Thinking about homeschool

I know someone with a special needs child but for them, it was important they stay socially involved in the school system.  But for that to work, they have to put in a lot of extra time/work at home to allow them to keep up in regular school.

Maybe it's a combination of regular school and home-school (or just additional time helping them with homework and studies).  I wont' divulge the problem, but some of the symptoms are similar.  They can figure it out, just takes them a bit longer.  So they drill and work at it at home more than your average student to speed them up.

I can't say much about home schooling, but having a kid who did require an IEP, I can tell you success or failure is going to be in your hands. First, if there is anything organic, either physical or psychological, getting a proper diagnosis is hard. It took us until he was 8 to get an accurate assessment. The stock answer to everything was ADHD, which was entirely incorrect. He is also very intelligent and that actually exacerbated some of the problems. He had a lot of socialization issues.

We tried private school, it was worse. His elementary school days were tough. It was better in middle school, but we went through a lot of fights to obtain services. He was bright and driven enough to be accepted at a magnet high school, and that was a different world. Smaller classes, highly motivated teachers, and a school counselor who loved him and had an open door policy. He's in his last year of college now, finishing in 3 years, and hoping to go to graduate school. Not to say everything is rosy, but it's much better.

I'm in favor of public education, just wanted you to be aware that you will probably work just as hard advocating for your kid as you would if they were home schooled.

eta: shoot me any questions you might have. Some I prefer not to answer in public.

I was home schooled my whole life, no big deal. I interacted just fine socially, had all the friends I wanted, and I easily got into the college of my choice and did very well there. I also had a lot more time to pursue what I wanted to do and I was able to have a job that allowed me to pay for my hobbies and my first car.

My high school girl friend worked it out so I could go to one day of high school with her, just to see what it was like. I couldn't believe what a huge waste of time it was. We spent more time talking about how we were supposed to do our homework later than anything else. I kept saying, why don't we just do this now instead of getting instructions for an hour, then we don't have to do it at home later, oh no, that's not allowed. There was one class where there was an actual lecture, the rest was a total waste. I was able to finish my school work by noon every day and then had time to go to work, pursue my hobbies, socialize, etc.

All you really need to get into college is a good SAT/ACT score and a GED, there are standard tests you can take every year or every other year like I did to make sure you are on track. If you are worried about the social aspect there are ways around that. They can still play sports at a school, there are still swim teams to join. I could have joined the band or orchestra at the local high school if I wanted. I had the option but chose to stay out of public high school. My two younger sisters were home schooled then during high school they decided to take a few classes at the local high school, I think they took 2-4 classes a semester, some just cause they were interested and some because they were struggling and thought it might help. My older sister was home schooled all along and she went on to a doctorate with no problems. One last note on the social part (as that seems to be a big anti-home school argument), no one that I went to college with knew or would believe when told that I was home schooled. Sure there are some weird home schoolers, but that is more a product of the family atmosphere or lifestyle and is not caused solely by home schooling. 

So, if you want to home school your kid because you think it is the best option for them, go ahead, it works great IME and opens up a lot of opportunities. My wife was public schooled and she is of the opinion that we either find a charter school we like or we will home school kids if/when we have them. 

I'm very sorry to hear that you're struggling with this.  Hugs.

My husband and I are both certified teachers.  We have decided to homeschool our kids.  We have an 8, almost 7 and 3 yo.  They have never been in school, so I can't speak to what that would have been like for them, but I'd be happy to try to field any questions you might have about homeschooling, here or via PM :)

I have some cousins who home-school.

They grew up on a fundamentalist Christian commune though, and none have ever had any traditional education.  Now they're off the commune, but still keeping many of the same values they were instilled with.  It'll be interesting to see how their kids develop as they grow into young adulthood.

Originally posted by vonschnapps Several members of my family, who are teachers, home schooled their kids. I sort of ridiculed it, and thought they were doing a great disservice to their children (was expecting them to have life-long problems). Fast forward... the kids went to public HS, and did great...they went on to college and did great! So now I question why a stay-at-home mom, which teaching credentials, wouldn't home school their children. My family never loses any opportunity to remind me how wrong I was (since it was probably the first time ever)

If it were only my decision it would be a no brainer but hubby has a vested interest more than most in the school due to his job.

Just got a lump in my throat at that one.

Yes, that is what I am thinking - she is immature. I kind of wish we would have sent her to another year of preschool. She says every day how she wishes she was still a baby!

Meh.  She's in Kindergarten!!  If she's still not doing well at the end of this school year... send her to another year of Kindergarten.  

Don't over think this one.  You're only 3 months into this school year.  It's good for kids to struggle a little bit, as long as she's not ending up in a blubbering, whiny heap at the end of every day due to frustration.    It is HARD to watch your kid struggle... but if they keep moving forward, they're better for it, IMHO.

As long as her teacher is willing to work with you and her to keep her moving forward, I'd keep her in there.  If the issue really is "distraction" then it's better to leave her in that environment and let her learn how to deal with it (again, as long as she's not so frustrated by the experience that its really more harm than good) than to remove her entirely where she'll do better academically, but maybe not so well in learning the skills she'll need for interacting in large groups. 

We are one of the few families we know at our church that have our kids in public schools. Home schooling is a big deal around Memphis. Personally, I know I would suck as a home school teacher and my kids would not be better off.

Both of my boys take "special ed" classes, but they consider advance classes to be special education classes, which I found wierd when the letter came home saying my kids were going to be in special ed classes!

Overall we are happy with the public school my kids are in. Luckily, my wife is able to be really involved at thier school, so she is there alot.

Personally, a kindergartener that takes to long to do a test would not be a concern for me. A 6th grader, maybe, but not kindergarten

You seem to have taken a shine to them.

This reminds me of a conversation I had with my mom recently when I asked her about how my niece is doing in kindergarten.  My mom shared that Anna was still getting used to it, just like my sister who was always "slow to catch on."   I remember my sister as being smart, good grades, etc, but what she meant was that when she was little it took her a while to settle into going to school.  This happened for many years in elementary school until she matured enough.  I had no idea and it had no long term impact.

So, that sounds like it's fairly common.    Just an anecdote.

Good luck with whatever you do!

Just to clarify from my perspective I just meant that she looks forward to being around all her friends all the time if that makes sense. Our area has a very big home school group with lots of social activities planned at the library, field trips, and sports at the Y which I'm actually going to help teach starting next week.