Hallelujah! I feel like I could sing songs, dance around the room and throw a party! Maybe we should throw a party. Hmmm. I’ll have to think about that.

This week we had our last visit for the year with our facilitator. Our facilitator is someone who comes into our home and helps us out. At the beginning of the year she is available if I need help putting together our curriculum for the year. At the end of the year she visits with each of my kids to see what they did and she looks to see that the kids have grown, developed and are prepared to move on to the next grade level.

(Learning how to make jelly and can vegetables.)

This year we have done a lot of different things but I am often uncertain if we have done enough. I also had questions about Jason getting ready for high school. Next year Jason will be in junior high and I am thinking ahead to his high school graduation and I wanted to make sure that he would be prepared. Jason came to me the other week and asked me if it was possible for him to graduate high school early enough to make it possible for him to get his university degree BEFORE leaving for his mission when he turns 19. I was so proud of him but also very nervous. How am I going to help this kid fast track through high school but also increase his chances of getting into any university he chooses?

(Learning to quad over Thanksgiving)

My facilitator came in and answered all of my questions. She had helped a couple of her own kids fast track through high school and they are now all in the university of their choice. That made me feel so much better! She visited with each of the kids asking them what they’ve learned and what were some of their favorite parts of the school year. I love being able to just sit back and listen to their answers.

I put a lot of time and effort into their school and it’s cool to hear their views on how school went and what meant a lot to them. All of the kids passed which I expected. What I didn’t expect was how well they are doing. Sometime,s as a homeschool mom I feel like I get lost, not able to see the forest through the trees. I put a lot of thought into what curriculum would work best for my kids to learn what they need to in a way that works best for their individual personalities. Once we start those books though I’m just focused on helping them get to the end of the book. I don’t often stop to notice all of the fundamentals they’ve mastered or the skills they’ve learned. I’m just thinking about getting our school time in for the day in an effort to finish the school year before I want to start going away in the summer. (Selfish, I know.)

(The kids learned how to make a traditional candy from pure maple syrup and snow)

Jason and Jocelyn are reading way beyond their grade level.They are both excelling in their math studies. They are doing great with their essay writing and book reports and their writing abilities are ahead of grad3 level as well.

There are lots of other things we do (science, phys ed, etc.) but it would be a very long blog post if I talked about each of those things.

(The kids learned to cross country ski)

What I especially loved was feeling validated that I’m doing the right thing. When I first started homeschooling I felt isolated and unsure. I felt like I was suffocating from the pressure of educating Jason entirely on my own. My friends thought I was crazy. I didn’t know anyone personally who was homeschooling but I felt strongly that I had to homeschool Jason. I just didn’t know what that would look like or how to get support. It was just him and I at our dining room table. Thinking back on those first couple of years I can remember exactly how it felt and I can’t believe the leap of faith that it took. Now that we’re in Cochrane we have a huge support group and the kids have lots of homeschool friends. We’re not alone anymore.

(On a cattle ranch that friends of our live on)

Now it’s a part of our family. I can’t imagine doing anything else and I can’t imagine ever sending my kids back to public school. I love getting to spend so much time with my kids. I love the relationship that I have with each of them. I love being a part of their lives in such a vital role. I love that education is something that we do as a family, with each other. I taught my kids how to stand up, how to walk, how to go to the bathroom alone, how to ride a bike, how to tie their shoes, and on and on. I feel like homeschooling them is just a natural progression of being their mom. As they get older I start teaching them more stuff and in a more mature way. Now, instead of teaching Jason to ride a bike I’m teaching him how to divide fractions.

(Big Hill Springs Provincial Park)

We have had a very fun year. After talking with our facilitator we now have a game plan for high school and we have a good idea of how we’re going to tailor high school for each of the different kids. That feels really good.

(Big Hill Springs Provincial Park)

As much as I love doing this, there has always been a small voice on my shoulder that whispers doubt. It’s the accumulative questions and opinions of the people I meet who question our homeschool choice.

“How are they going to get into university?”

