My oldest daughter is now in her first year of a PhD program in English. She started homeschooling in the 6th grade. The skills she spent many hours developing during the school years directly contribute to the rewards she now enjoys.
1.Violin: Through many hours of practice, my daughter worked her way up to the top orchestra at the Philharmonic Association. She served as concert master in two orchestras and principle in the top orchestra.
Homeschool allowed her to participate in more than one orchestra each year. Thankfully, Raleigh has many community opportunities in music.
She organized and managed quartets within her orchestras. These quartets performed in community centers and public schools.
Her leadership skills were noticed, and she was asked to establish and lead an internship program and direct small ensembles for the Philharmonic Association. The holiday ensemble pictured above brings joyful music to the residents of long-term care facilities. That picture melts my heart!
In her senior year of high school, she substituted for the instructor of an after-school strings program at a public elementary school. The program is called Bow Time at School. She also began teaching private violin lessons that year.
She served as the executive assistant for the Philharmonic Association and currently sits on the board of directors.
There are benefits to the time and effort she dedicated to music. She received a substantial yearly music scholarship and plays with some pretty amazing groups. Many of these opportunities are paid.
As a PhD candidate, she now plays in University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s orchestra.
2. Reading: The extra hours allowed my daughter to read many works. She faithfully participated in the Mock-Newbery Book Club and Mock-Printz Book Club at Eva Perry Regional library for six years. Members read soon-to-be published books and evaluate them using the Newbery and Printz criteria. She was even able to talk with some of the authors. Who says that reading can’t be exciting! The quality reading experience she had in high school contributed to her writing skills.
3. Writing: My daughter had plenty of time to hone her writing skills during middle school and high school. She participated in writing challenges and maintained a blog. She wrote volumes of material for her personal files.
Having the luxury of daytime freedom, she was able to take a college level fiction writing course at a local private college her senior year. This may sound like a dreadful experience to some, but for her it was an over-the-moon experience. This class gave her three college credits and a taste of the college classroom.
As an undergrad, she served as the managing editor of her college’s art and literary journal. She won writing awards each year.
4. Creative Arts: All three of my children have spent endless hours drawing and sculpting Fimo clay. My oldest daughter specializes in pencil portraiture.
She also learned a thing or two about sewing. Two of her clothing articles have won specialty awards at the NC State Fair. Sewing fed into her fashion blog which featured thrift store finds.
5. Employment: My daughter began working at the age of 16 for a company that teaches school kids about colonial American life. Camp Flintlock prefers to hire homeschool students because they visit schools during the day. She learned how to pitch big canvas tents, cook over a fire, play the fife, and make candles and other colonial crafts. Below is a photo of her playing violin at one of their summer camps.
She also worked for a catering company during the day and evenings in high school. This job has given my daughter the opportunity to visit interesting places and work exciting events. She continues to work for this company and loves it.
I believe that employment contributes to maturity and future opportunities. My daughter noticed that students with work experience are better at managing their college schedules.
6. Missions: During high school and middle school my daughter was a faithful member of Crosswave International a group that strives to make Jesus Christ known to all peoples through the performing arts, music, practical service, and witnessing. They meet one weekend a month to practice skits, serve the community, fellowship, and worship together.
She took on several leadership roles with this group during high school and continues to serve to this day.
The group travels to Peru each year and performs in city squares and schools. They travel to Machu Picchu too!
Speaking Spanish is an asset for a trip to Peru. Thankfully, homeschoolers in NC can take free courses for college credit at the community colleges during high school. My daughter took two semesters of Spanish before heading to Peru.
The activities my kids engage in may not fit your kids at all. The purpose of this post is to show you that homeschool gives kids time to dig deeply into their passions and develop skills that will benefit them in the future. Kids don’t necessarily need to rely on the school system to provide opportunity. In fact, I believe that schools actually rob kids of precious time to discover themselves.
Finding opportunities for your children comes with a price. I have to take the initiative to find activities and put time into nurturing them. That means a lot of research, driving, and waiting. While waiting, I talk with other moms and learn about more opportunities. I ask a lot of questions and do a lot of listening. The effort I put into my kids is worth every minute of it.
I’d love to hear from you! For homeschoolers, what skills or activities have your kids taken to exciting heights? For people on the fence about starting homeschool, what would you want your kids to work on with extra time?
Musing: a period of reflection or thought. As such this post reflects my thoughts, opinions, and experiences on the topic. The choice to home school and the methods you choose are yours to determine.
Wow! These accomplishments sound amazing!