See, I don't even totally understand what you're saying. Would you mind explaining? :svengo: Yes, I am definitely interested!! I'll pm you. There's still a chance someone will recommend something else in this thread and I'll go with that, but so far the only real evidence-based, reliable, highly recommended program I know of is Barton. I did already give him the screening, and I took the tutor screening as well. We are good to go with that, I just couldn't find it used. What do you think of it so far? How long have you been using it? OK!! Glad to know that an IEP isn't necessarily forever (I thought it was), and that I don't have to tell the district.

Here's my situation: My homeschooled son is 11 and in 6th grade. The only subject he's behind in is Spelling and he's VERY behind. I determined that he is spelling on a beginning of 2nd grade level (4 grade levels behind). I've tried AAS, Spelling Workout, Sequential Spelling, and a couple other programs. He is trying but has made very little progress in spelling and makes classic dyslexic mistakes like leaving out vowels and whole syllables, and spelling super phonetically, but not correctly. Dysgraphia is also a big issue. He does have reading issues (mainly new words, names, pronunciations, and skipping small words/inaccurate reading), but these pale in comparison to his abysmal spelling that never improves. I'm at the point where I NEED to do something drastic to help his spelling... something VERY different than anything we've ever done. I had my heart set on Barton (I love Susan Barton and her website as it really helped me identify what was going on and learn more about dyslexia). But I was sad to realize that I cannot afford it. I looked for it used and still couldn't find it. So now I'm considering whether I should seek services from the public school. I have no experience with dealing with schools other than sending in my homeschool paperwork. Now what?? My questions are: 1) Are there any other highly recommended OG methods like Barton that ARE affordable? Do tell!! 2) What about the more "alternative" methods like rainbow writing, sculpting words with play-dough, or associating words with pictures? I'll try anything! lol Are these worth a try for a kid who struggles a LOT in spelling (not mildly dyslexic)? 3) Should I tell the school district about my son's dyslexia? If so, how? 4) Am I *legally required* to inform the district about a diagnosed or suspected learning disability? 5) If I do tell them, what are the possible repercussions for my homeschool, or for my son's "record"? 6) I know that public schools are legally required to provide services to those who request it, but are they generally even equipped to provide remediation for dyslexic kids? (One of my fears is making it "public", it going on his record, getting involved with the school, getting an IEP, and THEN finding out that all they do is work with him on spelling once a week or so and aren't even trained in dyslexia remediation or use an appropriate method... since that's the whole point. 7) If I did get him an IEP would he then have an IEP for the rest of his school career? 8) It's very obvious that he is dyslexic as he has MANY classic signs, but is a diagnosis required in order to get an IEP? I think I read that diagnosis isn't required, but a "need" is required. Is that right? For example, my understanding is that the school does not diagnose, but the school is required to assess whether a child is *eligible* for services. So doesn't that mean that I don't need to go through the whole diagnosis process prior to getting an IEP if we went that route? 9) If I didn't get an IEP but instead got private tutoring or tutored him myself, am I still legally required to tell the school district about his learning disability?? Anything else I should know? Any other options I'm not thinking of? I really need to get on a "road" and I'm so confused about which one to take at this point!! I'm reading books about dyslexia and how to deal with schools, but they never talk about how it relates to homeschooling so I feel like there's a big gap in my understanding about where to go from here. Even HSLDA doesn't seem to provide much info. Thanks in advance!! Tara

Very good ideas!!! Maybe I will make some kind of box that says "Mom's Mailbox" or something where they can pile all their stuff into for me to check. Now I'm just trying to decide if I should have a separate one for each kid or if one place for all the kids to put their work would be sufficient. I want to minimize the chance that I won't notice that someone has been turning in some of their work for 2 weeks, ya know? I have so many kids to keep track of next year (4) that I think it will be easy to not realize that someone's not "turning in" their spelling every day. Is there anything you do to make the each child turns in every single piece of work they write on? LOL Yep. I didn't even think about it until you said it, but this is definitely the reason. It becomes a real issue when you have several kids to oversee.

This is one area I need to work on. I need a system. Is there a place you have your kids put their work that needs to be graded?? What's your method for shuffling the papers/books around? I need ideas!

