Since he wants to go and the public school can provide so many of the therapies, etc. that he needs, I would send him to the public school for next year and see how it goes. With intense kiddos (I have one), sometimes you just need a break from them so you can put your energy into having managing them when they are home. And you don't need everything to be a battle. as you said he cooperates "when he's in a good mood." If school doesn't work for him, then try homeschooling him. I would not do the 2-day per week school. Kids like this need structure and routine and switching back and forth between environments is difficult for them. Plus most schools of that type (speaking from experience) are not willing to make accommodations, be flexible for different types of learners, etc.

This was me.

This was me.

My 4 kids are all now in school. I wish I had been more open-minded to school when my kids were young. I did not consider their personalities(one extreme extrovert, one sensitive/adhd child, two others more easy going, my personality (introvert), our lifestyle/demands of husband's career on me, etc. My kids are thriving in school and it has been especially good for my child with learning difficulties/adhd. She really did not do well with the lack of routine at home as much as I tried to create routine. She needed the structure of school and she needed someone other than her mom to challenge her, encourage her and be the taskmaster. She has done so much better in school and I wish I had sent her to school from the beginning. My oldest wishes she had gone to full time school at a younger age. She absolutely loves being around other people and getting out of the house every day. My other two are thriving at school and enjoy it, but do occasionally miss being home. They are no doubt getting a better education at school though because they work much harder for someone else. They are in private schools, but I would not hesitate at this point to put them in public schools if we couldn't afford private. We all need a break from each other and relationships have improved between me and them and between the siblings in many ways. It has also been extremely beneficial to me to have quiet each day and time to exercise and take care of all the needs of the household. Homeschooling was a stress on our marriage as well and I am a better wife and mother without that added load. Yes, I miss the free time, being able to sleep in a bit more, being able to travel when we want to, being in control, etc. But it would take a lot for me to homeschool again, as the overall benefits and health of our family have far exceeded the downsides of school. My best advice is to not make a decision in fear and to not be afraid to try something and see if it works. Your health and well-being is extremely important, just as important as the education of your kids. And most likely they will enjoy school and do just fine. If not, you can always make a change.

I agree that a full neuropsych eval is the best idea. We did do that and we did occupational therapy, intensive gymnastics team (were able to drop OT after this), cognitive behavioral therapy for 5 months with the neuropsych's recommended psych, read and implemented Explosive Child, and the intensive dyslexia tutoring. We also had the blessing of a school that while challenging in its curriculum, recognizes and will make accommodations for kids with learning differences. It is a classical school and so felt very familiar to her. We also knew that her teacher would be an extremely loving and experienced teacher of 30 years who was excited to help us help her be successful. Middle school could be a different story, though the school goes through 8th grade. I totally agree that that just putting a child in school is probably not the only thing that should be done. I just wanted to point out that for some kids, the routine and consistency really helps, in addition to other things. My daughter knows that she can go back to her CBT therapist any time if she wants to talk. I am also keeping meds in mind as an option if ever needed. In our case, the psych's top rec was to have her in a consistent environment and do the anxiety therapy. We had other family dynamics as well where she was always under the microscope of her two older super achieving siblings. School has been good for her as she is not comparing herself to them and they aren't getting a front seat to all her academic work.

I also was going to say my friend has a son who is also like yours-schoolwork is easy, but he had anger issues, meltdowns, etc. They also put him in school for 3rd grade and he is doing so much better not being around his siblings all day and getting to shine academically in the classroom. He rarely has behavior issues at school and he and his brother are actually playing and getting along when they are home together so much better than the past several years. Her ped. said she has seen a lot of kids like that and she really thinks that many kids with anxiety need the structure and consistency of a school routine.

