Holy crap. What am I getting myself into?
I had a conversation with Anthony’s kindergarten teacher yesterday. I hadn’t seen her in a while with having baby’s and all recently. She asked me about the ADHD questionnaires that she had filled out and was wondering what the doctor had decided/recommended. She wasn’t surprised at the results and I was happy to hear her say that she was also not an advocate for medicating. I told her about us working on diet change and asked her what she thought.
Surprisingly, she told me that she thought Anthony would learn better in a “traditional” school setting. Currently he is in a public Montessori program that I was really happy with, but the problem with Montessori is that everyone is doing something different. One child can be reading, another one doing math, and yet another one is doing something else. It’s like a room full of shiny objects. Anthony and shiny objects don’t mix well!
I was really very worried and saddened that she would recommend taking him out of the Montessori school. I worry about the effect it would have on him. I have not ever told him that he has something called ADHD. I don’t want him burdened with it or to feel “bad” about it. I know he’s only (almost) completed Kindergarten and the school change probably wouldn’t be a big deal, yet I still worry. Besides that, his school has very high ratings with test scores and parent satisfaction where the “new” school does not.
Well, it just so happens that his school campus not only has the Montessori program, but also something called the Mountain Valley Academy…home school.
Now, I don’t know a lot about home schooling and the gazillian different curriculum’s out there, but this one actually goes through our school district. I am assuming then that all the curriculum, testing, reporting, legal type stuff is taken care of by the district. Now, I could be wrong…I hope I’m not. So it’s a tiny bit less daunting than heading out to the school of Google to find what to teach. The fact remains though that I am still the one teaching. EEK! With this program he would also have the option of going to school twice a week and I it would be to a campus he’s already familiar with.
Can I do this?
I had entertained the idea of home school back before he ever entered Kindergarten. I love the idea of it, but I dismissed actually doing it for fear of failure. Not my childrens failure but mine. What if I suck? What if he doesn’t learn anything? Can I follow a set schedule and enable him to succeed?
*UGH*
I’m scared to death!
This is my child and I would do anything for him. I don’t want to put him at a sub-par school, but I also don’t want him to get so distracted in class that he can’t learn what he needs to learn. Could home school be a good alternative?
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear what you think. Especially if you are a home-schooler. Please tell me I can do this!
Welcome to OhRheally?, My name is Rhea and I share stories of life raising 3 sons, my experiences as a (recently retired) 
First, don’t worry. That accomplishes NOTHING. Second, homeschooling can be absolutely terrific as it was for my oldest son for 18 months when he was going thru a very tough period. I’ve written a couple of pieces about it (you can find on my web-site). But, simply, it is amazing in most cases. We went thru our school’s program and had all sorts of help and materials.
Here’s the ironic and sad part. The amount of actual learning and study that goes into the average school week can EASILY be accomplished in one day at home! Public school is more about student management and class control than it is about teaching, sadly.
My son got to deal with issues (mostly related to my then divorce and his mother’s abandonment) that he needed to deal with. With the “free” time, we went on amazing and regular “field trips” with other home-schooled kids and their moms (I was the rare dad, as was so often the case when my boys were in elementary school and I volunteered and was pretty much shunned or just ignored by the other moms – another story).
I also hired a tutor who handled some of the day-t0-day paperwork so my son and I wouldn’t stress out each other. Depending on your relationship with you kid, I’d really recommend that.
Finally, after the 18 months, when he had finished Middle School (what happened to calling in “Junior High?”) he wanted to go to public High School for the more regular and normal social experience. He’s thrived socially there but is a C+, B- student – only due to his own laziness, which he admits. His passion is his music and that is where his energy and attention is going.
At this point, I support that passion as long as he’s doing okay at school. I’m not as obsessed with him getting into a 4-year college as so many parents seem to be these days. In fact, I’m encouraging him to take a year off after he graduates in two years, and work and travel some. The exposure to “real life” might actually motivate him more to attend college. We’ll see.