That question has plagued me because I never thought that my kids couldn’t get into university. Now, all of a sudden I was concerned that what I had started as a project to better my kids could be keeping them from what would better their future.

Now I know for certain what is expected of the kids and what they have to do in order to get into any university they choose. I’m no longer scared. That voice on my shoulder has finally shut up and I am so excited and so proud of my kids. They really are the most special, most wonderful kids I know. I feel blessed every day because I get to be their mom and to quote Steven Tyler, “I don’t want to miss a thing.”

I love being able to strap her on my body when things get busy!

Three cheers for hands free movement!

I’ve been looking forward to the end of school for weeks now and having it coming so quickly is making me rethink my stance on the subject. It will be nice to have more time to relax and less time working on getting the kids motivated but I know that they are going to be spending a lot of time outside. I’m all for having kids out playing but that means less one on one time with my big kids! That’s terrible!

I’m sure I’ll get over it though!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the Sports Day. The first picture might need a bit of explanation. Laurelyn likes to pull her hood down over her eyes and pretend to be a zombie. Can you tell she has brothers?

It is a great talk and even though the talk is not embedded into this post I really hope you click on this link and watch the video.

Three Jovial Welshmen

The choir performed at the Cochrane Childrens Talent Festival and won first place in their division. They were also the only competitors in their division so it wasn’t hard BUT I’m sure they would have won regardless! These videos are a little jittery because David was sitting on my lap while I was filming. My apologies.

Under the Sun (I think)

Joshua Fought the Battle

At the same time I saw this NBC segment on unschooling. I don’t have cable but thankfully Youtube has all the crap TV I need. Yeah, Youtube! Here’s the link in case you want to see the dribble that NBC put together.

Unschooling Segment 1

Unschooling Segment 2

Now, I don’t unschool. I do what is called traditional homeschooling. We use books or computer programs and field trips. Unschooling is something I find intriguing and I would love to actually do it but I haven’t quite figured out how I would do it myself.

Watching and reading all the blog hub-bub about unschooling, pro and con, I’ve remembered that I love homeschooling! I love having the power to change our schedules, our curriculum, our learning method or anything I else I want in order to make schooling fit into out lifestyle and/or budget.

I like what one blogger said. For traditional public schooling families it’s a stretch to wrap your brain around homeschooling and it’s a whole new ball game to wrap your brains around the concept of unschooling. Even among homeschooling communities there can be some strain between traditional homeschoolers and unschoolers. One believing that the other is inefficient at best. What I am uncomfortable about is that a piece done by NBC on unschooling, especially one so obviously biased, can easily skew the public’s opinion on homeschooling in general.

There was, and still is a huge uproar about how unschooling should be illegal and so on. How many more specials done by our unbiased news media before any schooling outside of a public classroom is brought before a courtroom.

I’m also sensitive to this mentality because it’s the same close minded understanding that was thrown in my daughters face.

We carpool to Girl Guides (scouting for my non-Canadian friends) and it was one of the other families turn to pick up. On the way home the dad of one of the other girls started asking Jocelyn math questions. The conversation went like this;

Dad: Do you know your numbers?

Jocelyn: Yep. I’ve been practicing them for 8 years.

Dad: Well, what’s 81 times 81?

Silence.

I can’t help but imagine Jocelyn trying to figure this out in her head while two of her best friends are sitting next to her, watching this exchange.

Jocelyn: I don’t know.

Dad: If you had really been practicing your numbers for 8 years then you would know this.

This just happened last week. We talked to the Dad and he admitted to giving Jocelyn a hard time and apologized.

I’ve had several friends ( non of them really close friends) start quizzing my kids when I say that they’re homeschooled. Why? I don’t ask to check when you tell me you have a boy and a girl. Who’s business is it of mine to check your kids out and make sure they really are male and female.

I went looking at some unschooling sites and found two amazing sites. The Not Back To School Camp and the Unschool Advetures, Trips for the untethered teen. Both have amazing experiences to offer to unschooling, homeschooling or even public school kids. If I had to choose between a classroom or experiences in the real world I know what I would choose.

The same choice I made almost 4 years ago.