Thank you. This was very encouraging for me to read. In fact, I think you've determined our science lessons for the rest of the year. : ) I appreciate the permission to lighten things up a bit. Fundamentally, I do agree that quality is better than quantity for social skills. I think there is always that nagging voice within that says I need more hours (20 hours is what her old therapist told me). I should probably tell that voice to lighten up.

Good questions. Yes, my DH could oversee the homework for the most part and the school's dress code is pretty lax. My dd does like only elastic waistbands but she would be fine there, I think. Good question about the resource room that I can raise with the guidance counselor. Even though I know I need to put my recovery a priority, and if we determine school is the avenue to do that, it is difficult knowing it will be a setback for my dd for the first few months at least. You are right - she probably won't be learning much academically for the first few months at least - and I'll need to accept that setbacks will be a part of the learning process. I'm not sure I'm ready for that quite yet.

Thank you for your compassion. It's encouraging for me to read posts from people on the other side of a health crisis because, as you know, when you're in it it seems like it will never end. You ask some really good questions and I don't know all the answers. As a homeschooler, I feel like I can do what I want and they are going to need to understand and I do mean that respectfully. But, yeah, I'm guessing that's probably not the best response. My husband could pack up my dd on my bad days and my neighbor could take her. That wouldn't be a problem. But my dd is pretty adamant that she does NOT want to go to school so it won't be a picnic getting her there if she has decided she doesn't want to be there. It would definitely be interesting, that's for sure. Thanks for giving me some questions to think about. I appreciate you responding.

Thanks for your advice. Although I'm sorry to hear you are suffering from migraines, I'm glad to hear you are making it work for you and your son. I think I need to research some good "do the next thing" curriculums so I'm armed for next year. Vague theory with do-it-yourself implementation isn't going to cut it. : ) Thanks for your thoughts.

Thanks for the great advice. These are great questions to ask. I really appreciate you sharing your perspective. I'm sorry it was such a poor experience for your son - it's so disheartening to read. I'm glad to hear you have found some curriculum that is working for him. Good advice to start lining things up now in case we do keep her home and I might even try some this summer. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

You raise a great point. And our local school starts at 8 which would be a challenging start time for us. Honestly, I think it's getting her out the door each morning with a lunch that would take the most physical effort (I've joked with my friends that have kids in school that I homeschool solely so I don't need pack a lunch and snack everyday). The flexibility of our schedule would be one of the hardest aspects to give up.

Thank you for your thoughtful and compassionate post. I have overtaxed myself so far and suffered some setbacks so your words are very wise. It has been hard to make my recovery a "top priority" but I'm definitely learning the hard way. I appreciate you taking the time to post.

This is a great question. I appreciate you asking. I've been surprisingly calm so far. I've had a few bouts with depression coming off of some meds but thankfully they've been short-lived. There were some weeks a few months ago where my dd was really going through a rough phase and I was unsure of how to deal with it and that had me down but I stayed pretty even with her (with a few typical freak out moments now and then, of course). All that to say, my spirits have been mostly positive thus far, but I am mindful that fatigue and pain wear on you after a while.

I haven't developed a lot of relationships at this co-op yet and the friendships I have developed live in the opposite direction, unfortunately. But it might be worth finding some type a sitter to help if we go route. We haven't gotten creative yet but we may just need to do that. Thanks so much for your thoughts.

Good question. We are fortunate to live two blocks from the school. It is an easy walk.

My four year old has loved Milly Molly Mandy, Twig and Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Thank you for the encouragement. I haven't seen Write Shop Kids - I will check it out. It's a good reminder that even though copywork may be a great method she might not learn best that way. Thanks for your kind thoughts. I appreciate it.

