Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy I just need to put it on paper?!

DS6 has now been in 4th grade for 2 1/2 weeks. According to his teacher everything is going fine. But every morning when I drop him off, I have a knot in my stomach like i'm feeding him to the wolves. I've also noticed some dramatic changes in his language and interests. All of a sudden my meek, mild little boy wants to play soldier and "kill" the bad guys. He told his little brother that he would "kill him" if he didn't stay out of his stuff etc... You get the idea. He drew a skull and crossbones on the back of his math homework. So I've decided that he needs to come home. The problem is that it's just not possible for us to survive on one income.

The day after I made this decision, the preschool that my littles goes to announced that it's closing it's doors. The owner is retiring after 11 years. So...... I bought it!

As of September 1st, I officially own a preschool! The idea is that I can homeschool DS6 and still earn an income. Part of me is so excited to have figured out a solution and the other half is terrified! I'm keeping the staff, the director and everyone else so most of what I do is paperwork (hopefully).

I can't decide if i'm completely nuts or if this really will work. I only know that I want my "wimpy" kid back!

WOW!!!!

Congrats, best of luck Sounds worth a try.

OH wow - when you make changes you go BIG!!!!!! Best of luck and please keep us posted!

Congrats. Best of Luck to you.

I cast my vote for "completely nuts."

Then again, I've been self-employed since forever, and I know that you can't be successful if you aren't at least a "little bit" nuts. So being "completely nuts" can only be beneficial.

Good luck!

I say "Yeah!" for getting your "wimpy" kid back. We grow up too fast as it is...

best of luck to you and yours.

Wow - that is great news! I wouldn't be at all suprised if a lot of PG families don't move into your neighborhood just to send their children to school with you!

OK - some people like fantisy basball teams, here's my fantisy preschool curricula:

Character building: All Children Flourishing - Igniting the Greatness of Our Children (Paperback)
by Howard Glasser with Melissa Block

Small Motor and writing readiness: http://shopping.hwtears.com/category/prek

I would us Ruf's lists to keep track of how each child is progressing, and create flexible groups based on those lists:
http://www.giftedbooks.com/productdetails.asp?id=48

http://www.amazon.com/Fundamental-S...ildren/dp/0130139416/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2
Is aimed at K-2nd, but might make a good addition to the gross motor library.

Enjoy,
Grinity

Wow, Shari, isn't it interesting how opportunities just seem to fall into place when you least expect them? This sounds wonderful!!!! Best of luck with your son and YOUR preschool!

That sounds exciting! I'm looking forward to hearing how it goes.

Awesome Shari! Maybe I can move out there and put my DD3 in your preschool and we can tag team hsing the boys. Congrats and good luck!!!!

OH MY GOSH SHARI! wow. I wish we lived near you, then DS5 could hang out with your DS. Gee, you already were the busiest person I had ever heard of, what's one more *little* thing. ;)Good luck to you!

that IS really exciting, and talk about bold! And creative thinking! I'm impressed and eager to hear how it's going! I sometimes think these things, but I've never actually DONE them! I started school in a K-8 schoolhouse in rural WY, and my mom taught it when I was an infant and she just brought me along. I think that is a really cool, and wish I had some sort of similar set-up. On the other hand, with my current baby, I can't imagine actually managing to teach, unless it were something I could do with no hands! I'm really sorry your son had that hard time with the wolves, though! I hope it fades quickly.

Sending congrats best wishes your way! How exciting!

Very exciting news...I was wondering how things were going for your son. Was the school work at least challenging for him in 4th?

Great solution! Good luck!

Well, cool!

Just what I like, a woman with guts! You go, girl!

peace
minnie

What a wonderful opportunity that came your way. I'm glad you found an opportunity to give your son the schooling he needs in an environment that you are comfortable with.

Wow. Talk about a huge step. Congratulations and good luck!

Update....

My DS' last day of PS was ugly and horrible. Taking him out of school was the best decision I ever made. DS was made line leader to go to lunch. A girl in his class got in front and DS told her to go to the back of the line. She refused. Since the girl was 4 yrs older are much bigger than he was, he chose his course of action. He stepped on her foot. DS is very serious when given responsibility. The girl went running to the teacher who promptly "demoted" my son. He completely lost it. In his mind he was fulfilling the role he'd been given.

He got hysterical in the hallway and sat on the floor refusing to move. The principal told me that he was howling so loud that every teacher in the school came running. One of the teachers carried him to the office at which point he exploded. He jumped up on the chair and screaming at the top of his lungs, started ripping everything off the bulletin boards. Needless to say they called me.