Anyway, that’s my 2 cents. Hope it helps!
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment!! I do appreciate it. I’m also glad to know you also went through the school district’s home school program. That makes me feel better. I’m glad your son (and you) did well, it gives me hope!
Rhea,
My kids are not home schooled. If you were to to send him to a public school I’m almost positive I know what school he would go to. It is not a bad school they have good and bad teachers and that is at any school. They are one of the most funded schools here in town.
Any time I have ever had any issues I have gone in and talked to teacher’s and things were taking care of. Office staff is wonderful. Unfortunately a lot of people I have talked don’t like that school for one reason or the other. The school doesn’t get enough credit for what evr the reason is.
I know this is a hard decsion for you, it sounds like you are leaning towards home schooling but if you go the other way try it’s not so bad. Good Luck.
Hey Ama Day. I know that the school isn’t bad, but I am still worried about switching him. I didn’t mean to make it sound like it was.
I don’t currently homeschool my son, who’s the same age as yours. But we are considering it for next year. He’ll, most likely, be forced to change schools because of class sizes, and I refuse to let him go to the other school. The teachers there don’t have appropriate expectations for 1st graders, and I know I’ll constantly be getting phone calls.
What about doing a trial run over the summer? See how things go for a week or two. That’s our plan at the moment. See if I’m capable of teaching him in a way that works for him. By the middle of summer, we’ll see how things are going.
Best of luck! I hope you’re able to figure out what works best for you!
.-= Staci A´s last blog ..Finding Flowers & Randomness =-.
Hi Rhea!
You can also take a look at CAVA (California Virtual Academy). They use the k12 curriculum so you don’t have to figure out what to teach. It is very comprhensive and each ‘district’ does in person activities as well such as field trips and end of year activities. They send you a computer and all of your supplies (books, science kits, etc.). Anyways, check it out. I know your boys are very tech savvy already and they might really like this program. Good Luck!! http://www.k12.com/cava
Thank you for that link! I’m off to check it out….I’ve heard of K12 before and know it’s supposed to be good.
I am currently planning to home school when my 1 yr old and 2 yr old start school. We do preschool stuff now. I have long been a home school advocate, and had hoped to home school. Add to that the fact that the school district cannot currently meet my son’s physical needs (he has to be in a temperature controlled environment because he cannot sweat). While I know I COULD make the school meet his needs, it would cost the district a TON and they are already strapped. SO, I go back and forth. Make them meet his needs because I support the district with my taxes, or home school and worry about whether or not I am doing it right. Argh. Tough decision. Whatever you decide, be sure to find an awesome support group!
.-= Virginia from Lady V dZine´s last blog ..Vote for Hannah =-.
Rhea,
YOU CAN DO IT! Think about it, what do you think moms did before public education? They taught their children at home! It is easy peasy! I have homeschooled my boys and sent them to public & private schools. I prefer homeschooling hands down!
He is your son, no one cares more for him than you do! You will have the patience to wait for him to learn something before pushing him ahead, you will have the instinct ti kick it up a notch when he’s getting bored! You are his mommy and you can handle teaching him everything he needs to know, including character (which is not really taught in schools anymore).
Think about it like this… who taught him to eat from a spoon, to walk, to talk, to share.. YOU DID! Those are some of life’s hardest lessons and you taught them to him before he was old enough for “school”.
Mom’s don’t realize that whether they acknowledge it or not they are always their children’s first and BEST teacher!
Learning is natural, we all do it, every day! Your job is to encourage him to LOVE it!
Just a few thoughts, I could go on and on!
.-= Shasta´s last blog ..Windsor Palms Resort – 5 EXTRA ENTRIES =-.
WOW Shasta! I’m hiring you to be my own personal cheerleader! LOL!
When I have an “I suck” day, I will come re-read your comment.
