There are no words.

My eldest was born 30 years old, at least that’s what I always joke. She has always been studious and inquisitive.

I learned early on that discussing the intelligence of your children with others isn’t a great idea. Everyone always thinks you’re just bragging or embellishing.

In truth, I believe that all children are smart. It’s how they’re taught that dictates how far they go. And in reality, my daughter could learn from a sea sponge. She just has that will, that drive to keep learning and exploring different subjects.

I didn’t plan to homeschool. The district my family was living in when my eldest was about to enter preschool lost its accreditation and we didn’t have the money for private school. I didn’t know anyone who was homeschooling at the time, but I knew I could at least teach the basics.

My daughter did so well with preschool at the age of 3 that I asked her if she wanted to start Kindergarten at 4 years old. She was super excited to learn more so we continued, ahead of schedule. We took it a year at a time.

Then I went through a divorce. We moved, I had to get a steady job, and I thought I’d have to put her and her sister in public school. Life was a mess for a while. But when I called the new district to ask about having my children tested to place them in the proper grade for their education level, I was told that public schools don’t do that. It’s age-based only.

If she was smart, I was told to test her for the Gifted Program. I looked into it and found that this just gives the smarter kids more work. My eldest felt like she was being punished for being a good student.

It was a struggle, but with the help of extended family and friends we kept homeschooling lessons going. I taught before work, after work, and on the weekends. Our life was very rigorous.

Thankfully during this time, I found my real better half. We got married bought a house and split teaching time, working opposite schedules.

When my daughter was about 10, she came to me and told me she was going to graduate early. She was two grades ahead at this point, and I told her that if she really worked hard and stuck to that goal, I’d support her.

At the time the state wouldn’t allow anyone under 16 to take their High School Equivalency (HiSET) test. I contacted the Department of Education and stated my daughter’s case.

I was told we could revisit the issue in a few years.

This year, when revisiting the policy, they had implemented an age waiver for parents to apply for to allow their children to graduate early.

We applied and got approved.

My daughter has studied hard. Because of the stigma attached to homeschooling I had her take her ACT before the HiSETs and she is also taking her SAT tomorrow. This just gives us that extra stamp of approval to combat any and all naysayers.

No one can argue with her scores. She earned them.

She aced her HiSets with a 96%.

This is the power of homeschooling. Customizing education for each child’s individual needs leads them to success and fast-tracks their learning process.

She plans to apply for a worker’s permit, get a job and do volunteer work for the next few years. She’ll also be taking a few online coding classes and then once her peers catch up to her, she is considering getting a degree in engineering or programming. She loves numbers and computers and wants to create her own video game.

She doesn’t want a graduation party and doesn’t see graduating as a big accomplishment. I raised her to be humble (maybe a little too much so), but I got her to agree to let me write this post to help other homeschooling families accept their children’s hopes.

I was reluctant to allow her to graduate early, and now that we’re active members of our local co-op, I’ve heard from various parents who have children who could graduate early but they’re afraid of allowing their children to grow up too soon.

My daughter is still growing. We’ve had many discussions on how she has a lot of living to do before she is an adult. Graduation doesn’t have to be the barrier between childhood and adulthood. It can be yet just another stepping-stone along the way.

The freedom to learn her way has taught her to be responsible and she has a plan.

I can’t argue with that.

This is her day. Today she is a high school graduate!

#ClassOf2024