When I got to the school he was sobbing, uncontrollable. This is completely out of character for my DS, he's never had much of a temper and he's NEVER completely lost control before. I scooped him up and took him home. It all came pouring out at home. He felt that he couldn't do anything right. I asked him why he didn't ask for help and he replied that he was supposed to know everything and shouldn't need help. For hours the tears came, on and on, he beat himself up for "ruining everything". Damn perfectionism!

The next day, he went to the preschool with me. He was very subdued and I just kind of let him hang. He helped in the 4 yo class with an art project and spent alot of time following me around. He even asked if he could have a cot to nap with the others. He slept for almost 3 hours. I went to the school in the afternoon to disenroll him and spent the entire day convinced that I had ruined my son.

We talked again that evening and my son was at a loss to explain what had happened. We agreed to leave it behind and start fresh. The next morning, I gave him some simple assignments and let him spend the rest of the day selecting books and just kind of nosing around. The school has a huge library of books as it was an elementary school at one time. We've continued this pattern for the last week and I'm happy to say that my "wimpy kid" is still in there.

When I h/s him for K, he used to sing while doing his math. It drove me crazy! I couldn't figure out how he could concentrate on his work while belting out the oldies. Yesterday, while doing his math, he started to sing and I, big dork that I am, started to cry. He hasn't sung for a long time. I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me that this was a sign of unhappiness. I just assumed that he'd outgrown it or whatever. One of the preschool teachers walked in and there I stood, tears running down my face and a big goofy smile. God, these kids are sooo hard! I can't tell you how scared I was that 3 weeks of school had screwed him up forever!

On a side note, the preschool is doing fine and I have a 3yo GT kid. Talks like a 10 yo!

Ok, now you've got me crying over the singing while doing math! Shari, I'm so glad that things are better after what sounds like the worst possible school day. And I don't believe you can ever ruin your child when you are simply doing your best to figure out what will work for your DS.

I'm glad the preschool is going well too!

You should put a *tear jerker disclaimer* at the top of your post Shari! ((hugs)) to you and your DS. Here's hoping the next few weeks are really, really quiet.

Shari, I was just thinking of you yesterday morning, and wondering how things were going--I'm so pleased that things are taking a turn for the better, and that life is bubbling along...you're all in our thoughts!

peace
minnie

{{{{Hugs}}}}

Wow! I must admit that I am very much impressed with your courage and I wish you the very best of luck and success. And I hope your DS keeps singing while doing math

Yes, wow you should have put a tear jerky disclaimer on that one! WOW! Yeah for singing while doing math. My 6yr old is the same way and I must admit, it drives me crazy but it will a little less so after reading your story. I'm glad the preK seems to be going well. Your DS WILL recover with your love.

hugs

Wow!!

DS6 loves his mom very much. Its funny how we can be so tied to some people that THEIR emotions become your own, too. And then we think they are ours, when they are not...

I'm sorry about his extremely emotional last day. I am also sorry the school didn't work for him at the end. It's hard to get the intellectual challenge while managing the social surroundings.

Welcome to the land of homeschooling. We started last September and haven't looked back since. Hope you get to hear lots of singing

Shari, I always love hearing about your son, and I'd love to follow the progress of your preschool - any chance you might have time to run a blog?

Amazing. Best wishes on this exciting journey.

Wow, Shari, hugs to you! Sounds like he needs to de-school for a little bit. Just let him relax and try to forget the horrible experience in the past three weeks.

Good luck!

Hey, that is awesome! We too have had a quiet house for the last year or so, until about a 6-8 weeks ago, I began noticing ds9 singing all sorts of music all day long. It really has coincided with his level of happiness returning to normal. I googled on the idea to see if there was any research on the correlation. I didn't find anything, but it is interesting. Glad to hear he is now singing again!!

That is awsome....Good luck on your new endevor

Your son's story made me cry, Shari....
Big hugs to you and your son. I am glad to hear that things are getting better now.

Best Wishes!

Hi Shari, I was wondering how you were getting on. I am so sorry to hear that things were so tough for your DS and I am pleased that you are well on the way to getting your boy back
As for purchasing the preschool - fantastic! You are obviously someone who cares so much for children and I think that all the children there (and their parents) are incredibly lucky. Good luck with this venture.

Sometimes what the school can do works out for a while, and sometimes it doesn't...but I'm so glad that you have alternatives!

Sometimes it takes a lot of life experience for the annoying habit to become the treasured sign of happiness, but bless you for being able to have lived through the hard times and come back to this place of peace.

There is something truly releasing about knowing that you have done every step you could have done, and in the end are doing what you have to do. I hope that they pain your family has suffered is inversely proportional to the sweet release you get from having tried. It is so easy to forget that our little ones really do have special needs - but that will be harder now, given what you have been through. Perhaps you were one teacher, one classmate or one personality quirk away from having school work...but in this case, a near miss is as good as a mile and you know, for sure now, what your next step is.

Love, hugs and prayers,
Grinity