Hey guys! Well I am again considering-seriously considering- homeschool for my DD5. Just to give some background:
I was planning on HSing her this year, but DH and MIL pressured me into enrolling her in public school for the "social" benefits. (The word "social" makes me cringe
!! They both use this word so excessively it's like that's all they care about!) While I by no means tend for my child to be a hermit, I do believe that every child is different and not all children benefit from being in large groups (myself and my husband both prefer small groups and "clam up" in large groups so he should be understanding). And, there are other ways to learn social skills. She participates in martial arts for 2 hours a day 5 days a week and wants to start gymnastics as well so in my mind, the "social" part is taken care of. I should also mention that my MIL has stated several times that she wants my child to "show everybody else up" and "show them how much smarter she is than the other kids" (whose parents my MIL knows). So I believe she has an almost selfish "one-track" agenda and is not taking my DD's needs into consideration. And I have tried explaining to her that DD is not going to "show everyone else up" as she puts it b/c she is in a sense being held back and made to work at the pace of the other students. Any thoughts I might be missing? OHgrandma, if you read this, I am interested in any pointers you may have on how to verbalize the unique learning needs of GT kids to my MIL. I know that she is our child and therefore it's our decision, but my MIL calls at least once a day to say things like "she likes school doesn't she?", "she's doing good isn't she", and "I'm so happy she's going to school and making friends; she needs to make friends". It's almost like she's tongue-in-cheek saying "Don't you dare pull her out!"
My DD5 told me today (and many times before) that she didn't want to go to school. "The kids laugh at me and the teacher gets me into trouble even if I didn't do anything wrong. My only favorite teacher was in preschool (she had a GT teacher then at a private school before we moved to this very small town)." She then proceeded to tell me that I needed to go to the store today while she is at school and buy a chalkboard and books for her b/c I "know how to teach her kindergarten".
She tried everything to stall from not liking her pants and shoes to being tired to eating breakfast extremely slow. Her grades are beginning to suffer and she is missing test questions that she knows the answer to. I know grades don't really matter at this age, but I am concerned about her emotional needs.
How damaging would it be for her to continue?
I want to pull her out now, but can I?
Can I HS 1st grade at night while she is enrolled in kindergarten at a public school?
Or should I let her finish this year out and then homeschool starting this summer?
How should I handle the resistance and snide remarks from my MIL/her grandma!?
Help!!! Thanks!
