From a Homeschool Graduate

  I recently had the privilege of sharing a bit about my homeschool journey with our local group of homeschool moms.  I thought I'd share on here, too, for any other homeschool moms who are interested in knowing what my mom did right and what we could have done differently on my homeschool journey.  Also, if you're not a homeschool mom or a homeschooler at all, maybe this will put some of your questions at ease. :)

  First of all, I am SO glad that I was homeschooled.  I wouldn't have had it any other way.  I remember in maybe 5th or 6th grade, I was behind in some of my school work.  It was around Thanksgiving, and my parents told me that if I didn't catch up by Christmas, they were putting me in school in January.  That was possibly the worst punishment, in my opinion, and I got down to work and caught up on that school! :)  I realize that homeschooling isn't for everyone, but for me, it was the right thing.

  My dad is actually the one who wanted us kids to be homeschooled.  My mom was a public school teacher for 12 years until my sister was born (I was 4).  I went to public school for kindergarten, but after that, my mom pulled me out and we started homeschooling.

  One thing I have to put to rest is that YES, homeschoolers have friends!  This is a common misconception - one that actually prevents other kids from befriending you.  The majority of my friends were also homeschooled.  I can only name two other people who were friends with me in spite of being homeschooled.  But, right after starting to be homeschooled, we started attending a local homeschool co-op where, twice a month around 30-40 families got together for three hours and the parents taught/supervised and students went to three different classes.  The classes changed throughout the years, but they included a geography class when I was younger, a logic class (my personal all-time favorite), science, creative writing, gym, art, and as high schoolers, we got a game hour to just have fun with each other.  It was a great place to meet new friends and build that initial foundation of friendship.

  I also attended a discipleship group for girls with several friends, before I started my own when I was 14.  Going to this group was a highlight, twice a month, where I learned more about living a life for Christ and also got to spend more time with friends.  But besides, those structured times, my mom was really good and purposeful about getting together with friends for my siblings and I.  We had friends over all the time, whether those friends lived in our neighborhood or 30 minutes away.  My mom recognized how important socializing was and made every effort to help us develop friendships.  I remember one year, my mom did a creative writing "class" just at our house with 4 or 5 of my friends and we got together for maybe four sessions and at the end had a mother's day...day where we presented our moms with an acrostic word project we'd made.  Every Christmas for a few years, my mom would organize a mother-daughter Christmas Tea with several other mothers and daughters we knew. We'd have a couple games, a devotional, singing, and had amazing food!  Because we didn't celebrate Halloween, we would invite about seven other families who also didn't celebrate it and just have a "harvest party".  This event often included a potluck, a campfire, and night games.

  My mom was also big on birthday parties, which she often allowed me to help plan!  I remember having a water-park birthday, a Hello Kitty party at a playground, a scrapbooking party/sleepover, a Nancy Drew computer game race birthday, a mystery dinner party, a soccer-themed party, and then my extremely memorable 16th birthday (which was a surprise).  She even let me and one of my best friends plan that soccer-themed party all on our own!  By helping plan those parties, I learned what all went into party-planning: invitations, RSVPs, decorations, games, food, cleaning, etc.  And now that I plan about a half-dozen parties for LIVE every year, I realize how important that experience was for me!  And as you can see, I never lacked time with friends.

  When I was in 5th, 6th, and 7th grade, I went to band at the public school, where I played flute.  I had a good friend who had started full-time public school the same year I started band, and although she was a year older, it was fun to be able to see her after school.  However, after 7th grade, I quit and just took private lessons.  People create stereotypes and oftentimes, all it takes is one person.  Just as it might take one homeschooler for every public schooler to be against them, it can take one public schooler for every homeschooler to not be so positive about them.  In 7th grade, we were supposed to play seven songs at the Spring concert.  By the time the concert came around we could play three or four.  That year was the worst!  My band director walked out crying twice because the kids were so disrespectful, I hardly learned anything that year, because the majority of the kids were disrespectful, and not enough students practiced at home nor paid attention in class to learn the assigned songs.  It was very frustrating to me, and I know that not every class is like that, but I was very glad that year that my parents homeschooled me, because of that experience I had.

  There are many things that, had I gone to public school, I would not have been able to do.  One of the biggest things is leading my discipleship group.  I started when I was 14 with girls in my neighborhood and it was then that I started writing curriculum, too.  I loved leading the group and those girls were so special to me!  My family moved in 2011 and that's when I started LIVE, with girls from our local homeschool group.  I cannot imagine what it would be like not having these girls in my life!  College has crossed my mind a few times, but the primary reason I won't go is because I would no longer be able to lead LIVE.

