My youngest son, Max .... 15 ... Grade 10...
Practicing guitar... he especially likes the beginning of a particular ACDC song...
Beachcombing at Quaco Beach... not another soul in sight.....as often is the case
Spending time with the dogs, after bringing Gabi, the blonde one, to live with us... this was introduction day..
Tearing off across seaweed covered sandstone chasing the dogs near Anvil Rock at low tide... just a bike ride down the road...
Why do kids always make faces when we want to take their pictures....
Beginning the cedar shingling on the front of his camp... it originally was a tumbledown chicken house on the property when we bought it... but we didn't have the heart to tear it down.. we moved it up to the far side of the garden and it's transformation began taking place there...
Making progress... eventually this job was finished and Max and his friends camped out there and generally did things boys like to do when they have a getaway...
Seventeen minutes past a spider...
Making jewelry in the studio... for a couple summers when Max was 11 and 12 he tended his own booth and sold his own jewelry at the St. Martins harbor.... any that he sold of ours he could keep a percentage...
...we wanted him to learn responsibility, the effort required to earn a living and how to deal with the public... to learn entrepreneurship...
The hockey gear robot man... I don't know how anyone can skate with all that stuff on..
Playing hockey at the rink ... one of his most favourite things... he's #11
His latest surprise ... made me so pleased...
Max was presented with this Award of Excellence by the Principal of his school... Not bad for his first year back in the school system after being unschooled for 4-5 years (well actually, he mainly taught himself, we just encouraged him)... ... I was thrilled for him...
You did it, Max!!! .... Keep it up!
...to Max's Blog...
47 comments:
What a wonderful life!
:-)
Great job Max!!!!Way to go Bud!!!
Congratulations to you and John too Gwen. The accomplishments of our children are also a reflection of those who influence their everyday life and not just those who are teaching them in class.
Max, like you and John, is a very talented young man who is a pleasure to have around.
Again Max - way to go!!!!!!!!I can feel your quiet 'thanks' from here.
what a nice tribute to Max! Our son played hockey and I think I'm still sleep deprived from those early a.m ice times.
What a wonderful post - a day in the life of. . . .MAX! The hockey comment is so funny - how can one skate in all those layers of padding? And not to emphasize the school accomplishment too much, but way to go! Happy spring, and love his hair!!!
Priya, the environment here has so much more to explore than where we lived before.. a boys paradise.. or anyone's really...
Shelley, thanks to you!! and your enthusiastic spirit... and Thanks to you and Black Rose for all the time and energy spent with Max last summer on Math!!! very mush appreciated!!!
Get some rest Bill, Thankfully we never had to get up early for Max to play hockey... it was in the evening... and the rink is close by... I'm sure your son will always appreciate your efforts!
Thanks Debbi, Kids grow up too fast, right before our eyes... I wish I could slow everything down...
What a handsome boy he is with those beautiful curls. And so accomplished! I love that hockey pic--one sock on, one sock off.
Bravo, Max!
Wow! Amazing he is! I love his camp and the fact that he made it. So creative all of you. Wonderful.
He is a credit to himself and to you both.
My fella Bill has twin boys exactly the same age - and he is the spitting image of them - even down to the hair!
I agree,children grow up too fast!
Congratulations to Max and to you and John,too..he must be talented with so talented parents!
he has beautiful hair!
Thanks Rebecca, He skated so much the first day he got a huge blister...but still couldn't keep him from the rink.. too bad they didn't get that enthusiastic about cleaning up their room...
Thanks Leanne, they had everything under the sun lugged in there... oh well, they had fun though..
Twisted Sister , hey that is so cool... same age... and look...must be the ancestry coming from that part of the world... we don't change much through the generations do we?
Ahh, You know all about the joys of boyhood then...
Hi Dada, so kind of you, We really learn a lot from our kids don't we.. I'm sure it's the same for you and your girls, making us look at things in fresh ways...
Wow! What an awesome kid!
