Thinking of Homeschooling...

[bugsmom]

Well, I don't if I'm nuts or what, but I'm seriously thinking about homeschooling Josh in the Fall. I know I'm crazy, but I've had a couple of "Light Bulb" moments in the past couple weeks and I'm back to doing a lot of research.

My #1 reason to revisit this is again is just seeing the difference in Josh since school let out. He has been home for almost 4 weeks, and swear he's a different kid. Now, I know that all kids are happy when schools out, but this year its different. He's relaxed, no anxiety, no moodiness. He's grown all his fingernails back and has stopped picking at his skin. (When he's stressed he does this). I guess I never really realized HOW stressed he was from school. Not that this year was particularly bad, but he did have a few more bumps than usual.

Two nights ago I was putting him to bed and out of the blue he asked about homeschooling. He's stopped asking because for 2 years I've said no. Anyway, i asked him why he thinks homeschooling would be better for him, and he said that i could teach him better because I would give him time to learn it. He said he's tired of trying to learn something, and not totally getting it, and then they are already moving on to the next subject. I thought that was a pretty good answer and I couldn't dispute it. I know he would learn better at home, but socially, I think he needs to be with others.

I don't know...I guess I'm just rambling here. I know I can do it, i just know if its the right thing to do. Then I think, hey what's one year, try it. If it doesn't work out he can go back to private school and still graduate with his class from 8th grade.

Any wise advice??

[charliegirl]

I think one of the best things I ever did for my son was to home school him for a year. He was having all sorts of anxiety issues such as constant hand trembling that eased up considerably when he had a break from school. Things are much better now even though he is back in school and facing much of the same pressure as before.

He has different teachers also which I believe have made a difference but he really needed to get out of that atmosphere and see that he can learn. He also learned to work more independantly.

There are so many opportunities for kids to socialize without having to go to school. Josh is friendly and outgoing so he is going to still have friends. If you join a local homeschooling group, they have group outings they schedule. The one I joined had a weekly sports activity plus they went to museums, etc. We didn't participate but the option was there.

If you believe you can homeschool Josh, I say go for it. It isn't for everyone but I honestly believe you can do it. Seeing my son's self esteem go up and the nervous/anxious habits going away were so worth it to me.

[lillian]

I agree with Barb. If this is what you want to do, and you think Josh would try to learn at home, not play around or rebel against your teaching him, then go for it!

[bugsmom]

Barb...the self-esteem issue is such a big one for him. I feel like if we could just build that up, he would do so much better in the long run.

When he walks into the doors of school, I can instantly see his body physically change. He tenses up, anxiety starts, and he wonders...what am I going to do wrong today? I really feel if I can give him a year to learn at his own pace, he may love school again.

I'm searching for a local group right now and its seems that there are quite a few in my area. I would never do it without outside social interaction. With him being an only child, i worry about that.

Thanks for the encouragement...it means the world to me.

[bugsmom]

Thanks, Lillian...That helps a lot.

[charliegirl]

Considering the difference in self esteem and getting rid of the anxiety, I would have thought homeschooling was the best thing I ever did for my son even if he had learned absolutely nothing that year.

As it was, he actively searched out programs on tv which dealt with issues he was interested in learning about and he would look at the things that were available on a homeschooling supplies site that I go to and ask me if he could get some things. He helped me pick out studies on cd for Music and culture, American Literature, Language Arts and Science. None of the things he chose were areas I would have thought he would be interested in. These were all in addition to the standard curriculum which was required.

We had a blast with cooking. We made all sorts of goodies for Christmas and studied about the ingredients and why they were necessary, how they worked together, etc. We also got Diet Coke and mentos candy and went outside and experimented with different amounts of each to see which would get the best results. You don't get to do that in school. I'm not sure what we learned with that one other than you can make things explode but it was fun and it was science.

I gained a lot of insight into my son that I never would have gained if I had left it up to his teachers to teach him what they wanted to know. That alone made the entire year worth the effort.

[bugsmom]

Barb, can you tell me what curriculum you used? I've only been searching for about a week now and the ones I like best are from Christian Liberty Press.

I've been searching some sights and I think I'm just going to pick and choose what I think Josh would like best. I like the Saxon Math for sure, but I really don't know what's out there.

I think if we do this, I'll do the same thing you did with Jonathan and let Josh pick what interest him. Of course, we'll have to put fishing in there somewhere. LOL.

We haven't told Josh yet. Kyle and I are still discussing all the details. He's worried that I'll get burnt out because I'm a perfectionist. He is all for the homeschooling and thinks its the best time to do it. I'm so happy he's on board.

Thanks for all the help.

[misty]

Socialization is the issue I'm worrying most about with my decision to cyber school Shannon too, but I'm finding that there are many opportunities. You just have to actively seek them out & then drive them back & forth to the things they choose as activities. Luckily the cyber school has field trips & things to keep kids connected with other kids. I think homeschool organizations will have those sorts of planned activities as well. And you & I can share ideas as we get them!

[charliegirl]

I got a computer program called SwitchedOnSchoolhouse. It had everything in it that was required for our state so I knew it would be covered. When he sat down with it and didn't mess around he usually got the day's requirement done in 1/2 a day.

I think everything being one on one so nothing had to be repeated or explained differently for anyone else really saved a lot of time. We could spend the time we needed to on what he needed it on and could whiz through the lessons that were easy for him.

Since there is a required number of hours a child has to be schooled in NY State, we just had fun looking for things he wanted to learn more about and doing them.

If you do it, you can find a lot of great sites online that have lessons geared to homeschoolers. I love the NASA for Kids site. They have some really fun things.

[trid]

I have to jump in on the social issues. My middle son was terrifled to go to school when he was in elementary school. He made it less than 3 weeks into middle school before the ultimate melt down came. The BEST thing ever for him socially was to homeschool him.

The child was quiet and scared, we couldn't even tell that he was deaf in one ear. Now, he is a junior in high school, an Eagle Scout, and on a travel hockey team. The neighborhood kids have been pounding at my door all week asking when he would be home from summer camp.

My youngest son was much the same. He held it in all day at school but would be bawling by the time he walked home from the bus stop. He is now doing public speaking deals for boy scouts.

Don't worry about your son socializing. Think of this: How many of your friends and colleagues are your age? Do you only socialize with people who born within 12 months of you? How often do you actually socialize with children yourself and feel comfortable? Most adults find it awkward to hang out with kids, so why do so many adults think that kids should learn how?

As for curriculum, I didn't find out what age your son is, but the best advice I can give you is to NOT spend a lot of money on books.

Check out rainbow resource catalog on line, or better yet, see if you can get a paper copy of it. It is well over 1ooo pages with good descriptions of everything they sell. There is a ton of free stuff you can find online, and of course kids learn from dicovery and the history channel too.