aclem - thank you so much for your reply. You have a lot of perspective. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience. Bear with me as I can't get the quote function to work. You ask some really great questions that have me thinking. I have talked with the guidance counselor at the school and our first conversation was positive. She did say they could make accommodations but no specifics were mentioned. They don't have IEP meetings for new students until the end of the summer. Still, she was open to accommodations for sensory issues which our last school district wasn't so that was encouraging. The therapist who has led my dd's social skills group will advocate for her in those meetings in the future. Great idea about checking the homework samples. I'm not sure if you run into this with your son but my dd is extremely rigid about what she will and won't do. I used to think it was a parenting issue and I was failing miserably - maybe it still is to some degree - but I think it's partly how she's built, too. So on those bad days I've wondered if public school would help her to do things she doesn't like to do - or if it will make it worse. I just don't know. But I don't require tons of writing output from her and I know my friends' children do have a lot more output in their first grade classes. So I think it will be a struggle. And from our short experience at developmental preschool years ago, I do know the anxiety at home will be tough and need to be managed somehow. That experience was what started us thinking about homeschooling in the first place. Could you explain a little bit more about your son struggling with the abstract nature of the common core? I'd be curious to hear more about that if you have the time. Thank you for the realistic picture of what to expect in the classroom. She isn't very good with self-management and is distracted very easily. Basically, if she starts a task but sees anything in print she will stop to look at the letters. She is mesmerized by letters and symbols (I'm sure there won't be any to distract her in a second grade classroom). ; ) So that will be a learning process for sure. Not insurmountable, I'm sure, but a struggle. I can't thank you enough for your post. You've given me a lot to mull over. It looks like you are deciding whether to bring you son back home again next year? That can't be an easy decision. I wish you much wisdom in the process. Thank you for sharing your perspective. I am grateful.

Thanks for your reply. You bring up some really good points. I may have confused the matter by mentioning the friend issue as my bigger concern is isolation. But I agree that one friend for one person may be plenty. Thank you for your comment about academics. I have felt more worry about the decision because I know that it would be much better to start her in second grade than in third in the public schools as far as academic expectations go (from what I hear anyways). It would give her time to adjust. Likewise, I know that I would expect more from myself next year homeschooling, as well. If we do keep her home, I would want to find a lot of "do what comes next" curriculums. Math seems to always get done in our house for this very reason - just do the next page. My lofty ideals are becoming short-lived, lol. : ) Thanks again for your reply.

She doesn't do well. She has gotten a lot better over the years with noise (although we still always have her noise canceling headphones handy) but crowds are very overstimulating for her. Spatially, she does much better in small classrooms as opposed to big open rooms like gyms or cafeterias.

Thanks for your reply, Emily. I can see why you would consider sending your kids to school for a while and I'm glad you live in a neighborhood with a school you appreciate. We are fortunate to see a lot of positives in our local community school, as well. I am sorry that you are facing such a difficult road ahead. I wish you an abundance of wisdom as you make these decisions for your and your family. Peace to you on this path.

Thanks for your compassion. I appreciate it. It is hard for me not to think of school as a year long decision but you're right - it needn't be such a long commitment to try it out. Thanks for your kind reply.

Thanks so much for your replies. Kbutton, you make a great point I hadn't thought about - following up on friendships outside of school. My hunch is that I would but I do know that schedules would be a big obstacle. I know that my dd will need tons of downtime after school to manage a full day schedule. I'm not sure how she will do it, actually. Thanks for your thoughts. Thanks for your thoughts, reefgazer. I keep telling myself that I can just try it and take her out. I don't know why I have so much fear about it. I don't think public school is evil or anything like that. Hardly. My dd has this quirky innocence and no self consciousness and I'm afraid of that being squelched. So, yeah, I have a lot of fear which I know isn't a good reason for doing or not doing just about anything. : ) And i do know can happen anywhere, not just school. I mean, she got made fun of for some of her behavior in Barnes and Noble just last week (she was completely oblivious) but I think that's one of my main worries. Along with that, her anxiety gets to be pretty debilitating in new settings and it's challenging when she brings that home. Thank you for the kind thoughts, amazzie. I have taken out gluten and dairy (my dd is already gfdf so it wasn't too hard) but it's too soon to see if it's helping much. Wine is out, which is a huge bummer. I'm glad you've been able to find some relief. That gives me hope. I have talked with my dd's OT and social skills group leaders but they're both very pro-public school so it wasn't too helpful. I think there thought is the faster I get her in there, the better. Since I'm the main educator at home, my husband is supportive of whatever I decide but would love it if we could continue homeschooling. He worries how our dd will survive a six and half hour school day and also loves the relaxed lifestyle homeschooling gives us. As for the constant stimuli, my initial answer is she wouldn't do well but my hope is accommodation could be made for some things. Thanks so much for your kind replies. I really appreciate it.

