Here at BJ's Homeschool, I usually share about our homeschooling activities, academics and the like.
But today, I'd like to share something different....I want to focus on something that I am very thankful for.
With my daughter now graduated from college and working her first after college job, I can see all the benefits that homeschooling has brought to her and to our family, much more clearly than I could when we were in the thick of things!
With my daughter now graduated from college and working her first after college job, I can see all the benefits that homeschooling has brought to her and to our family, much more clearly than I could when we were in the thick of things!
There are so many reasons why I am thankful for having homeschooled her for 15 years.
And in honor of Thanksgiving, I have also gathered up some of my family's favorite photos from our nature road trips....
Are you a nature-oriented family, too?
For Thanksgiving last year, my husband and I got together with our daughter and her friend, and enjoyed a wonderful meal together. (Our extended family is a continent away..)
We did an ethnic celebration this year. You see, my daughter's favorite food is east indian food. Every week, when we could afford it, I would take my daughter to our local indian restaurant for lunch.
HOMESCHOOLING CAN HELP WITH SENSORY NEEDS
When she was little, my daughter who has some sensory issues, was a very, very picky eater. All she wanted to eat was soft foods, like macaroni and cheese, every day. But she learned to like rice. So I often took her to our little east indian restaurant, where she enjoyed her rice, and gradually added in other foods, too, like chicken curry.
You see, it was also a soft food. This helped her to expand her food choices so well, that it became one of our favorite homeschool traditions!
I am thankful that I could build in activities during our homeschool day, that met these individual needs, with food, and everything else.
And the fact that my daughter was a picky eater, ended up adding a lot of variety of foods for our family. Above, is one of my daughter's new favorites, tandori chicken.
And what does she want to do in the fall...but go on a "field trip" to pick out a pumpkin...at the same place we used to go to for our fall homeschool field trip.....
Nature Road Trips - I love how homeschooling gave us ample time to explore my daughter's interests, and to pass on our love of nature...
We gave my daughter a camera, when she was 8....
....and she's been taking pictures ever since. I loved teaching her about this favorite hobby of mine, through the years. It even became a high school elective.
HOMESCHOOLING BUILDS STRONG RELATIONSHIPS
I also love that my husband was a part of our daughter's education, from the start. She still seeks him out for his wise counsel, as she decides on possible life tracks, and future possibilities.
Driving practice became a special time for talks with my teen. And somehow doing short nature drives helped my daughter to feel comfortable to share her heart with me.
HOMESCHOOLING BUILT LIFE LONG INTERESTS
I love taking pictures of the trees.....tall and serene....and I passed my love of photography onto my daughter. It is still a passion of hers. She loves taking photos of the glorious colors in the fall....
And in honor of Thanksgiving, I have also gathered up some of my family's favorite photos from our nature road trips....
Are you a nature-oriented family, too?
For Thanksgiving last year, my husband and I got together with our daughter and her friend, and enjoyed a wonderful meal together. (Our extended family is a continent away..)
HOMESCHOOLING CAN HELP WITH SENSORY NEEDS
When she was little, my daughter who has some sensory issues, was a very, very picky eater. All she wanted to eat was soft foods, like macaroni and cheese, every day. But she learned to like rice. So I often took her to our little east indian restaurant, where she enjoyed her rice, and gradually added in other foods, too, like chicken curry.
You see, it was also a soft food. This helped her to expand her food choices so well, that it became one of our favorite homeschool traditions!
And the fact that my daughter was a picky eater, ended up adding a lot of variety of foods for our family. Above, is one of my daughter's new favorites, tandori chicken.
And what does she want to do in the fall...but go on a "field trip" to pick out a pumpkin...at the same place we used to go to for our fall homeschool field trip.....
HOMESCHOOLING BUILDS A LOVE OF NATURE
We gave my daughter a camera, when she was 8....
....and she's been taking pictures ever since. I loved teaching her about this favorite hobby of mine, through the years. It even became a high school elective.
HOMESCHOOLING BUILDS STRONG RELATIONSHIPS
I also love that my husband was a part of our daughter's education, from the start. She still seeks him out for his wise counsel, as she decides on possible life tracks, and future possibilities.
Driving practice became a special time for talks with my teen. And somehow doing short nature drives helped my daughter to feel comfortable to share her heart with me.
HOMESCHOOLING BUILT LIFE LONG INTERESTS
I love taking pictures of the trees.....tall and serene....and I passed my love of photography onto my daughter. It is still a passion of hers. She loves taking photos of the glorious colors in the fall....
I am thankful that my daughter still wants to do nature photography trips with us. Sometimes to the city.......
Other times all the way out to our favorite rivers and streams....
Even stopping to watch the salmon come back to to their home to spawn.
That was one of our favorite fall traditions....to watch the salmon spawn.
I am so grateful that this love of nature is still strong within her....It's in her heart.
That was one of our favorite fall traditions....to watch the salmon spawn.
I am so grateful that this love of nature is still strong within her....It's in her heart.
HOMESCHOOLING TEACHES THAT IT'S OK TO MAKE MISTAKES
Homeschooling taught my daughter, not only the love of learning, but also to know that she could make mistakes, too..........
Homeschooling taught my daughter, not only the love of learning, but also to know that she could make mistakes, too..........
She tends to be a perfectionist, like her mom. And as a 2e kid, she hated it when she made any mistakes.
For years we avoided doing any quizes or tests, so we could focus on the joy of learning itself.
But through it all she learned that life was not about avoiding making those mistakes.
But instead that life is all about learning and growing. And that we all make mistakes along the way....And that making mistakes was a part of learning.
HOMESCHOOLING PREPARES TEENS WELL FOR COLLEGE
Homeschooling taught our daughter good study skills and gave her practice in organizing her own study schedule.
Many of the public school college students were not.
With our daughter now a college grad, my hubby and I are so clearly seeing the values of our homeschooling journey....
How it has built up our family relationships that have continued to grow stronger through the college years. When our daughter encountered difficulties as a young adult in college, she knew she could turn to us for anything, and that we would be there for her, no matter what.
And we have together found wondrous surprises along the way....
My hubby and I are thankful for the joys of watching her explore her interests in college and find her way there.
She is now working in Communications for a local city nearby. Can't wait to see where that will take her!
Looking back...
The homeschooling road is not an easy one. There are twists and turns along the way. Sometimes, very hard ones....
All the work of finding the resources and strategies that fit, then changing them again, when they don't....Correcting math work, finding a rhythm for our days, dealing with the annual testing required in our state, and all those rainy afternoons...
It all has a cost. But the homeschooling journey builds so much more than just an education.
It builds family. And isn't homeschooling the best way to build a kiddo as well!
And the memories that we built through her homeschool activities and the lifetime friends that we have made, through the years...are ones that we treasure.
The road ever beckons.....
That is priceless.
May you find joy in your parenting journey....One day at a time, sometimes one moment at a time.
For those with college bound teens:
My teen got into each of the colleges on her list, with scholarship offers. And it was not hard to help get her into college. I wrote a book to share how we helped our daughter get there in 10 easy steps.
Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition gives you my best tips to help you plan your high school homeschool. Plus guidance for getting them into the college, if that is where they are headed.
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| Amazon |
Yes, only 10 easy to do steps to homeschool high school with college in mind. And it really is NOT that hard!!
Recommended by: Lessa Scherrer, certified college counselor from College Inside Track.
Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,
Betsy
Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school. She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, highschool,
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition, She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting, and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition, She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting, and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.
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