  Another thing is traveling.  My family has always taken vacations at least once a year with several camping trips crammed in, especially when I was younger.  Lots of families take vacations, I know.  But we would be able to start school a few weeks early and then, once school had started for everyone else, we would pack up and get out of waiting in lines and having those crowds!  One fall, my parents made the very hasty decisions to purchase a vehicle online...in North Carolina (and the funny thing is, that wasn't the only time, either!).  After they won the eBay bid, it went back and forth about who was going to go pick it up.  First, it was just my dad.  Then, I was going to go with him (I was 10 at the time).  In the end, two weeks later, all five of us were on a plane to NC.  But it wasn't just to NC that we went...we ended up driving to Williamsburg, VA!  That was one of the best vacations, ever!  In fact, we even decided to stay longer than originally planned because we could!
  One year, in 8th or 9th grade, I did a research paper on the Amish.  And that same year, my brother did a project on Gettysburg.  So on our vacation to Washington D.C. (which, by the way was SO much fun and SO much learning! :D), we stopped in Gettysburg so Aidan could see his project practically come to life.  And on the way home, we stopped in Ohio and stayed with an older Amish couple for a couple days and I learned so much after I'd done my paper!  That same trip, we also went to Assateague Island and Maryland City.
  Another year, it was a week and a half before Christmas and we got a call from my dad's uncle, who we didn't really know that well.  He told us they had some vacation points that needed to be used within two weeks and they wouldn't be able to.  He said he had two suites and asked if we knew any other homeschooling families who would be able to with us.  Of course, we said yes and invited three other homeschool families and four days later, we were on our way!  Oh, the joys of being able to drop it all and leave! :)
  We've also gone to Colorado, California, Wisconsin Dells (on other occasions), Mexico, and South Dakota.
  Last year was the first year that my parents allowed me to travel alone.  I was able to put school (both high school and college, thanks to CollegePlus) on hold and go to Virginia for a week.  I was able to take a mission trip to Haiti, go to Texas, leave on four days' notice to Florida with my dad, and in January/February of this year, I went to Colorado with three weeks' notice.  Traveling is something I love to do and it looks like I'll be able to more of it this year!

  Having a close relationship with my mom is something else that I don't think would have been possible had I gone to school.  I began growing closer to her in high school, which if I were in school, I probably would have been gone 9-10 hours a day, if not more.

  Also, being homeschooled provided me with opportunities for some jobs!  One year, a neighbor came over to our house to ask if I would be able to get her autistic son on and off the bus when she worked.  He rode a different bus than his siblings, so it actually came later in the morning.  If I had been at school, I wouldn't have had that experience.

  One more big thing is doing CollegePlus.  I did their CollegePrep program when I was 14 and by the time I was 15, a Sophomore in high school, I had 12 college credits.  By the time I graduated high school in 2013, I had 58 credits and was a Sophomore in college, and I currently am a Junior with 81.  I will be (Lord-willing) graduating in June of 2015 with my BS in Organizational Leadership through Thomas Edison State College.


  There are some things that my mom and I wish we had done differently in my "high school career". I hope maybe it will be helpful to you homeschool moms. :)

  Science.  I am not a science person at all.  My mom found a science curriculum one year and I...strongly disliked it. :)  I'm not sure what it was called, but it was boring and I didn't learn all that much.  And, when the time came for me to take the science CLEP test to earn college credit, I did not have a very strong foundation in science.  Yes, I did study (for four months, in fact) other resources for the CLEP, but honestly, I felt like I was starting completely from scratch.  I ended up failing the Natural Sciences CLEP...twice.  I realize that it's not all the curriculum's fault, but I do believe it played a role in it.  I think had we done Apologia, it would have been fine.

  Math.  So I'm not really a math person either.  Let me rephrase that...I love math when I understand it.  If it's easy for me...it's all good.  So I loved math up until 10th grade.  In 10th grade, we started Algebra II and I didn't understand it.  So, we switched to Geometry.  However, not only did we switch to Geometry, but we switched curriculum, too.  And I didn't not like this curriculum.  I think it's important that you have a curriculum that your student can understand and enjoys.  Otherwise, we're not going to get as much out of it as we should.  And the beauty of homeschooling is that you have dozens of curriculum options for each student!

