Tiramisu Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 My youngest, age 9, has never been easy to homeschool due to attention issues but otherwise she's a good kid. This year she's the last one left at home, and I think she misses having other people around. It's probably also her age and other stresses in our family, but she's become moodier and that's started to interfere with her education and our relationship. She's brought up school before but this afternoon she brought it up again and she seemed so pained about it. I actually don't mind brick and mortar schools too terribly. We had a rather good elementary public school experiences during the times we used that. Our public elementary schools do teach the kids to write and they use Singapore math. My biggest obstacle to using the public school is starting her on the path to the public middle school, which is absolutely the pits socially. To avoid that, I might consider a Catholic school and have different options for that. But we're rather conservative and I know we will run into things we don't like whether it's ps or one of the Catholic schools, so there's that concern, too. We have an appointment next week to get better insight into the attention issues. Ironically, perhaps, I'm not worried about the attention problem being a problem in brick and mortar school, because as I've seen in my others, the anxiety helps her pull it together in classroom situations. Sad but true. It just creates so much stress at home where she can be herself--and where I want her to be herself because she is good. I hate being in this position. I want to homeschool, but it really hasn't been working that well. She's bright and she's learning but most days are miserable no matter what tricks I come up with to make it work for her. We do have a lot of stress in our family right now, so I want to be careful about making any decision but I think I may need to think about it and explore our outside schooling options. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 :grouphug: If the public schools in your area aren't too bad, then sure, go ahead and check them out. You'll be a very involved parent (which will be good for your dd until she's junior high age, at which time schools don't want parents around even though they say they do, but we have some time before that comes up, lol), and if you see that it isn't a good thing, you will feel confident in withdrawing her. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne in CA Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 It might not be a bad thing for her to go to ps for the next couple of years and come back home for junior high. Junior high is just awful, no way around it, but if she were to go to ps now she might make friends in your neighborhood that sustain her through junior high even if she doesn't go herself. Both of my home schooled dds were WILDLY popular during junior high, and I think it had a lot do do with the fact that since they were not involved in school drama themselves they were easy to spend time with outside of school. I think my youngest child would be popular no matter what, but the oldest was definitely popular because she was not in school. Her friends loved to come home and tell her everything that was going on in school and be able to be the ones to reframe everything that had happened in school in their own light. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I am sending my last child to school this fall and it's bittersweet. He has been easy to teach, relatively, and we've had fun most days. I don't necessarily agree with his reasons for wanting to go, and I don't agree fully with his first choice of school. We are currently in negotiations, LOL. But the hardest part for me is the fear he will be unhappy-his brothers both had less than good high school experiences (one at home, one not) and I just don't want to get it wrong. Sigh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 It is clear that you are approaching the decision with a lot of love and having respect for your daughter and your relationship with her. It is also clear that you are able to take a step back and look at the larger situation and understand why she wants what she wants. Honestly with those things in place, the two of you will come to a good decision for the two of you. But, it does hurt when sometimes the right decision for the situation isn't what we want it to be. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 That is so tough. :grouphug: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Thank you for the positive feedback. I know we have the eval next week, but I think I'm going to take her to the ped to talk about it and make sure there's nothing going on physically. She has a history of low blood sugar readings and I'm wondering if that could have become worse since she's growing and not eating very well. She also had the flu two weeks ago, maybe it's just making her feel poorly and everything seem worse than it is. I sure hope today is better than yesterday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Last year, my ds really started asking about ps. This school year, we found some classes that have really created a school like environment for him, and he has stopped asking. I've given up some freedom, but overall, outsourcing has been a really good thing for everyone. Do you have any classes or co-ops in your area? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 My youngest is in PS. We are rural with few homeschool options as far as co-ops and activities. We have no family in the area and no children within walking distance for dd to interact with. We go to church in the next town over... PS has been GREAT for her. We do live in a good school district. DD is now in 7th grade at the local middle school. She has surrounded herself with a great group of friends-- she has had to learn to deal with (mild) bullies and 'bad girl' attitudes-- but it has not been a big deal and they are great life skills. I'm satisfied with her academics-- there are a few subjects that I KNOW I could do a better job teaching-- but she is still above average and she is learning so they are not deal breakers. It was easier to be a rural homeschooler with 2 students-- at least they had each other (even though they had to put up with a baby/toddler around!). Also- my two oldest were in college at the same time. I NEEDED to go back to work full time. Even though I work at home it would be very difficult to homeschool youngest dd-- I'm sure we could make it work in the evenings if it was a necessity though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 First, :grouphug: :grouphug: My youngest, for many reasons, has applied to the local tech school for the fall. She has an interview on Saturday. It's a great school with AP and dual credit so she will be prepared for career and/or college. Things have been rough for her here at home for a few years now, her sister's illness and it's emotional and psych issues make her very difficult to live with and be around. It will be good for her to get away from that day in and day out. It's bittersweet for me, I do so love homeschooling, but I want what's best for her and I really do think it will be great for her. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Is the current stress in the family something that is likely to improve over the next couple of years, or more likely to be ongoing? School can be a great refuge for kids when there's a lot of stress at home. Does she want to jump in right now, or next fall? Is she type of kid who is open to discussing options? I know some kids will latch on to the mention of any possibility as though it were a definite promise, but others have a lot to offer the discussion and are open to ideas. I think an evaluation and doctor's visit are both excellent ideas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.