Oh Gwen ! A beautiful boy, and his hair! To die for. He must be so proud of his achievements, especially his Award of Excellence, no wonder you wanted to shout it out loud! You see, un-schooling really works! I would never have thought so until I started blogging,and found out so much. it has opened up a whole new world for me!
Precious photos, treasured always. Your son reminds me of a blond Donovan...Kudos to all 3 of you! Proud and honored you should be!
What a wonderful photo tribute to Max. It looks like he is leading a fulfilling life so far for his age, thats great! Look at all those curls! :) Thats really neat that you homeschooled him for a while, and that you let him mainly teach himself. I think thats how all education should be!
What an inspiring story - and what wonderful hair (but don't tell him I said so!)
Not a problem Gwen, helping is what I enjoy doing and the grade above work gave me some pratice into what I am doing this year... which now all bores me... oh well what am I to do?
Wow, great post and congrats to Max. What a cool kid.
Well done Max, way to go !!!
My grandson is homeschooled too and is doing fantastic! My daughter wishes she had done it years ago. What a wonderful tribute to your son. Congrats to him on his award!
Gwen ... apples don't fall far from the tree ... it seems Max has inherited talent from you both.
Fabulous that he enjoys it...and is learning life lessons in the process. Awesome that he's done so well in his studies...a prestigious award indeed ... and a fine Proud Mama moment!
Wow! That award sent shivers down my spine! Way to go homeschooler!!!
He's such a cool kid!
I see you're trying a new doggie color! Very cute:)
Andvil rock is unreal! I'd be afraid it would fall over on me, knowing my luck.
Congratulations to Max!
hI X
showed Bill a picture of Max
"who does that remind you of?"
he said Luke,
I think Adam
they are identical
only Adam's hair is just like Max's
and Luke's is like
a pre-Raphaelite paintng
so was Bill's when I first met him
in 1974
although we went our separate ways for many years
he will always be my first love...
what a talented young man with a diverse range of interests and talents. Bravo to him and to you.
And bless your hearts for bringing in the new dog.
Diane
Thanks Angela, Kathi, Sandy, Teri and Weaver, I would recommend homeschooling/unschooling for anyone who has the opportunity to do it.. It is so rewarding!!!
and no peer pressure... but still lots of friends to play and hang out with when they get out of school...
Black Rose you were such a great friend to help in explaining complicated Math formulas to Max.. He and we greatly appreciated it!!!
Delphine, he didn't make much fuss about the Award, but I was so happily pleased.. I wanted him to know that He was definitely on the right track and for him to keep using his imagination...
Dowhatyoulove, It did turn into a tribute didn't it. It was the most wonderful natural, leisurely teaching experience.Learning, playing and resting at any time of day.. no limits really.
Hi Janice, I am so happy to hear your daughter is choosing to teach her son at home... It brings so much more closeness between a child and his/her parents... and it is so much LESS stressful!!
I wish I had had the confidence to do it earlier for my 3 older kids... I was too young and naive at the time...
Hi Marie, it was scary when we decided to remove Max from the educational system as we were warned against it by everyone, and received no help whatsoever from the local school, we weren't even allowed to use their library. Can you imagine?? but we felt we had no choice ... we thought the school system should be so much better, we thought it should be a Positive Happy Learning experience......
See Anet.. Noah will blow them out of the water.. You have created a gem... Oh those big rock formations appear fairly often along the coast...
most people call them the Flower Pot Rocks... long ago, This one use to be connected to the mainland with a stone bridge... and yes I am always nervous when near them as I have the same feelings!!
Twisted, Who could have imagined the coincidence between the boys... kind of spooky... Funny thing First LOVE.. It has a place in our heart that lives forever... oh 1974, I remember that year... it feels to me that the times we are seeing now are the Seventies all over again...
Thanks Diane... The family that had this sweet tempered 6 mo. old pup were quite sick and couldn't care for her anymore... We could tell how much they had loved her... when we picked her up, the tears in their eyes as they said good bye almost broke my heart... I told them they were welcome to visit anytime but they have never come... maybe it would be too hard for them and they would be sad all over again.....
Hmmm...knowing early AC/DC as I do, I would guess that the song intro your son likes is Hells Bells.