  Foreign Language.  My mom and I would suggest you allow your student choose their own foreign language.  You can approve, sure, but let them choose.  My mom chose for me...Latin.  She thought that learning Latin would make learning any other language easier.  I did not want to learn Latin the first place, which made those three years kind of miserable.  I would have much rather learned French.  Yes, Latin may have been useful had I been a science major, but as we discovered with the failing of two Natural Science tests, that was NOT going to be the case. :)  Most people I know who have been out of high school for a couple years do not remember the foreign language they learned.  So by the time I ever get around to learning French, if ever, that Latin wouldn't be any use to me anyways.  Just something to keep in mind. :)

  Deadlines.  One thing, I wish my parents had been more strict on is deadlines.  It wasn't that my mom didn't set them, I just usually got out of them if I wasn't finished with m paper by then.  And when I started taking CLEP tests for college, there was no structure there, either.  For those tests, I was in complete control.  I ordered the books I thought I needed, I made my own study schedule, and set my own goals.  Because CollegePlus is flexible (which is awesome), my college degree could take me six months or six years...it didn't matter.  Now, I'm not hitting the six year mark, but I certainly didn't get it done by high school which was the original goal.  Because I was in complete control, I could push my goals further and further back over and over again.  And by the time I had to take my first online course, I was like, "Wait, what?  I have to get ALL this done by midnight on Saturday?!"  It was very stressful for me.


  I hope you found this post insightful into a homeschooler's life and somewhat helpful. :)  I am so glad that I had my parents as my teachers for my whole academic life, and that I get to have the SAME teachers for the rest of my life in all other areas. :)

In Christ,
    Sierra

my high school graduation party

on saturday, june 29, 2013, I officially graduated from high school.

close family and old friends joined us for the ceremony;

distant and close family, old and new friends alike came to celebrate at my open house.

it was a blessed day - i couldn't have asked for a better one!

i'll narrate the day in pictures taken by: lydia, brita, and frankie (thanks!).

after my parents each gave really nice speeches, they presented me with my diploma

then i gave my graduation speech.

my youth pastor spoke (thank you, pastor blake!) and we were done - i was graduated!!  we moved on to picture time.

my cousin and her wonderful family.  hadn't seen these guys since january!

my cousin and his sweet family.

my aunt and uncle

another cousin and her husband

my great-grandma, me, and my grandma 

cousin and her family 

my best friend, lydia, and i

amber and i have been friends since before our preschool days!

my wonderful family!  we all look exhausted...we forgot about the family picture till the end of the day. :/

love these two!!

little bro, aidan

my sister, frankie

now on to the decor/food pictures! :P

for dessert, i had milk & cookies - and it was so pretty, you're getting more than one picture.
thanks to my cousin, megan, for the beautifully decorated sugar cookies on the left!  i didn't get to
taste them, but they disappeared quickly!

last angle. :D  thank you, terri, for taking charge over the milk & cookies!

my friend, laura, surprised me on friday evening by paining this beautiful banner!  i am keeping it forever and ever.  see the 2013 in there, too?!  this banner makes me happy.  thanks, laura!

inspired by my friend jenn, i decided to make this newsletter type thing!
(there's a back, too, which you can somewhat see in the next photo)

aren't those center pieces pwetty?!  sandi made them for me - thank you!

our tent set-up

this kid. :)

we were all set when we had my friend, lizzy, lifeguard.  at one time, we had about 20 kids in there!

my "then & now" board.

i had more of a display table, but didn't grab a picture of that - slipped my mind.

i got, for the first time, individual photos of some of my LIVE girls and i!  super special for me. ;)

and that was my graduation day!
such an amazing time

in love,
sierra

no more training wheels!

  Saturday, June 29, 2013, I officially graduated from high school, although I finished high school work mid-May.

   Sunday night, after everything was cleaned up and finished after my grad party, I told my mom, "Now that I'm officially graduated...now that it's final...I feel like a real adult."

  It's true.  I feel like a lot has changed in my attitude in the past four days.  But in a good way.  God has opened several doors of opportunity within the coming year and a half, and it's going to take a lot of prayerful consideration to find out just where He wants me.  But I know that He'll show me and I'm just looking forward to taking this one day at a time.

  These will be days full of school...of work...of intense Bible study...of a lot of prayer...and discussion...full of fellowship....of getting involved in new places...of school...of making adult decisions.  It's gonna be crazy.  I know it will be.  But as I am transitioning into full-time adulthood (finally - I'm an actual college kid!), I am ever-so grateful for my parents who are willing to give me advice and help me make the right choices.