Hi there, I'm hoping I can get some wisdom from some seasoned parents as I plan for next year. I have the registration papers for my local public school in front of me - a good school by all accounts - and I'm wondering what some of you all would do if you were in my shoes. Forgive the novel. Earlier this year I had a brain tumor removed and the recovery has been less than smooth. The biggest obstacle has been violent headaches and fatigue. The headaches are unpredictable (about 2-3 per week) and will completely upend our days. I'm working with a neurologist to find some relief but the future is a bit unknown at this point as is my ability to homeschool (or so I'm wondering, anyways). We basically cut out all activities other than the bare minimum. My oldest daughter will be in second grade next year. She had a very brief stint in developmental preschool at age four but has otherwise been homeschooled. She has ASD with her biggest struggles being anxiety and sensory avoiding behaviors. She is at or above grade level in most skill subjects, I think. Definitely ahead in reading and math but probably at grade level in writing ability. We've tried a few curriculums throughout the year for content subjects with some success but it just hasn't happened consistently. Let's just say I've streamlined a lot, which is a nice way of saying that content subjects are happening by default if at all. School usually gets done in our house but it's the bare minimum. We read together and my dd reads a lot on her own. She is halfway through the Miquon Blue book and seems to like it. I love the concepts of Bravewriter but other than Tuesday tea parties the implementation has left a lot to be desired and dd rebels at copywork most of the time. My dd's favorite thing in the world is to walk around and tell stories (it's actually more of a self-regulating behavior) and she will do this for hours. Actually, she seriously rebels at anything that gets in the way of her telling stories (which is probably a whole different post) other than playing board games. Writing is a big struggle unless it's something she wants to write. Ask her to write a sentence from a book? "It's SO long!" Ask her to write a two page menu so we can play restaurant? Sign her up. Let's just say there have been lots of menus and recipes written in recent months. I've learned a lot about give and take in my ideals (brain surgery is uber helpful for that) and it has helped me relax a lot in how we approach our day. All that in mind, I'm in a quandary as I face next year. I hear our local school is good and tries to meet kids "where they're at." A big part of me wonders if I'm doing my dd a serious disservice because we've been very isolated with my health challenges and those might not be changing. I know there are great social venues for homeschoolers and we were in a co-op earlier this year but I needed to withdraw. Unfortunately, I don't have the physical capacity right now to chase my youngest in that setting. My dd is in ballet, OT and a social skills group, so there is some social outlet, but I don't know if it's enough for a child with lagging social skills. If I'm being honest, this keeps me up at night. On the other hand, I love our relaxed life most of the time and so does she. I think I'm okay that we're only managing the bare minimum school-wise right now although insecurity strikes on occasion. But here's my question - would you continue homeschooling if you couldn't give your child an adequate social outlet, especially if that child really needed it? I see other girls her age with friends and my dd has one (a huge work in progress), although she does call her family her best friends. Thank you kindly in advance for any insight and wisdom.

We do Miquon and MUS (odd combination, I know) for math as well as lots of games. I try with moderate success to follow aspects of Brave Writer for writing and language arts as well as reading lots of picture books and some read alouds. I tried doing SOTW but have found doing biographies with picture books much more engaging for my dd at her age and interest level. It's funny - I had a lot of curriculum ideas at the beginning of the year and it has gradually streamlined to the 3R's with MBTP. MBTP is definitely what my dd looks forward to the most. She loves the activities and asks to do them again. It has been very rewarding to see her so engaged after quite a few misses this year. I wish you and your family the same success!

I've been doing 6-8 with my dd this spring and we are really enjoying it. I'm not familiar with BF but my guess is that it would be a lot. MBTP is very thorough and there is a lot of writing and quite a few of activities. And because you are able to go deeply into a topic it has been fun for us to concentrate on just the MBTP unit studies in addition to our skill subjects. I will add that these past two months using MBTP have been our best times homeschooling thus far. HTH!

We are using the 6-8 unit on Matter and Movement. My oldest dd is loving it. The activities and experiments are explained well and use basic household items, and the discussion points are much more thoughtful than a lot of other curriculums I've encountered. I also appreciate that there are a lot of activities to flesh out each topic so we can choose what we like and discard what we don't feel like doing. Today we made molecules from marshmallows, toothpicks and spaghetti noodles and my dd's had a blast. Even better, they really grasped the concepts and are interested in reading more. I can't speak for the older grades but I've been quite happy with this curriculum so far. HTH!

Five in a Row and Miquon.

Agree with Spryte. We have a Brock Magiscope and we love it. Super easy to use and practically indestructible. Definitely worth the money.

I just wanted to thank Library Lover and Reign for your Dick King-Smith suggestions. We checked a few of his books out at the library for readers and my dd is loving them. They are the perfect size and length for her right now. She's working on Dinosaur Trouble at the moment. Such a great find! Thanks so much!