratulations! I know how happy and proud you must be!!!!
Congratulations.
I'm a New Yorker who's become less enamored of the city and I actually used to own a learning center in Jackson Heights. One of my students was a homeschooler.
I came across your blog today while researching homeschooling coops in and around NYC; I am glad I did as I really enjoy your writing.
Thanks for sharing.
Hello! I'm have come across your blog. My son is in 3rd grade. We have homeschooled and it was great! He is now in a private school and we're both not happy. I feel we will go back to what we were doing. You mentioned a school that met 5 days a week for 4 hours. Can you tell me more about where this was in the city? Also what about The ROC or Different Directions. Do you have any experience with these groups?
Hi. We have gone to both the ROC and Different Directions - not very often, just for a few classes here and there. The classes are ok, but expensive and not something W ever wanted to do on a regular basis.
The school he went to 5 days a week, 4 hours a day was a 6-month TASC prep program at one of the CUNY community colleges. It's for ages 17-21 and was preparation for the high school equivalency test.
I think you're better off joining a local homeschool group and doing a lot of activities with them. That was the best thing we did. In my opinion, a regular, daily set of classes for a 3rd-grader might as well just be school.
Congratulations to you and your family! My daughter and I are just about to embark on our homeschooling journey. I just started reading your blog and it's been very helpful and inspiring. Thank you for sharing your experience, and I wish you and your family continued success.
Congratulations to you, your family, and this blog! My my my..... what a life saver you are! You just don't even know! I've read most of the comments on your blog, and I may sound redundant when I say, "I'm sooo glad I stumbled onto your blog!" I am a home schooling mom of two girls from Queens as well, and we have just recently embarked in this home schooling adventure. I used your sample IHIP and LOI and have all the important dates noted. I love the AO curriculum and we are going to use that one. I just wanted to ask you more guidance with the daily planning. I am home schooling a 5th grader and a 1st grader. I don't know what activities or areas of learning they can do together and I don't know how to structure the days. If you could please point me in the right direction? We just started yesterday, and I am a little lost and overwhelmed I will admit. Should I unschool them first? Please help!!!! -Zulema
Hi Zulema. Thank so much for your kind words. With AO, I want to suggest reading just about every page of the entire website before starting. See what others do. I would always use a year down, so "Year 4" for 5th grade. We got all the planned academic stuff finished by early afternoon and then either went out somewhere, did some crafts, or went on a nature study. Break up the week any way that works for you.
If the girls were in school up until last week, I would start out letting them lead the way. Make a list of all the things they love to do - schooly or not - and work off of that list for a month or so. Go to museums and restaurants together. Find a kid theater show or see what the library has for kids. Join a couple of homeschool groups, like NYHEN (Manhattan), Queens Homeschoolers, DREAM (Nassau), FLIGHT (Nassau), etc. They can do most things together with you. Stop worrying about the way schools separate the age groups. You don't have to worry about that anymore. With the academics, maybe spend about 2 hours with each child separately in the mornings. My older one would always sleep later than the younger one so it worked out well that way.
Congratulations on your new journey!
-Angela
Thanks for this blog! I am a newer NYC unschooler and the resources here have been invaluable.
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