  When you are really small, your parents probably stuck you on your first tricycle.  Then you moved to training wheels.  And finally, you could pedal all by yourself, but your parents still ran along with you just in case you fell and needed help back up.  And eventually...you and your parents could go on mile-long bike rides together, always there in case someone fell, yet you were fully capable of riding by yourself.

  I feel like this past year and a half or two years, I've had my training wheels.  And as of Saturday, they were taken off!  For the first time, I'm on my own, but I still have my parents there to guide me and help me when I need it - and I will!  I have a feeling which I can't explain: scared...excited...nervous...joyful...confident...unprepared...sad...responsible...Spiritually strong...Spiritually inadequate...purposeful...indecisive...and the list could go on.  It's all mixed in one.

  But I have to say, as I've said before.  This "new unknown" makes me pretty excited.  And I have full faith in God that any struggles I face, He'll be my shield.

  As I went through my graduation cards after my party, I found two common passages referenced: Proverbs 3:5-6 and Jeremiah 29:11.  However, I found three cards which each offered a different verse from each other and from any other card I'd received.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desire of your heart."  ~Psalm 37:4

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."  ~Romans 12:12

"But be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you."  ~1 Samuel 12:24

God bless,

   Sierra

PS: coming soon...graduation party pictures.  (happy)

this is the first day of the rest of my life

today, i finished high school.

i'm excited - who isn't when they reach this milestone, right?

but more than excitement for reaching the milestone,

i'm excited for the future.

i'm eager to find out what the future holds.

i'm anticipating something...

yet i don't know what.

what's out there?

what does my future hold?

what will my life look like in 5 years?  10?

heck, what will my life look like next year?

there's so much uncertainty, it makes me so excited!

i'm not a flexible person - i like a plan.  i like a schedule.

but the unknown of the future is...exciting!

i want adventure.  and uncertainty is adventure.

i want to travel.  now i can.

i am earning my college degree.  i get to finish.

i want to develop and grow my discipleship group.

with high school out of the way, i can.

i don't know what i'm waiting for

but i do know...without a doubt...that i'm here for a reason.

i have yet to find that exact reason.  but God has a plan for me.

and knowing that He knows even though i don't...is exciting.

~sierra

Peaceful Chaos

 Life lately has been sooo busy.  I feel like every minute is flying by without my noticing it, and all of a sudden, it's midnight and time to go to sleep again.  Life has been just routine lately.  I wake up, do school, and then go where I need to be.  I've been reminding myself of this quote:

 I've been studying for the Biology CLEP test for the past several weeks.  There are days when I feel discouraged, and there are days when I feel like I could take it now and ace it (which would not happen.  ever.).  Science is...not my strong suit, so it gets stressful.  I've been absorbing so much more than I did when I was doing science for high school.  The scariest thing with taking these tests is that you don't know what's going to be on it.  You can get tips and suggestions from other students who have taken the test, but CLEP has several different variations of each test, and you never know which one you're going to get.  Anyway, I'm taking the test on the 29th, and I am confident that I will pass.

 Last weekend, I had some college friends over.  They are all from Minnesota, but drove quite a ways to come hangout for a while.  But it was so much fun!  We played Spoons, the Family Game, and a new game I had learned over my birthday.  It was just a fun time of fellowship with awesome people.  :D

 I'm counting down the days before I leave for Virginia.  Only 16!!!  I'm so excited!  I get to meet, in person, a couple of really good friends, some new friends, and I believe there may be a couple of people I had the privilege of meeting at the gathering here in MN.  We're going to tour Washington D.C., Mount Vernon, laugh a lot, go hiking, play games, watch movies, laugh a lot, sleep a little, and have tons and tons of fun!!!!!!  Eeeeeeeeep! :D

 Today I had my second degree consultation.  Yes, I have joined the ranks with countless other indecisive, college students: I've changed my major.  Today I went from being an Economics major (which really doesn't interest me) to being an Organizational Leadership major (which, if you know me, totally describes me).  My degree template looks so different now, but I have a feeling these courses I'll be taking and even the tests I'll be taking will be a lot more fun for me than the Economics courses and tests.  Now I can't wait to talk to my coach and decide what order I'll do them all in!! :D

 LIVE has been going well, praise the Lord!  It's been growing - from 16 to 18 girls (and to think we started with 5)!  We have quite the full house when LIVE days come around.  Yesterday, after singing three energetic songs, I was asked to open the windows because it got so hot downstairs with everyone dancing around!  The Lord's been good to our group; I just can't believe it'll be April before we know it and then we'll be going on summer break!  But I'm praying about several things right now to grow and develop the ministry next fall since I'll be graduated from high school (yay!).

