Friday, June 3, 2011

Homeschooling: END OF THE YEAR~WRAP UP~

Our daughter's sense of humor
and a pic from a biology lab!
Many of you know we began online virtual academy this semester as part of our drive to secure diplomas for my high schoolers and begin our college experiences.  Wow~looking back what a ride it's been! AND WOWSY WOW WOW! How exciting it has been to see my children exhibit such incredible strengths.  Oh, the challenges have been many, but in all the process I've seen some TREMENDOUS GROWTH and SKILLS exhibited with them BOTH!

Without going into too much detail, I was really nervous about their abilities having homeschooled them BOTH since K and 1st grade...and well, the proof showed itself in a neat way this semester. Our daughter looks like she is going to be all As if not for a VERY HIGH B if this last test doesn't measure up to her expectations! Our son pulled his OWN 'fat out of the fire' by AT THE LAST HOUR, I'm afraid~earning 1A, 4Bs and 1C...imagine that!?  I have two very different learners, and so their 'styles' have really been so evident~daughter is a hard worker who is skilled but not confident~tenacious worker...doesn't GIVE UP or IN...keeps on going despite odds...Son, quite different: Only willing to do just so much...Wants goals and steps and to do JUST THAT...  Anyway, these kids are opposites in so many ways but also great kids...Once it looked like some Cs~more than he'd like, my son kicked it into high gear~or higher gear-I should say.  Now the results is good, but the process was so stressful...I began calling them both the "cardiac kids" b/c just the wait could give one a heart attack LOL!! But today @5PM is the END of this semester...totally...I'll be boxing up their curriculum tomorrow~although I'd like to ask to keep one of the math books so my son can review and make SURE he knows this stuff as he has the PART 2 NEXT YEAR to do...make sense?? LOL...Okay~that's our wrap up...

I really wasn't sure I was going to be pleased with a virtual academy setting for my kids~something about being in control of WHAT AND WHEN we do school as the first would be a concern over the content. Let me assure you that teenagers IF they attend colleges and universities will face worse 'doctrines' belief systems than what I've observed with our virtual academy curriculum...and at what point are they going to face THE WORLD anyway? I believe that after a child is grounded in the faith that it's a good thing to allow them to reason and learn what the other things are out there while I am still here to help...they're gonna face it anyway~which is better: on their own totally or still with parents and supports?  We chose to go for it now.  I know it's a concern. I'm not trying to convince anyone other than to say that I wish I had known HOW GOOD virtual academy would be as we would have done this YEARS ago...

Thanks for checking on us~TIMES ARE A CHANGING!  The Lord is good and I am so thrilled as He has blessed us~Let me know what's up with you and your thoughts ;-))
Hugs
SisterT

1 comment:

Stacie said...

Hey Sister T! Glad to see that you have had such success with the Virtual Academy. congrats!