January 3, 2009 is the date listed on Pooker's official transcript as the date she is finished with her high school studies. Along the way we were often asked "how do you do it?" Just remember it didn't start with her as a teenager.
Way back when Pooker was just 5 years old I had it in my heart that I wanted to homeschool her. Her dad did not want that for her. We had both grown up going to private Catholic grade schools and then high schools. He wanted the same for our children. So we researched both and actually enrolled her into the local Catholic School. We jumped through the hoops, took placement tests, made deposits, turned in medical records, met with teachers, signed up for volunteer lists, ordered the uniforms and then we waited. (. .and waited . . .and waited)
Her placement scores were very high and we had turned our paper work in early but there were too many kids that year. In the end Pooker was put on the waiting list and not really set for classes at all. We had never wanted her to go to public school but now she would have to start there until a spot opened.
So J said to me, "Go ahead and try this homeschool thing. We will try it for one year and see how it goes." When Pooker's peers started at school that year we began her work at home. Pooker was a very smart young woman and loved learning. It was a fun year, full of adventure and wonderment.
After the end of that first school year we took the the time to re-evaluated. We decided to try homeschooling for one more year. She started her first grade year using the complete program from Seton Home Study. This was a very intense year of study and I felt it included too much busy work. We did it all but it got difficult with all the babies running around.
Second grade was a little easier. We still used Seton but this was the last year for a pre-packaged program. I was reading so many teaching books and knew that I wanted to pick my own curriculum. I had now been teaching Pooker for 2 years and knew that we were on the right track. As each year passed Jason and I became more and more confidant that this was the path for our family.
And so it went from there. It had started as a second choice and a last minute fill in alternative. Now homeschooloing was a way of life for all of us. In the end it is a true calling from God. We took it one year at a time for 12 1/2 years. We had always thought we would send her to a Catholic High School when the time came. After moving to Texas we realized that high school would be better taught at home as well. It hasn't always been easy but Dani has always given her best. She has matured and learned to find balance in life with it all routed in prayer.
We will offer her a graduation ceremony later in the Spring. She is currently enrolled in community college for next semester. She has graduated our program one semester early. She plans to work toward her associates and then head off to A&M. She is interested in nursing of some sort, and is open to seeing what God has in store for her.
J and I are so proud as we offer the world our first graduate of T Homeschool Academy. We kept Pooker home and maybe protected her from some stuff. That wasn't our reason. Most importantly we offered her a world of studies that were not limited to four walls and a curriculum picked out by a board of strangers. We have nourished her social life with positive experiences and good Christian peers. We have boasted her self awareness offering her a strong education that included her faith. We have demanded that she learn to balance all aspects of her life to best form her into the kind, loving, smart, passionate person she is today. We are so proud to graduate Pooker. We offer the world a beautiful,
smart, strong, educated, fun loving, well rounded woman of GOD.
Congratulations Pooker
T Homeschool Academy
2009
We are so very proud of you and have confidence that you will continue to grow into the person God is calling you to be. You are so beautiful, inside and out. Thank you for allowing us to guide you and for trusting our decisions in your education. As you take the reins, know that we are very confidant you will continue to make us proud.
We love you, Mom and Dad (Teacher and Principal)
Pooker had one of her dearest friends through high school over. She and Meggers have gone to dances together, crushed on boys together and worn out more than one telephone together. Megger's mom, Mrs. Z and I planned their school out together years ago.
We sat at a coffee shop and mapped out what we hoped they would take and what books we wanted them to use. Each of us making separate decisions but some still the same. Mrs. Z and I planned the Catholic Coffee Club for these two. Their friendship has had it's ups and downs over the past 4 years but they have always loved to just sit and giggle. Mrs. Z and I took them to Austin to see a concert a few years back and the entire ride was one big giggle fest with a zillion "jk"s thrown in.