See, my friend says her daughter does not have an IEP, but does have a 504 Plan. But she receives speech therapy, etc, so I'm wondering if the school is just informally throwing on some services rather than planning and documenting them with an IEP... ?? So that makes it even more confusing as to how to go about pulling her out to homeschool. It almost seems to me like the mom should request an IEP if she wants her daughter to continue to receive services as a homeschooler.

My friend is considering homeschooling her daughter who is currently in public school (New York State) with a 504 Plan. She receives speech therapy, etc. Her mother would still want her to receive these services while homeschooling. Is that possible?? How does a 504 Plan affect homeschooling? I would love to hear from anyone who has experience with this. Also, any links are appreciated! (X posted on the Learning Challenges board) TIA!

My friend has a daughter in public school (New York State) who has a 504 Plan. She receives some services like speech therapy, etc, through the school. My friend is considering homeschooling her daughter but she still wants to receive those services through the school. Is that possible?? She says her daughter does not have an IEP. I'm confused because everything I read about 504 is that it makes sure kids receive extra care they need like wheelchair assistance, nursing care like diabetes help, administering meds, etc. Of course, none of these would be an issue with homeschooling. So does a 504 affect homeschooling at all?? I'm so confused. Please answer if it applies to *New York State*. Links are appreciated as well! TIA

Not an option for us either, barring some very exceptional circumstances like a major illness that makes it impossible for me to homeschool (God forbid) and we absolutely cannot put them in private Catholic school for some reason (unlikely). Even though private school would be very difficult to afford, we would absolutely make it happen if it at all possible, down to taking a loan out from the bank or borrowing from friends to do it. That's how "last resort" public school is for us. You're not alone.

Another plug for My Father's Dragon!! My 10 yr old still loves it. Cute, fun, dragon adventure. Just right for 6-7 yr olds, IMO.

OK, Phew!! :svengo: What you guys are saying is what I told her. I said I didn't think she was legally required to notify the school, but it would be best to clue them in right away so there is no confusion and nobody will even attempt to charge her with truancy. I said she could choose to keep her child home from school on Monday if she wants to as long as she's ready to count that as the first day of homeschooling. Thanks!! I just wanted to double-check since I don't want to steer her wrong!

I have a woman who needs help to do this legally, without making any more waves than necessary. I have a LEAH manual which outlines exactly what steps to take to start homeschooling, but doesn't really cover relations you need to have with the private school you're withdrawing from. Does anyone know the particulars (and can site sources) for how to go about this? I want to make sure what I told her is correct! (panic, panic, lol) Is she legally required to write a letter to the school stating she is now homeschooling her children, within a certain length of time from keeping them home, or something? There's gotta be some regulations having to do with this aspect, right? Or maybe the law doesn't concern itself with her enrollment issues at the private school, but it is common sense that she contact them and "un-enroll" them somehow? (Can you tell my kids have never been enrolled in a school? lol) TIA

I'm doing Core D right now with my 10.5 yr old and it's a good fit, so assuming there's a decent jump with each Core (which I've heard and has been my experience), for MY 10 yr old son, I think Core G would be way too much. But every kid is different. You said your 10 yr old has already done Core D, soo... What about going back to F? Redundant?

My 4th and 5th graders are doing it with no problem. I'm thinking about my "leading up to SS" plan for my dd who is in 1st, but I'm not sure when she would be ready for Level 1. What's the typical opinion?

Ellie, thanks for pointing out that schools are accredited, not diplomas. That makes sense. I'm glad I'm not crazy for sensing that accredidation is a bigger deal for Catholic homeschoolers for some reason. Nobody explicitly told me this and I have yet to understand why they care more about accredidation, but I definitely have that feeling. One friend told me that most homeschoolers he knows end up sending their kids to a high school of some sort. I was really surprised. BUT he's Catholic. I wonder why Catholics are so concerned with leaving the door open to put their kids in high school (thereby necessitating the use of an accredited distance school like Seton). I will have to find out if Catholic colleges tend to have stricter admission requirements or something. Wouldn't that be a kicker.

I don't know if you consider Sonlight boxed but I went from eclectic back to Sonlight this year and I'm SO glad I did.

