May 23, 2009 .... One Month From Today...

my son, That Kid, should be celebrating his high school graduation with family and friends. This day should be such a special day for our family. It should be a day to remember for years to come. A day I have dreamed of for the past 13 years. A day to celebrate his accomplishments as a homeschooled student, and a day for me to reflect back over the years of hard work that we both made it through.

This day is also significant because I graduated on May 23, 1983...I have great memories of graduating high school. Walking up to the stage and getting my diploma. Celebrating with friends and family. I'm sure it's a day my parents still remember, too. I was their first child to graduate from high school and I had plans to go to college in a few short months. I still remember the gift my mom presented me that night...a scrapbook with pictures of myself throughout my childhood and my Senior Yearbook. Neither gift cost much money (they didn't have much), but they both were given to me with great love.

However, he has decided that he doesn't see the significance of a graduation ceremony, especially since he has been homeschooled his whole life. To him this has caused him to be social outcast to society; although he has far more friends than I could even imagine having. Since he is (in his eyes) a social outcast why would he participate in a ceremony that is nationally recognized as an important milestone in a teen's life? Since he is (once again, in his eyes) not really graduating why go through the ceremony and get a "fake" diploma?

I guess I should just move past this and not let it bug me, but ya know when you put forth more time and effort than you ever dreamed possible I feel that it should be marked by a ceremony of some sort. So as of right now, we aren't doing anything to even remember all those years of hard work and it is emotionally very frustrating.

I just had to get it off my chest....before I followed the title of my blog and blew up!! Thanks for listening!!


Edited tonight --- I finished Day 20 of the 30 Day Shred and looked ahead to Level 3 which starts tomorrow!! Doing these routines for 10 days straight gets a little boring so I'm kinda looking forward to moving on to Level 3, but OMG it's gonna kill me with all the plank moves!! But the weight loss and toned muscles is a great bonus!! Just thought ya'll would like to know!!

Senior Picture Preview....

We had That Kid's Senior pictures taken Thursday afternoon. As a homeschooler, he doesn't really think things like Senior Pictures, Graduation Announcements, and High School Graduation ceremonies; things that a typical senior participates in are important but I DO!! How often will your "little boy" be a Senior in high school?? Once, I pray!!?? ha!

Anywho....here are 4 of the shots that the photographer took. She is a homeschooling mom of 5 kids, here in the DFW area, and she's fairly new at taking pictures for $$$$. She did a great job last spring taking pictures of That Other Kid and I think she did a wonderful job on the pictures I have seen so far of That Kid!







Which one is your favorite??? The majority of people I have asked-- including That Kid likes the black and white one! DH says it looks very James Dean-ish!

Preparations for Junior Year

We will be starting school over the next couple of weeks, in stages. This will be That Kid's junior year of high school. It has been a long, interesting journey homeschooling him and I would be lying if I said it was always fun. There have been times when he didn't want to do school and I didn't either. He has to work HARD to get the kind of grades we expect out of him and he doesn't always perform under pressure. He has struggled with math throughout his school career, but we have finally gotten help (in the form of a tutor and a class w/a professional teacher, who happens to have a Ph.D in engineering. It should finally be a sucessful year for math....it's about time, dontcha think? Some people might wonder, why didn't you get help sooner? I wanted him to want it as bad as I did! You see with That Kid, when it comes to school, he needs to have a real reason to do it, i.e. ACT's, and SAT's so that he can get into a good college. That is his motivation for the next 2 years. He'll make it. I have faith and confidence in God that He will fulfill His promise, "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength". I claim this for That Kid this year, as this year will really be a big CHALLENGE.
Prayers will be appreciated as always.
Nighty, night......

Homeschooling At Its Best

Today I had That Kid take a diagnostic test through Acceleration Christian Education to find out exactly where he was in math...boy, do we have a lot of work ahead of us this year. Math has always been our weak area, and he has struggled with some of the basics now for years. I found out just how weak he was and how far behind he is through this test.
Next, we will need to hire a tutor for math to get him up to where he needs to be....I know it will be a long, hard road but he is a smart kid when he applies himself, so I know he will get there. This is one of the best reasons to homeschool your kids. When they need extra help you can get it for them and they don't just get left behind.