I do not regret taking my daughter from public school one minute. You will have ups and downs but that goes with being a parent. My daughter LOVES being schooled at home. This allows her to be more creative with herself and most the time she is ahead of her grade. Tons of resources out there and it is great it would be through the district itself. Good Luck
.-= Jammie´s last blog ..Nestle Ice Cream and Freezer Giveaway (NOT THIS BLOG) =-.
I second everything that Shasta said!
.-= Kristie´s last blog ..P&G Everyday Solutions Offers FREE Samples and Coupons =-.
Colorado has home school programs that you can do through the public schools, it’s done via online computer and also with parent interaction. They do schedule a few get togethers throughout the year. So if your state has a similar program you might want to look into it. They use standardized testing over the materials they provide online, so everything gets recorded as needed to meet state requirements. I think alot of state’s are going to do this, to help meet the needs of the children who would otherwise fall through the cracks.
Hi Rhea,
My children all go to public school except my 2 year old. I have thought about homeschooling, but think I don’t have the patience that homeschooling requires. I also would fear that my children would miss out on all the fun stuff about going to school like making new friends, field trips, plays, assemblies, etc.
Does the public school have a summer school program that you could put him in to see if he likes it?
.-= Stefani´s last blog ..Mother’s Cookies Review =-.
There is no easy solution. If you are an involved parent, sending kids to school is just as much work as homeschooling. It just comes out in a different way.
I think you’d be surprised how all the hard of homeschooling is found at the beginning because of simply not having a story in our head that we can use to know what it’s like. In other words, the hard comes from us stressing about it. It’s kind of like imagining what it’s like to move to a foreign country. The more experience one gets, it becomes much easier simply because there is no longer any weight given to the mind’s scary stories. You just do what we have to do instead of focusing on what is scary.
With each struggle, life gets easier, because you learn who your child is, who you are, and how to work together. You can make changes, adjustments, and redirections whenever you need them, making the path easier and easier to tread over time. If you have a great school, this can happen there, but in order for everyone to adjust together in school, school has to become part of the family – like an uncle or cousins (ie emotional connection) – in order for it work. Otherwise, it’s simply a matter of business/customer transaction, where the customer or the business bends to the will of the other. In most schools, the most logical and easiest solution is when the customer bends.
School seems the easy choice in the beginning because it doesn’t take a huge mental leap to imagine what the choice entails. But the day to day, month to month, year to year grind of school is very stressful. It never gets easier. It just gets harder as the requirements pile up.
Like someone else said, if you go with K-12 or a public school program, you’ll have a crutch. It’s an emotional one, mostly. But, if that doesn’t work, be careful not to immediately blame yourself or homeschooling, because whenever you are in a system where you do not have autonomy or input on the large picture decision making, the system wants you to think it’s your fault things aren’t working. That’s pretty universal. The concepts that maybe it’s not working because the system isn’t a good fit, or because we are forced into a cognitive dissonance in order to keep the peace, make the system look bad, so others in the system will rarely tell you that’s the case. If it does work, though, wonderful!
In homeschooling, if you go independent, you do have 100% responsibility. But the truth is, you always do, no matter where your children go to school. Having them go to school, or doing a public school homeschool program, or going independent, it’s all the same – we are responsible for everything. With school, we are simply outsourcing the work, and accepting whatever the outsourced person/organization presents as their solution.
So, all that said, whatever choice you make, you’ll be fine. You are capable, smart, resourceful, thoughtful, and strong. So are your kids. No need to defend your decision. Simply make it, make no apologies, and be proud of what you’ve done. That’s it!
Good luck to you. It will all work out fine, believe it or not.
.-= Tammy Takahashi´s last blog ..Expectations About Homeschoolers =-.
I think homeschooling would take lots of planning, organization, and patience with a young child; if you feel you have that, do it! Try it out; if it isn’t a fit for you or Anthony, put him back in the school system. You will not ruin him for life just by trying
I am going to try homeschooling my daughter later on, probably after elementary school.