Back in the homeschool classroom: Grown son's first home

Unpacking and organizing in the new kitchen.

We're proud of our son. At the age of 29, he has become a home owner, purchasing (on his own with no help from us) his first house -- a three bedroom, two bath with one car garage and pool with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah National Park.

It's a path he has been on since graduating from homeschool high school. Educated at home in grades 2-12, he attended nearby James Madison University's computer school to earn his degree. After securing a job in Harrisonburg, he moved into an apartment with friends, paid off his student loan within a year, then saved and finally bought a new car after driving an old one since the age of 16. With the car paid off, he turned his attention to home ownership.

This year, that became a reality. His friends, sister, brother-in-law, aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandparents have visited as we gathered as a family at his house and celebrated.

The foundation laid during his youth has paid off with his fiscal responsibility and determined path in life. His dad and I are proud. He now has a nest of his own.

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Lynn Mitchell educated her children at home for 16 years and was part of leadership in North Carolina's Iredell County Home Educators (ICHE) and Virginia's Parent Educators of Augusta County Homes (PEACH). Her son graduated from Harrisonburg's James Madison University (JMU) in 2007 with a BS in Computer Science and a minor in Creative Writing. Her daughter graduated from Staunton's Mary Baldwin College in 2012 with a BS in Sustainable Business and Marketing. Lynn and her husband live in Augusta County located in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The story of how she began her homeschool journey can be found here.

Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell
June 2013
Originally printed July 2013

Best headline of the day

Best headline of the day goes to reporter Megan Williams' article in today's News Leader:

Annual Apple Day excites Mary Baldwin campus to the core

Black bear sighting in Staunton

Photo courtesy of Kristin Balsley

With the active black bear season this year in the Shenandoah Valley and surrounding mountains, it was only a matter of time before a bear was spotted in Staunton. Sure enough, that's what happened today as reports of a bear began surfacing around the middle of the day. The photo above was taken on North Augusta Street across from the Mary Baldwin College campus where the bear was seen on campus making its way toward Statler Boulevard.

I was talking with wildlife biologist and longtime friend Al Bourgeois from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries as we sat at dinner last weekend at a wedding in western Augusta County. He is one of the resident bear experts who has dealt with bears in this area for years. He said it has been a very active season as the hungry critters are roaming looking for food and, since there is very little natural food just yet, some are making their way to populated areas sniffing out garbage, bird feeders, and other edible goodies.

Bears are not unusual in this part of Virginia, and each year there are incidents with some years busier than others. This is one of those busy years.

Previous posts from Lynn R. Mitchell about black bears:
- Bears bears bears in the neighborhood
- If you live in Virginia, you're in black bear country
- Black bears in Shenandoah National Park
- Black bears nabbing pets in Augusta County
- The Journey: "More on snakes and bears"
- Black bears at Big Meadows
- Black bear population exploding in the Shenandoah ...
- Aggresive bear alert in Shenandoah National Park
- Bear attack in Augusta County
- Shenandoah ... where the deer and the black bears play....
- Black bear sightings in Shenandoah Valley
- Honey ... there's a bear in the storage shed....
- Black bear attacks hunter 

Staunton's Mary Baldwin College ranked among best in South

In the new U.S. News and World Report's Best Colleges 2011 issue, Mary Baldwin College is ranked high among the best colleges and universities in the county, placing 27th among regional universities in the South.

The stately white buildings that make up Mary Baldwin sit on a picturesque hill overlooking historic downtown Staunton, Va. Opened in 1842 as Augusta Female Seminary on 55 rolling acres of land, the small Presbyterian liberal arts college has provided an education for young ladies for almost 170 years, making it one of the oldest institutions of higher learning for women in the United States.

The name was changed from Augusta Female Seminary to Mary Baldwin College in 1895 to honor Mary Julia Baldwin who became principal in 1863 and remained in that position until she died in 1897. She is credited with saving the college during the Civil War when nearly every other school in the Shenandoah Valley was forced to close because of extensive fighting in the area. Her steady leadership allowed the college to survive the war and, afterwards, to expand and prosper. In 1923 the two-year junior college became a four-year school.

Today the college continues to thrive. In conjunction with downtown Staunton's American Shakespeare Theater, Mary Baldwin is one of only three universities in the country to offer a Master of Letters in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance. It also offers the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership (VWIL) program for female cadets in affiliation with Virginia Military Institute (VMI) located in nearby Lexington.

The Program for the Exceptionally Gifted was begun as a way for gifted young ladies ages 12-16 to earn a bachelor’s degree. The graduate and adult degree education programs offer continuing education at the Staunton campus as well as five satellite campuses around the Commonwealth.

MBC’s ranking among the best colleges in the South shows it continues to provide a high quality education into the 21st century.

Cross-posted at The Washington Examiner