Thanks for the tips! Please, keep 'em coming!
Lorel: No problem. You know me--I'm an open book!
This year we were "emergency home schoolers," defaulting to HSing because trying to change schools without doing any research on them in late Sept. would have been disruptive and desperate and difficult. (And probably other negative "d" words, too...)
For this year, we have the luxury of time, so we want to be sure that we're making the best educational decisions for DS6 and for the family as a whole. We like HSing, but we want to fully consider all our options. I've never subscribed to any particular philosophy about educating my kids: whatever works at the time is what we're gonna' do!
To that end, we're doing a little school shopping. Basically I'm looking at the two gifted schools in town, but that's pretty much it. If they don't seem worth the high price tag, then we're HSing again next year. Public school--even with grade skips (that they hate to give!)--is not being seriously considered, though it's possible I might decide to meet with the school's GT coordinator just to see what our options with public school would be. <shrug> Let's just say public school is the dark horse in this race.
I *am* nervous about HSing next year because DS6's best buddy will be in public school all day, instead of just half-day K as he is this year. That could make my life significantly more difficult, and I do want to be sure that both DS6 and I (not to mention DS3 and DH!) are getting what we need.
At least one of the GT schools--and maybe both--allows part-time HSing, so we may try for that sort of arrangement. It might give DS6 the time with others that he needs and still allow me the alone time I need. Plus it wouldn't be quite as expensive as 5-day a week, full-time private school.
I also have to figure out what to do about pre-K for DS3 next year, so it's going to be a busy season...
So that's where we're at. Please keep coming those suggestions about what to look for in a school!
Thanks!
