Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Homeschool success with full time working parents?

Out of curiosity, if one chooses to HS, can the kid still go to school for lab work, sports, etc?

The answer largely depends on your local school administrators and state law.

HG+ kids who are not extremely self-regulating can be VERY stressful/time-consuming to homeschool. Not because they require much help to learn-- but because it takes so much time, money, and energy to keep them on-task with something novel to learn or do.

There is simply no good out-of-the-box homeschool curriculum to use, and therefore your only real options are all "eclectic" which means huge investments of time in developing/vetting/monitoring.

Childcare is not all that difficult to manage, in our experience. The problem is in keeping the curriculum suitable and engaging on an ongoing basis.

On the other hand, I found that the experience of trying to homeschool my PGlet made me a MUCH better advocate for her with our virtual school later on. I knew very well what challenges we were up against, how flexible and NIMBLE things needed to be, and warning signs when things were becoming unbearably ill-fitting. I also knew what a Herculean thing it was to keep on top of it all.

Do think carefully about how you plan to evaluate progress and keep track of what is/isn't working. Plan in some kind of data-gathering or record-keeping method right from the start. It's always problematic to try to get credit for independent study as an HG+ homeschooler. If your studies have you working +2-4 (or more) years ahead of chronological peers... assume that you will meet with skepticism.

I'm happy to see this thread, as DH had the rare treat of homework duty last night (usually my domain) and was so utterly defeated by the experience that he started muttering about home schooling. That's a remarkable change of tune for him. We could only pull it off by hiring a teacher/nanny, though, and I worry about replicating school dynamics in his safe-zone of home.

It sounds good - if I could afford care while I worked I would try it. But it is very dependant on the goodwill of others. The having to do it yourself requirement could be worked round by having school in the evenings and fun stuff in the day - can the existing morning person stay another hour - i would assume they had another job or school. I don't know what you do or what you get paid but might it be easier to reorganise your hours or reduce them (or your partner's)

I really appreciate all of your input - I'll try to answer a few of the questions

grade skip - he's in 5/6 combo in 5 so this might not be the best option. Also, his first skip came in a different district when they felt that was the only thing they had to offer. In this district, they think this program is enough. But it is something to rethink and perhaps consider.

labs, etc. (partial homeschool?) - in our state, the district must allow homeschool students access to GT and sped if there is room and sports. So, a partial homeschooling would likely not work out. I have thought about it informally but not sure if school/program would go for that. Also, he goes to school out of district and our home district does not really have a GT program.

Val – I am a bit reluctant to talk to other parents as there seems to be this overall feeling that this is the best program ever and any critics have problems. I exaggerate that a bit, but I did mention something to one parent last night and she said she sent an email at the end of the last year with what she thought was some constructive criticism and it was not received well. So, I guess my point is my work reaching out to other parents would need to be covert, I would have to get a large group in agreement and then we would have to fight the group that thinks everything is wonderful.

In terms of talking to the teacher – this is something that DH and I were talking about last night. We have a good relationship with the teacher – this is the second year with her. She is personable and friendly and generally easy to deal with. One thing she has said this year is that they have to do more work on getting the kids ready for standardized tests because of "gaps" last year and that “it is crucial that we make sure students are receiving grade-level content on a regular basis for standardized testing purposes.” This is not something that has ever been emphasized.

I agree with much of what HK has said and things she points out are really my concerns: no back up; coordinating; one piece breaking with chain reaction; still keeping DS interested, engaged and learning; measuring that. Other concerns - he's social - I think he is still happy where he is because he enjoys being with his friends, not seeing something like this as a long term plan and planning for that.

Still mulling and appreciate all of your guidance, wisdom and thoughts. Thanks.

I'm not trying to discourage you, really.

It's just that it's a LOT of work, and it can be very discouraging to have an unrealistic set of expectations going in. Your chances of success are much better if you're pragmatic or even a little on the pessimistic side in your predictions about the level of difficulty that it will present.

Is your DS amenable to "afterschooling" as a bridge to full homeschool? I might try that this year and see how it goes.

No, HK, you are realistic - I get that. I am too. I guess what I (we) really have to figure out is whether all that work and the related stress is better than what is going on now.

He will do the work assigned to him but he has limitations (an ADHD diagnosis) and knows them - if he is not too overwhelmed, he will say, I just cannot do that today. The school work, homework and school work that becomes home work is less intellectually rigorous (ie more procedural and tedious)and takes more time than necessary it would be hard to get work at his level in there too. His school gets out at 3:30 and by the time he gets home and a snack its 4:30. Also, this is the first year that he only has one 15 min. recess so he needs to get some exercise too. So, I guess my response is likely no to the afterschooling.

I am kind of feeling like the best way to proceed now is to take Val's advice and talk to the teacher - see what we can work out to try to make it a little better for him, invoke his 504 less problems to show mastery, then ask her to assign the "homework" that we come up with. I did do this with the IXL 40 minute weekly requirement - I asked if he could do Khan at his level as opposed to IXL at 5th grade and she wrote something about at grade level standards practice but if we felt like he did not have any gaps to go ahead.

I would not start the homeschool plan anyway until the 2nd week of November because my "teacher" is traveling for most of October and early November.

Ahhh-- then, in light of the ADHD, my response changes somewhat. I'd be looking at what your back-up plan is for sick carers, and how flexible parent employers are likely to be.

A gradeskip seems like a more challenging solution in light of possible issues with executive function at work. I completely understand the reluctance to afterschool on top of a day filled with drudgery.

You are lucky to have a public school that caters to the 99th percentile. Around here the schools aim for the 25th percentile.