looking at next year.....

[charliegirl]

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my husband and i are looking at next year as to whether i will homeschool my son.

we both agree that academically, he's done really well at home and is much better off in terms of learning the material at home.

what we have concerns about is the fact that fifth graders move on to the middle school. tho my son is will be in fourth next year, we are looking at how difficult it might be in terms of transitioning to a middle school environment the following year.

big decisions! anyone have any advice?

kppy
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misty

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Re: looking at next year.....
« Reply #1 on Mar 29, 2006, 9:45am »

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Well, I never home-schooled but I did transition my daughter from private to public school. The private school she was in goes to 8th grade. We knew she would be going to public sooner or later. Plus, I wanted the benefit of learning support classes & an IEP, which the private school did not have. Here, middle school & changing classes does not stasrt until 7th grade. 4th --6th are in intermediate school & do not change classes. I wanted her to get used to the different schooling without the confusion of class changing so I started her last year in 5th grade.

I guess what I'm saying is IF you are going to discontinue homeschooling you might want to start him before hes at the age with added difficulty of changing classes. The way I figured it was thast the changes of routine, environment, new kids,& riding a bus were enough for my daughter to get used to with out adding the rest.

Well, I'm sure you will figure it out & do whatever is best for your son.
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Charlie Girl
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” William Butler Yeats
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Re: looking at next year.....
« Reply #2 on Mar 29, 2006, 9:49am »

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My son is in 5th in middle school and they do change classes here. It is very hard for them to get used to. I agree with Misty that if you are going to switch him, it might be better to get him used to school before he has to deal with switching classes also.
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If you believe every child can learn—and the evidence strongly supports this—then if the students don’t learn, the school must change. It’s that simple. If the students don’t learn, the school must change. Bill Gates

kppy
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Re: looking at next year.....
« Reply #3 on Mar 29, 2006, 7:45pm »

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yes, that's pretty much where we are at.

i guess the real question is are we going to continue to hs right on thru? if i knew the answer to this, i'd have the answer to my first question! #eggsgoofy#

well i'll keep pondering.....

thanks guys!
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trid
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Re: looking at next year.....
« Reply #4 on Mar 31, 2006, 1:25pm »

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I am going to jump right off the cliff here as I jump in to this conversation late. I have 3 sons, my 10th grader just moved to a boarding school in January, by his choice. He wants to go to West Point, so he asked for a military prep school.

My younger boys, are 6th and 8th graders, who I have at home with me in a cyber school. Quite honestly, we found middle school for the 8th grader to be unbearable within the first 3 weeks of 6th grade. THe kids are brutal, the changing of classes was less problematic. We found that with his learning style being different than the "typical" child, he succeeded much better at home. His self confidence took off once he was home.

My youngest son came home in 5th grade, and he no longer cries everyday after getting off a school bus. I have other friends who have always homeschooled their children. The oldest daughter asked to try public school her junior year. She found it was an "interesting experiment", but didn't like being told she had to study a lesson for exactly 42 minutes. If it was exciting, she didn't want to pack up mid-thought to meet somebody else's agenda. And if she already was familiar with the subject, she found herself wanting to work ahead. She often was in trouble with the teacher for not staying with the rest of the class.

Personally, my junior high school years (7th, 8th, and 9th grade) were awful. Those are 3 years of my life I would like to have back! I think emotionally the boys are far better off having missed the middle school "experience".

However, I told them just this week, that I will support their decision if they choose to try a brick and mortar school again.

I hope you find a peaceful decision that works well for your whole family. It is always scary to plan big changes in our life, whether it is moving to a new city, taking a new job, or teaching our children. I believe that if you arm yourself with knowledge, you will know when the decision is right. And, you know you can homeschool, so if you choose the public route and it doesn't feel right after a trial period, you can always bring him home again!
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mama4ever
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Re: looking at next year.....
« Reply #5 on May 28, 2006, 5:25pm »

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I agree with trid. My middle school experience is nothing I would like to do again.

My daughter is in a Christian school that is K to 8. She only has 17 in her class and they switch classes. She is not ADD or ADHD. It was still hard for her to adjust to being prepared for each class. The one thing you have to take into account is the hormone factor of jr. high school. It seems like all the boys in her class have their minds. It brought back memories of my 24 year son in 7th & 8th grade. He is ADHD. It is a tough time for all kids. Only you can make the choice for him. Look at it from every angle.

If the social part of it is the problem. Maybe joining other home schoolers 1 or 2 days a week might help. I live in NJ and there are a few groups you can join. Our local home schoolers have sports teams and do plays and take field trips together. My husband and I plan on homeschooling her for high school. The local group even has a prom and graduation ceremony.


With all this said only you can make this decision for your son. I hope you all the best. Don't rush any decision.
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kppy
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Re: looking at next year.....
« Reply #6 on May 31, 2006, 2:01pm »

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we belong to several different groups and have a pretty active social schedule at this point so i really have no concerns with this at all.

my concern is with the transition from elementary to middle school- the actual movement from one class to the next, dealing with lockers, getting from the bus to the homeroom, bringing home homework/textbooks ect....there's way less structure to their day and much less support in terms of what to take home, where to go.

right now, my son is pleading to go back to public school! my husband and i prefer he stay at home so we'll be trying to get this figured out this summer.

thanks for the feedback.
kppy