I have a child like this (four kids total). Last summer after 2nd grade, we had an evaluation done at a neuropsychologist to test for dyslexia, adhd, psych issues, etc. I had spent about 2 years previously trying to figure out what was going on and had entertained all sorts of possibilities. The dynamic in our home had been difficult and negative for quite a while. Relationships between this child and siblings were poor and the relationship with me was also suffering. It was also affecting my health and was a stressor on our marriage. The neuropsych diagnosed this child with mild dyslexia(why schoolwork was like pulling teeth), mild adhd (hence emotional reg. issues) and anxiety. He recommended cognitive behavioral therapy for the anxiety (temporary), an intensive dyslexia tutoring program over the summer to get reading on track and help schoolwork not be such an issue and then EITHER doing meds if we continued to homeschool, or putting child in a full time school where child would have positive peer pressure, mom could just be mom and not the hammer on everything in her life and she would have structure and consistency. We followed all his recs and opted to put this child in school rather than medicating just to continue to homeschool. We ended up deciding to put all the kids in school as I needed a break after years of this and my oldest was really wanting more interaction and to get out of the house-total extrovert and I am a total introvert so we were always clashing). This child is still an emotional kid and always will be, but is absolutely thriving in school, both academically and socially/emotionally. Meltdowns and oppositional behavior are a pretty rare occurrence now, whereas a year ago, it was a several times a week thing if not daily. It was exhausting and I didn't respond well. The Explosive Child DID help and when we met with the neuropsych, he also recommended it. Dr. Greene also has a podcast that I have listened to some and it has been helpful as well. Susan Wise Bauer's talk about homeschooling outside the box kids from last summer also was so encouraging to me. I especially liked when she said if you need to choose between being your child's teacher and being his mom, always choose mom as no one else can be his mom, while many other people can teach him math, english, etc. It was hard to give up my identity as a homeschooler after 6 years, but its been a big blessing to our family. I am a better mom to my kids now that I have a break and I am not so worn out all the time. I also like being able to be the sympathizer when a teacher is unfair or difficult, rather than me always being the bad guy handing out the assignments. Whatever you decide to do for school in the future, I would highly recommend you get an evaluation from a psychologist. I wish I had done it a year or two sooner.

That sounds like one of the symptoms of dyslexia as described in the book Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz that I just read. I am not an expert though and I know symptoms of different things often overlap.

We are contemplating doing one online class for 6th grade(Jumpstart Latin) and possibly more for 7th grade (WHA Great Conversation, Intro. to Expository Composition, Latin 1, maybe Prealgebra). I will have 4 students total, so I am wondering how much if any of my time will be needed to help my older ones on non-class days if they use this option for 6th, 7th, 8th, etc. They are both strong students and pretty independent, but I am wondering if they will need extensive help with assignments on the 3 days they don't have class.

I agree.

Thanks Silverbrook. My guess is someone else is ahead of us in waiting for a cancellation, but that should help us move up the list to get in sooner than August. Do you mind sharing which doctor you chose? Or did you just take first available? We have done the developmental optometrist already to rule out the need for vision therapy, etc. Lots of rabbit trails to go down!

I am wondering if anyone has a ped. neuropsych to recommend in the Houston area and if anyone has any knowledge of any of the following neuropsychs at the Children's Learning Institute: Dr. Mary Prasad or Dr. Linda Ewing-Cobbs. Thanks!

Ok, thanks I am also wondering about Dr. Mary Prasad or Dr. Rosie Polifroni

Can anyone recommend a pediatric neuropsych. in Houston? I am also specifically wondering about Dr. Ewing-Cobbs at the Children's Learning Institute.

I don't know anyone who has had a neuropsych eval. I have had a hard time finding reviews online. I have asked a few people who I think may be able to make a recommendation so maybe that will help. Several people have recommended the Children's Learning Institute in general, but no one has mentioned a specific doctor.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good neuropsych in Houston? I saw a thread from a few years ago, but no names were mentioned. I am looking for someone who can do a really thorough evaluation to detect learning disabilities, attention issues, etc. Here are the ones I am considering so far: Children's Learning Institute-Dr. Linda Ewing-Cobbs or other Dr. Randi Raizner in Sugarland Dr. Isa Frangente at Reamer Pediatrics (although she is a regular psych, not neuropsych and they said they don't test for dyslexia and would refer us out to someone else for that which I found confusing and made me think they aren't that experienced in detecting it).

I have not personally used them, but I know several families from our church who have used them and really like them. Their kids are using the diploma program and they start in 7th grade. They usually do a latin class in 6th and then start Omnibus in 7th along with most other classes. Some of them keep math or science to do on their own in 7th so they can go at their own pace. It is quite rigorous and their kids work really really hard on academics. Some of them have done the highest honors and some take the slightly less rigorous approach. The families are very happy with their education. It may be wise to start with just one or two classes the first year and see how it goes. Also, look at Wilson Hill Academy. Many of their teachers were at VPSA and are very experienced. One of the families we know is switching their younger kids to WHA.