 Besides those bigger things, I've been busy finishing high school Latin and Economics (almost.done!), attending a Bible study every Tuesday night, cleaning at my two cleaning jobs, planning my graduation party (which just got bumped up 2 weeks) and trying super super hard not to be distracted by my excitement for my upcoming trip.

 What's new with you?

Love,
  Sierra

photos of what I've been up to

Wow!  I kind of didn't realize that the last post I posted was...almost three weeks ago!  Well, good thing I was working on this post! :)  I've been pretty busy lately.  My life has been filled with high school, college, Sunday school, and some other things mingled in here and there.  Here are a few photos to show you what I've been up to:

Sunday school lesson!

Wrapping Christmas gifts

Studying Principles of Marketing

I received this coloring page from a girl in my Sunday school class

My December itinerary

Highschool 3rd year Latin

I am just starting to be involved in a Skype Bible study with several other girls internationally.  I will be diving into this book soon.

The next few photos are photos of some crafty things I did over a weekend right after I finished my Leadership Theory & Practice course.  

It is kind of hard making wire unbend when you've already bent it a certain way. 

This wreath type thing looks pink, but it's the same color red (deep red) as the 'S' shown above.

Getting cards in the mail!

Working on Economics and American Government for highschool work.

Finished math in two weeks! :D  Whoo-hoo!

There's my little update.  Not much is super new.  Looking forward to Christmas: just one week and two days! :)

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It's been a long, long while since I've posted what I'm thankful for.

351. an awesome LIVE harvest party

352. a wonderful Thanksgiving

353. paintball wars with my family

354. Black Friday shopping with my mom

355. going to Operation Christmas Child's processing center

356. going to the MOA with friends

357. getting Christmas packages and cards in the mail from friends

358. Bible study over Skype with girls internationally

359. fun LIVE meetings

360. going to The Hobbit with my family

361. teaching Sunday school

362. caffeine

363. finding fun games that my LIVE girls enjoy

364. watching movies while I clean 

365. shoveling our long driveway after a beautiful snowfall

366. Pinterest :)

367. God's goodness all the time, even in the midst of tragedy

368. my "sub coach" and friend who is willing to give me school advice and tips

369. finishing highschool and college math

370. having 39 college credits

371. cute journals & stationary

372. being able to lay in bed all weekend when I'm sick

373. wrapping presents

374. Christmas music

375. visits from cousins

376. hugs from my Sunday school kids

377. a quiet Saturday

378. gifts from my LIVE girls

379. my white fleece jacket

380. a fresh snow fall

 Have a blessed week.  I will get better at posting regularly....I hope. :P

Love in Christ,

  Sierra

of math, LIVE, and shopping...

 This past Saturday was a wonderful day for me!  It was the 2nd Annual Harvest Party for LIVE.  We had 18 girls attend, and it was a blast!  We sang a couple fun songs, played a few games, and did a fun craft!  Here are a few pictures from the day.

 one of our outside games

the craft.  the girls were oh so creative! 

another game: Balderdash.  this was one of the favorites!

 During the game of Balderdash, one of the favorite words was: epalpebrate, which means 'lacking eyebrows'.  This caused bouts of laughter from everyone.

 Last week, we figured out a way to combine my high school math and college math.  So instead of doing math for the next 6 months, I should be done by Christmas (Lord-willing!).  Of course, I will still have Statistics to do, but otherwise, I will be done with math! :D

 Along with working on Natural Sciences, I started working on Intermediate Algebra with ALEKS.  I have been understanding math SO much better than I did last year, it's so nice!  Hopefully by Christmas, I will have a total of 9 more college credits.

 For Thanksgiving, my dad's family is coming over for lunch and to play paintball!  I'm excited about it!  Paintball is always fun. :)  Then....*drumroll* it's SHOPPING TIME!!!  :D  I can't wait!  Last year, my mom, sister, and I left around 11:30pm, came home around 9:00am, slept till 3:30, and went back shopping until 8:00.  :P  This year, my sister and I are planning on watching Christmas movies on Friday after our shopping excursion.  I've made a rule that there is to be no Christmas movie watching or Christmas music listening until after Thanksgiving.  I'm looking forward to delving into the Christmas season at 11:30 Thursday night. :)

 What are your Thanksgiving plans?

Have a wonderful week!

 Sierra