Tracey Inman

I usually lurk most of the time but I had to come out to share! We are
going into our 3rd year of unschooling. We actually started about a year
before that but were living with parents while relocating and had challenges
to say the least. I have not been without the occasionally worry of are we
really o.k.? But then I look at all my girls 10 & 13 (about to turn 11 &14
in a couple weeks) are doing.

Rachael (almost 14) is a huge horse person. She used to show but then
decided she would rather train them and enjoy them instead of the rat race
of showing. Just 5 months ago she purchased a 4yo filly that you could
hardly get near to, let alone getting on and riding. She watched 12+ hours
of John Lyons training videos plus she does a ton of internet searching as
well as talking to other professionals. To make a long story shorter, this
horse turned out to be one of the best riding horses we had! She paid to
put her up for sale on the internet and helped create a flyer for local
advertisement. This past Monday she sold her for a pretty little profit.
She even did the negotiating with very little help from me. If that wasn't
enough, in addition to her love for horses she is an incredible artist.
Loves to paint horses and landscapes. She has even taken photos of others
horses and done a painted portrait. She has been chosen to be included in a
locals art showing at a gallery in our tech college this past Fall. But
this week she was chosen to be a apart of an all Female Art Show at a local
art studio. First time her painting has been in a gallery for sale. Did I
mentioned she was the youngest artist! :-) She had so many people stop by
her painting to talk with her. She handed out several business cards.

For the most part she is a very introverted and shy person. But she really
came out of her comfort zone this week. I have just stood and watched in
amazement as she has interacted with others this week.

As I have watched her shine this week, I thought to myself. Wow, what if my
dh and I had never found unschooling? How different our dd's lives would be
right now. I spoke to a couple artist the other night and asked them how
long they had been painting. I have heard several adult artist tell me they
only pencil drew until they were grown and on there own because there
parents didn't want to the mess of paint in their home. I have had so many
people tell me what wonderful parents my dh and I are for allowing both of
our girls to pursue there passions. Several of them have told Rachael
(14yo) she has no idea how lucky she is and that because of the young start
she has gotten she will go farther then most.

O.K. I am proud! Can I be proud of myself for pushing through the doubts to
get to where we are? Can I be proud of not just me but of both my dh and
myself for being together on this journey? I have been wearing a big smile
this week. My almost 11yo has done really great things too, but I don't want
to make this a novel! :-)

For those of you who wonder..."am I doing the right thing?"....keep doing
it! Don't stop working on self growth so that your children will follow
suit. The public school system is trying to raise self sufficient human
beings who can be great leaders but I say we have the corner on that one!!

Thank you for allowing me to share one of my proud Momma moments! :-)

Enjoying the journey,

~Tracey I. - S.C. - Mom to Rachael (13) & Madison (10)
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Angela S.

Tracey,

I loved reading your testimonial to Unschooling. Thanks for sharing it. My
dd's are horse people too and it's been an awesome journey of learning and
loving.



Angela

game-enthusiast@...



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