Can she go shadow for a day? That would probably give her and you a much better idea of whether it is a good fit.

And yes to the standing thing. My #1 and #3 are very kinesthetic. I used to have my oldest read a word and them jump between every word and that really helped organize her little brain. :) My third one frequently stands quite a bit and I don't mind as long as the work gets done. She is almost 8. My 2nd and 4th are sitters. :)

I have 4 kids. Yes, my oldest who is 11 is an extrovert and really likes having people/noise around while she works. She is also very active/kinesthetic so sometimes she has a hard time concentrating, but its usually because she has had enough sitting and needs exercise. My second who is 10 is also extroverted and noise doesn't bother her either. She also has a high ability to sit and concentrate for a long time. However, my third child has a very difficult time focusing and is easily distracted by every little thing or noise. My youngest is like my second. In case this helps you, when my older two were K/1st, I had them scheduled very tightly. The routine seemed to help them. You have one more child than me though, so I am sure its harder! 30 min of school with 1st grader while K'er was to entertain the then 3 year old. My baby at the time either napped, or played in a big gated off area on his own or I held him. He is super easy going though. then we switched and I did 30 min with the K child while 1st grade child played with 3 year old. They had a list of assigned activities to do each 30 min. block and it varied by day (Monday-duplo, Tuesday-play kitchen, etc.) so there wasn't any discussion of what to do. Then next 30 min. my 3 yo and K student had "room time" where they played in their rooms alone and listened to a story/audiobook while I did 30 more minutes with my 1st grader. Then we were done until after lunch when the littles napped and I had the older two read to me for 10 min. each and we did SOTW together for maybe 30 min. max. They listened to audiobooks during rest time and dh usually read aloud to them at night.

Also, the shorter chapter books I recommended are probably more like 2nd/3rd grade level. You didn't mention your daughter's age, so they may be a little young for her, but they are short and decent quality.

My daughter was like this last year in 3rd grade. She was a very early reader, but as an 8 year old, she wanted to read short chapter books. She read a lot of Encyclopedia Brown (not my favorite, but we got them from the library), The Sew Zoey books, Gooney Bird books, Violet Mackeral series, etc. We got all those from the library and she read them quickly, but enjoyed them. She is now almost 10 and this year has read some more challenging/longer books like Black Beauty, the Penderwicks series, Tale of Desperaux, etc. I relaxed a little last year when I read somewhere that sometimes kids just need to gain fluency by reading "easier" books. Here's a trick I have realized helps my kids get into a book or series. I get the audiobook and we listen to it as a family, in the car, etc.. Often, my older kids end up picking up the book and either reading ahead or if we listen to the first book, they are dying to get the second, etc. books by the time that we finish the audiobook. So you might try that-"hooking" her with the audiobook and then she might enjoy the story enough to persevere through a longer book.

Our tentative plan: Math-either Horizons Prealgrebra, AOPS Prealg, or Derek Owens Prealg. Composition-WWS 1 (started in 5th, will finish in 6th) Grammar-Rod and Staff 6 or possibly CLE if she wants to switch Latin-Jump Start Latin at Wilson Hill History-Veritas Self-paced with her siblings and assigned reading (need to choose a time period) Science-nature study, supplemented with classes/labs at our science museum and arboretum Art-looking at Artistic Pursuits or possibly an outside drawing/painting class Literature-going to assemble a reading list for her of age-appropriate classics Poetry Memorization-Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization Piano lessons, gymnastics

Thanks, I will retest her after she finishes 6/5.

My 2nd and 4th graders will finish the year with Saxon, but I will start something with them new next year. My 5th grader could switch now. I was planning on having her finish Saxon 7/6, but today she is really dreading it and wants to think about switching to something else now. I am willing to consider it as she has worked very diligently through Saxon for many years. I am looking at CLE as well, and also McRuffy for my 2nd grader going into 3rd as the color, spatial emphasis and one page worksheet would suit her very well.