Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments calling all homeschoolers...help...

Hi all,
Well, I have alluded to my temptation to HS on numerous posts, and now I am almost there. I have a meeting with the principal/guidance counselor/& teacher at my son's school to discuss how they can meet my son's learning needs, but I can't imagine a good resolution coming from this meeting... though I am trying to be open-minded.

Here's an example of how school affects him: over the weekend he brought home some "reading workshop" work he hadn't completed in class (because he's missed so much school lately)... because he has such difficulty writing, the teacher said it would be ok for him to dictate his answers to me. At the end of chapter 1 of this book, he was supposed to answer some questions-- describing the characters mostly. Easy stuff. But he became very anxious and fidgety and did not seem to understand the questions, which frustrated me and caused an argument between us. Later in the weekend he sat down and read a much more difficult book (a Roaold Dahl book) in one sitting, and when I asked similar (or actually harder) questions about the characters and their motivations, his answers were immediate and elaborate. No anxiety. No arguments. My intepretation: anything school-related provokes anxiety and causes him to shut down.

Also he has these weird health problems that make it very dangerous to be exposed to strep...

Anyway, I want him out.

I'm just so tired of everything with my son being negative, problems, etc. I want the joy back!

But I feel like I have no plan. Can HSers out their describe how they spend their day...Where do you get the curriculum materials? How much $$ do you spend? How much do you let your child's interest drive the curriculum? Do you use tutors? Honestly, do you feel overwhelmed? Does your spouse support you?

Sorry for another long post, but thanks.

Hi Bronxmom,

I've looked at this website and listened to a couple of her podcasts. I've always been tempted to buy this book so I can't vouch for it but look around and see if anything catches your eye. Homeschool.com

I also wanted to ask, does your son still have his tonsils and adenoids? They can be a reservoir for strep.

I'll post more later about our HSing journey.

I also frequent the Well Trained Mind curriculum board for advice about various curricula and to get ideas about what others are doing for a particular grade level.

Dazey

Thanks Dazey,

He will have the tonsils and adenoids out next week and I am hoping that will help with some of our problems.

I will check out the website... now I realize that I should probably read some books about homeschooling... maybe that will eliminate some of the anxiety and mystery for me.

So add to my question-- can anyone recommend books about homeschooling?

I am not HSing yet, but I have similar trouble with the current school and I might be HSing next year.

In our area, we have public charter home schools. You can use their materials (free), or they provide you a budget to buy any non-religious materials. There is also one day a week classes that are mostly academic like science, social science, history, math etc. There is also 1 other day that's called lab day and the kids participate in fun classes like pottery, drama, music, PE etc. Classes are all free.

Each charter school provide different budget and classes. You don't have to participate in anything if you don't want to.

There are also educational field trips every 5 weeks or so. Also every 5 weeks, you have to take all the works in to see the educational specialist to check your works.

Good luck!

I am in the throes of a migraine, so I can't answer now. Must go lie down. But I am WAY casual, and have a near allergy to curriculum (yet am not an unschooler), so I can give you a fairly unusual perspective.

FWIW, it doesn't have to be hard. Especially with a GT child.

Later. Wish me luck! (I fear I'll need it...)

I was having some of the same problems when we took DS out of school. I felt like I lost my happy boy, and he was having migraines at school every other day. He has been out for almost 2 years now, and not a migraine since. And my happy boy is back. Not saying that every school day goes perfect, but we are both much happier.

Our school day takes about 3 hours. We take breaks between each subject.

There is a ton, and I mean a ton of different HS curriculum. You could spend weeks on the net looking at it all. Most veteran HSers recommend that newbies start out slow, and not buy a lot at 1st. homeschoolreviews.com is a good place to start. I would be happy to recommend the things that have worked for us.

I spend about $500 per year on curriculum, but you can HS for free just using the library and a ton of free internet resources. And some people spend tons of $$$ on virtual academies.

I try to follow my kids interests as much as possible. We did a unit study on auto racing because that's a passion of his. He is most advanced in math, so we spend a good bit of time on that. Writing is not his strong suit, so we take that slow so he doesn't get frustrated. But he's the type of kid that needs almost no repetition of new material. He learns it the 1st time, and feels insulted if he's forced to review over and over. That was a major aggravation in public school.

I don't use any outside tutors except for piano. But there are HS co-ops in almost every city and state.

I don't feel overwhelmed at all. It has been a joy and blessing for our family. My son and I have a wonderful close relationship, and I think a lot of that if from HSing.

DH was not as thrilled at 1st about HSing as I was. I had to really convince him. I told him to give me 1 year, and then if it didn't go well we would put DS back in school. Well, after about 1 month, he was completely on board. He now tells people all the time how great HSing can be.

Ditto! This is a great board! I have found great curriculum recommendations, and wonderful support there.

Here is some of what we are using this year. I buy most of my stuff used, and get great deals.

http://www.movingbeyondthepage.com/

http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/Default.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Spelling-Powe...mp;s=books&qid=1236726460&sr=8-1

http://www.artisticpursuits.com/

http://www.homeschoolprogramming.com/

http://www.olsenbooks.com/index.html

http://www.peacehillpress.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=100

Thanks RJH,

Maybe I'm just a little frail emotionally right now, but when I start looking at these sites I get completely overwhelmed and start feeling panicky! There's too much information, too much stuff, I have no idea where to begin.

Ugh, maybe this is not for me after all.

I guess I need to calm down and just take this one step at a time...

You're right, it's very easy to get info overload. But if it's really what you want to do, then just jump in feet first. You can learn right along with your child I figure those of us on this board are already at an advantage....we could not teach our children a thing for a whole year or more, and they would still be ahead. LOL!

There are many curriculum's that are pick-up-and-go. Lessons are already planned out, and it takes almost no planning on the parents part.