June 1st will go down in the annals of the history of our homeschool as the day we celebrated our first graduate!
What an incredible time both the day of the ceremony and the weeks leading up to it. I purposefully savored every moment, every memory. I didn't want the day to come and go in a blur of preparations and miss, as a family, the opportunity to remember the road that brought us to this place.
The past year has been a difficult one for S and for our family but, as promised, from the refining fire God continues to bring beauty from ashes. Had Seth graduated a year earlier, we would have celebrated his intelect and abilities; instead, we celebrated who he is (see speeches below). And, we celebrated as a family who arrived at this milestone together stronger in our faith and stronger in our family identity and bond. Joined by loved ones who supported us along the way, the ceremony was representative of the journey and God's faithfulness along the way.
E was our "keynote" speaker:
My Baba has been visiting with us. Over dinner this week, we discovered she was the only one of nine siblings to graduate high school. Born in Mexico to Russian immigrant parents, life was about maintaining the farm.
When she finished sixth grade, her father said, “That’s it; time to stay home.”
Knowing her father was the boss of the family and that Baba had a strong will, we asked, “And what did you say?”
“No,” she said.
“And what did he say?” we eagerly inquired.
“Nothing.”
She went on to tell us how she came home from school, finished her farm chores before studying into the midnight hour. She then rose at 5 a.m. to complete the morning chores before heading to school.
In addition to a firm faith in God, my Baba has given our family a legacy which values education. She taught this by example of teaching wherever God placed her – at home, Sunday School, girls club and in public school. Her oldest daughter has followed in her footsteps by becoming a public school teacher and her youngest daughter, my mom, became a Homeschool teacher.
Before we were born, my parents moved into a new house in Whittier, CA. The local newspaper landed on the porch. Inside was a two page spread on a local family who adopted an unconventional method of education – teaching their children at home. Dissatisfied with the options available to them, they kept their children at home and became one of the pioneering families in the home education movement. After reading the article, my parents knew if they ever had children, they would home school them. Two years later, Seth was born and the rest is history.
By choosing this option, my brother, sister and myself have had the opportunity to be educated at our own pace. Take reading, for example. My brother learned to read at age 4 sitting next to my mom, 15 minutes a day until he could sound out words by himself. My mom tried to teach me to read the same way. I, however, liked to sit with my back against the seat of the sofa and my feet up in the air resting against the back of the sofa. After intermittent starts and stops, she realized I wasn’t ready and let it go. Then, at age 7, she saw me looking at a book.
“Whatcha doin’ E?”
“Reading,” I nonchalantly replied.
“Really? What are you reading?”
I told her. She continued to inquire and, realizing I knew more than the pictures of the book could tell, she had me read the book to her. To her astonishment, I really was reading. The question still remains a mystery, “Who taught E how to read?” Today, my siblings and myself all read well above grade level even though we each learned to do so very differently. Being homeschooled has allowed us to bite, chew and swallow our learning at a pace we could easily digest.
As mentioned earlier, I was not one to sit in a chair. Most of my early school work was done upside down, standing by my chair, whirling, twirling, singing, hopping, skipping, running and/or jumping, in the den, in the family room, in my bed, on the living room floor or at the kitchen table. It was easier for me to think if I was moving. S was different. Most of the time he knew more about the subject before Mom got around to teaching him. I enjoyed tagging along his learning adventures and learned a lot from talking to him (of which I still do a lot of) and listening to him (which I try to do when I’m not talking to him). Being homeschooled has allowed us to approach education the way God wired us. It’s made a challenging road for my parents, but one that we have benefited from.
Although there are many other reasons my parents have homeschooled us, the one that made them choose this for our family was their conviction that this was what God had called them to do. The hub of our school is Jesus: He’s the foundation for every subject taught and the author of our lesson plans. He’s the glue that holds us together as a school and family.
Homeschooling is not perfect. Each day holds its own adventures and opportunities of learning to get along in the relationship laboratory we live in 24/7. But God has blessed my parents for following in the footsteps of the legacy handed down through my Baba. The diploma my brother will receive today is the testimony of the faithfulness of God who planted the desire to learn in my Baba, her daughter and her grandchildren.
Mama's Speech:
S, I am so proud of you. You are a bright young man and have approached your schooling with serious perseverance and unrelenting stamina. You’ve accomplished much in your schooling years. And as proud as I am of your brain, I am more moved by your heart. Inside dwells the living God who formed you in my womb. This past year I have seen a person who is brave and strong as he learned to acknowledge and embrace weakness; I have seen a person who is gentle and kind and took the risk of sharing his heart with others; and I have seen a person whose life God values and treasures and has a plan and a purpose for. Your graduation today is proof that what may seem impossible, is possible with God’s strength. In kindergarten, a verse got you through every new experience as you branched out from hiding behind me and became an independent little guy: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” We’d repeat that over and over before you went into Sunday School or VBS or school group park days. It still holds true today, Love. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.
You know your Mama loves you and I’ll be here for you….unless of course my request for a dorm room next to yours goes through and in that case, I’ll be right next door!
Congratulations Graduate!
Next stop....Westmont!
