It is so encouraging to hear from other parents who have gone/are going through this! I really do hope my kiddo gets back to a place where he enjoys learning. Reading and learning new things and are some of the greatest joys of my life and I want so badly for my kids to experience that! I am going to sit down with him and brainstorm ideas on how together we can engineer his education to be interesting and challenging for him. I noticed one of the main themes in most of your posts was to give him some ownership and sense of control. Which makes absolutely perfect sense for a young man in his stage of life!

Oh my goodness thank you all so much! So many great suggestions and I really, really appreciate the encouragement. I don't have much in the way of a homeschool support network except for my husband and we are both brand new at this. DS is just a really sweet and wonderful kid and we want to help lift him up and support him in every way possible. So thank you for all your kind advice. I really appreciate the time put into these thoughtful responses 💜 PBJ

My son is 13 and has always been in PS. We pulled him and his little sister out a few weeks ago and are now homeschooling. He has stated that he wants to do this and that he feels that public school is not a good fit for him. As his mother, I agree. He used to LOVE school (K-4) and was a bright and engaged student. He was accepted into the gifted program and has an IQ score above 130. In 5th grade and 6th grade, he unfortunately had some really poor teacher experiences and was also having increased issues with peer bullying. He is a voracious reader with a huge vocabulary and does not think/talk like most kids his age. Kids can be so mean ☹ He is now facing some issues. One, he is behind in math. I think this has a lot to do with the COVID shutdown, so missing the last part of 6th grade and then poor quality of virtual PS instruction in the first part of 7th grade (we tried that first before decision to homeschool). Two, his attitude toward learning is poor. He does the assignments and reading but I can tell his heart isn't in it. He rushes through the work. His handwriting is horrendous (he knows perfectly well how to write, he is just rushing). He has some issues with accountability and is just doing the minimum. He knows he is gifted and I suspect sometimes he thinks he already knows everything, so assignments are just 'busy work.' How can I help him realize the breakdown in logic here without making him feel attacked like his peers made him feel? My heart is breaking for my child. He has so much potential. I don't know how to help him get that spark back. My first and biggest goal with the decision to homeschool was to help my kids rediscover their love of learning and spirit of curiosity. My daughter (11) is responding beautifully and has not only engaged actively with her assigned studies but is going deeper into interest topics on her own. Any suggestions on how I can help my son? I can't and won't accept the idea that PS ruined him permanently. **We are doing a mix of TWTM and Charlotte Mason style literature based for content subjects (world history, social studies, science). Math - I backed up a year for both kids and I am using Math Mammoth for that curriculum. Starting out with notebooking/outlining and Greek/Latin roots for language arts but looking for a good curriculum or suggestions. Thanks for reading and I welcome any feedback or advice.

Thanks! 😁

Hello all! Just wanted to stop in and introduce myself. I'm fairly new to homeschooling as a parent but was actually homeschooled myself as a child for K-8. I went to a large public high school, then community college, then a public university. I'm in my late 30s and I hold a bachelors degree in the sciences. I have a 11 year old daughter and a 13 year old son who have attended public school since pre-k, until a few weeks ago when I withdrew them from the middle school. I had been becoming increasingly dissatisfied with public education for the last few years for several reasons, but the situation with the pandemic has changed things to the point where I knew public school definitely is not the right fit for our family. Not to mention the obvious health and safety concerns! Home education is a really serious commitment and a lot of work, but I feel REALLY good about this decision. My kids and my husband were all completely on board as soon as I broached the topic, and we are excited about this new lifestyle. Glad I found this place! I'm exploring the threads and having a great time. Nice to "meet" you all! PBJ