My second and third guesses would be You Shook Me All Night Long or Night Prowler.
I even went to my CD collection just now to dust off my old AC/DC (and see if there are any other songs with good intros) but discovered that those CDs never made it back to my collection after my teen sons repeatedly borrowed them during their teen years (1995-2008).
I gotta run...going to wander over to Amazon and pick up some classic AC/DC...
Hi Gwen,
When I saw the first picture of your son, I immediately thought of the portrait by van Dyck. You can click on this link to view it.
I hope you both agree and like the painting!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sir-Anthony-van-Dyck-Lord-John-Stuart-and-His-Brother-Lord-Bernard-Stuart.jpg
Well Done Max! What a handsome son you two have. He is so very lucky to grow up in such a wonderful place and to be surrounded by so much creative inspiration.
Well, you certainly have a very accomplished son! I really do love the atmosphere and environment captured in the pictures.
I enjoyed having someone closer to my own age to "hang out" with last summer as well (most of the kids I know are just that kids, I spend more time "babysitting" then anything eles around them), tell Max great job and if he ever needs help in math again just let him know I don't mind helping him out.
What a beautiful son...inside and out. Oh how I'd love to have just one curl of his beautiful mane.
Lovely photos all and you can be proud, mom!
You can be justly proud of your youngest son. What a wonderful and talented boy!
Hi J, max confirms it's Thunderstuck!! he is rather crazy on all their tunes but he likes these licks...
Derrick,, wow you are right.. I really appreciate you leaving the link, you're very thoughtful and very quick.. You have a good eye...Thanks!!
Chris,, haha, don't know if it's good or bad... maybe the life of a professional would be easier than an artist.. but it is nice to have the freedom...
Thanks Prissy, the natural surroundings is what drew us here for sure...
Hi Black Rose, that's very thoughtful of you to offer... maybe Max could offer suggestions on spider identification... haha..
Thanks Lynn, He would probably be glad to give it all away.. he always thinks he has a poofhead..
Arija, he is a pretty good kid.. He makes me happy! I am grateful...
How do you manage to keep four dogs, next to a beach and a large body of water, and still have your house looking so clean? This is not a rhetorical question. I am really interested in knowing the answer.
And, as you can figure out by now, from my many comments on your beautiful photos of your gorgeous jewelry, tonight's insomnia was spent with the Desideratum folks near St. John's, on the Bay of Fundy. Quite a nice place to visit - even if it is only online.
xox,
Morna
Congrats! It doesn't surprise me that home schooling proved to be such a good foundation.
psst...he looks like you :)
sportsman and an artist, wow, He is lucky to have you and your husband as his teachers. You have trained him to deal with realities of life.
Believe me Gwen, my college degree is just a sheet of paper, quite useless to me.
Congratulations to Max, a Renaissance man. And to you and John for getting out of his way.
What a wonderful son you have... I can feel your pride and your smiling heart! Oh Gwen, this is such a touching post for me, perhaps because my son is this age... what a blessing to be a mother. Roxanne
Gwen, Max is superb :) You have a gorgeous son there! love all the pics, "making faces" made me laugh! it's what they do here in Australia too :) :) :)
Congrats to Max on his award, truly sensational achievement. Gwen, I can feel you beaming from here...Jo xx
Thank you all so much, I appreciate your kind thoughts...
What an entirely cool kid!
Hey Gwen -
You've inspired us. I'm now thinking we should home-school Liam ... only catch is that I'm thinking we should do it at your home!
Miss you guys. Please pass on our congratulations to Max.
S.
You are indeed lucky parents and must have a gift or be gifted with such a good son:)
Congrats all round!
Gwen, what a gorgeous son you have! Congratulations to Max and to you too!
Wonderful work...I have admired it before at Handworks Gallery in Saint John. I will buy some someday once I stop buying Jack Massey's wood furniture! haha. My son makes the same faces, and he had the same hair before he shaved it all off. Your husbands paintings are fantastic as well. Cheers!
oh my this is so far back and I had never returned a response... Thank you all so much...
Post a Comment