One Down, One to Go

We wrapped up our 2017-2018 school year with our homeschool evaluations on May 9th. This was JT's final evaluation. <sniff> I consoled myself by immediately packing us up and heading to the beach. We had a very relaxing week on the shore, then headed home to the madness of planning a graduation ceremony and party for JT. I needed to choose pictures for a slide show, but it was so hard to keep it short. We have so many great memories of vacations, homeschool experiences, and fun family times. I managed to pare it down and my husband put them all together with some of JT's compositions for piano as the soundtrack.

We held his party at the church building where we worship. Many family and friends were able to attend. We started the day off with his diploma presentation. My husband shared a bit about JT's journey through school, how homeschooling works, and his plans for the future. Then he gave him his diploma and we watched the slide show. Afterwards, we had food and fun in the church fellowship hall. We also had time to catch up with friends who came a long way to celebrate with us.

Now that the party was over, it was time to start the next big plan - our Shenandoah hiking trip! JT and I leave for our 100 mile hike in less than a week. I have spent the bulk of the summer planning our route, equipment, and taking many practice hiking trips with JT. I feel like we are about as ready as we can be, but still not quite ready. We will be on the trail for nine or ten days, depending on our progress. My husband will pick us up at the end and then we can relax in a house we've rented for the week.

When I wasn't working on hiking plans, I was working on the plan for EM's schooling for this year. This is his sophomore year of high school. We started school the second week of July, with just a few subjects to begin, but are now running a full schedule. This year he is going to earn 6 credits towards his diploma; 10th grade English, Geometry, Physics, American Government, Cooking/Life Skills, and half credits each in Art and Physical Education. I will share the details of each planned course in a future post, after the big hike.

In fact, my whole life currently feels like it split into two chunks, pre-hike and post-hike. I'm constantly saying, "I'll work on that AFTER the big hike." So for now, goodbye until after the big hike!