Alta Wehmeyer

Starting Out and Looking back

Looking back on the past twenty-five years, I have an enormous sense of gratitude for the 180° turn my life took. Homeschooling our two extremely active boys taught me a host of skills I would not have acquired otherwise. When the boys were born, I owned a custom software development business. It soon became evident that raising two boys and running this enterprise at the same time were impossible balls to juggle! The decision to just focus on the boys was greatly accelerated by an unfortunate event that compelled us to leave our Gauteng home.

A Big Move

Our family moved to the Western Cape Province via Elands Bay. This minute fishing village is situated on the spectacular rugged west coast of South Africa. We spent just over a year in this pristine environment. Our family's arrival augmented the population from twenty-three to twenty-seven! Some of our best memories include long walks on endless rock-pool dotted abundant-with-life beaches, a whale rescue, red-tide lobster walkouts, and witnessing several daring ocean rescues and recoveries. Some villagers had interesting stories to tell about how their forbears washed up on shore after being shipwrecked in past centuries.  My personal favorite remains the gossip of how one of the oldest inhabitants was the first on the scene of an aircraft accident that supposedly carried a haul of diamonds, destined for the British monarchy.  Predictably, the cargo vanished into thin air!

Our next destination was the foothills of the majestic Hottentot-Holland Mountain range. We lived in rural Stellenbosch, headquarters of the South African wine industry and fine-cultured living. By this time, we had two years learning the KONOS™ way, a character-based curriculum. In the immediate vicinity, we found solace with like-minded families who were all using the same. Our co-op group continually varied in size, depending on which character traits were studied.  All the families embraced the five D’s philosophy of KONOS™: Do, Discover, Dramatize, Dialogue, and Drill. Co-operative classes were planned, prepared, and hosted at homes, on a local farm, or public venues.  Field trips and monthly picnics were planned as to enhance the experience and the material at hand. Our family was richly endowed with many travels throughout Africa and her stunning islands. Homeschooling our sons have blessed and educated us far beyond what we could have imagined at the outset.

 A Giant Leap Across the Atlantic!

An expatriate, US based career opportunity was presented to my husband, and we migrated to the USA where this journey continued. Finding like-minded homeschoolers were at times a challenge. Both boys pursued their interest and seamlessly integrated into tertiary education and beyond. Their homeschool education included much associative learning and practical skills. They both graduated from university with top-level accolades.