Funny that this was posted just recently. I have been thinking about this very thing for a couple days. As I said in my post asking about "accredited high school diplomas" I worry that not only am I the only one who wasn't concerned with seeking an accredited diploma (and I was second-guessing that), but it seems that I may be the only one homeschooling throughout high school in my area. As our kids are getting toward middle school age, moms are looking for ways to get their kids in school or a homeschool / campus school hybrid left and right, it seems. (I'm not talking about the odd online class, btw. I still consider that homeschooling.) And I don't blame them in the sense that homeschooling high school can be a scary thought. But I just didn't realize that homeschooling may get lonelier and lonelier as my kids get older, as more and more families drop out in favor of private high schools, homeschool/private school hybrid (homeschooling only 2 days per week and fulfilling assignments that were received at the school), or homeschooling under the intense supervision of a distance school that will in turn offer an accredited diploma (a la Seton). It definitely makes me feel like the "lesser homeschooler" in a way, and, like I said, saps my confidence a bit (at least temporarily), wondering if I am deluding myself that I am capable of getting my kids through high school with lil ole ME at the helm and no "school" whatsoever. So I kinda do see the trend that homeschoolers are taking advantage of increasing options to delegate and kind of blur the line between homeschool and "school". I don't think it's WRONG, but for those of us who didn't have that in mind for our children, the feeling of being alone on our journey is a little disconcerting.

I meant from my homeschool highschool. I want to know before I start homeschooling high school if I should get involved with a curriculum provider / distance learning type of home study that offers an accredited diploma... or if I don't have to worry about it. I fear having a sophomore in high school and realizing I should have gotten on that track, but it will be too late to reasonably do that by the time I figure it out. KWIM? I want to know now. FWIW, I am newly Catholic and there seems to be more concern about accredited diplomas among Catholics (??). A ton of Catholic homeschooling families in my area are jumping on the Regina Caeli Academy wagon (a "hybrid" homeschool / 3-day-per-week Catholic school) and graduates receive an accredited diploma. Another hugely popular curriculum is Seton Home Study School through which kids can earn an accredited diploma, too. I think Kolbe might be another one. You get the idea. I'm basically feeling like I may be left in the dust as possibly the only Catholic homeschool mom in my area who is *not* (at least, I wasn't?!) planning on seeking an accredited diploma. So I'm reassessing whether or not one is important. My plan WAS to literally homeschool my kids through 12th grade without use of any long-distance school (other than maybe a random class here or there), and then order a high school diploma from HSLDA and sign it myself, LOL. I may ask the superintendent of our school district to sign as a 2nd witness (I'm in NY where I sent quarterly reports so this doesn't seem unreasonable), but I know he may or may not. But that sort of diploma (obviously not "accredited"), plus SATs and professional-looking transcript written by me was my get-my-kids-into-college plan. :ph34r: So, in what situations WOULD you need an accredited diploma? If you are looking at ivy-league schools or something? What about if your child wants to go into Pre-med? Engineering? I don't want to accidentally "rule out" a bunch of options for my kids because we didn't get on the accredited diploma track.

Why or why not? :)

My oldest does these reversals. He also reverses individual letters and, in short, has a lot of other red-flags for dyslexia. He hasn't been formally diagnosed but I'm quite sure he's dyslexic. Technically, the numbers part might be "dyscalculia." You could google it. These are often a part of dyslexia (which presents in varying degrees, so even if your son is dyslexic, it may be mild).

I second looking at the Sonlight Core D and E selections. I have a shelf full of them and they look like great picks!

If he was driving me nuts like that I would probably enforce some activities: "OK, now it's time to listen to your audio stories. You can pick one of these and you are going to stay in here and listen to them for 1 hour until 4:30." Then I would switch him to a new activity like playing in his room. Get out one of his toys and set it up to give him an idea of where to start and say, "It's time to play in your room until 5:30." Or whatever... you get the idea. I used to have to do this when my boys were younger. Eventually they will accept it and entertain themselves. Glad your homeschooling is going well! I'm sure this is a transition you will work through. It's a big change!

Thanks everyone. I think I would be more ready for a long break if we weren't coming off of summer break already. I am truly shocked to find that since we are already a month later than I usually would start school, I am itching to get back to it!! What is wrong with me?! :huh: But I got some new stuff this year that I think the kids will like (Rosetta Stone Latin, etc), and we are going back to Sonlight and finally studying American History (Core D) which I think my boys (and I) will really enjoy. I will probably change my tune by week 2 (or hour 2 :glare:) but I hope not. I think I will try starting our "first day" tomorrow and we will just take it slow and might even day "Day 1" over two days if it's too much.

I think it does work. But it is NOT lively. :)

My ds 10 was cackling at McBroom's Wonderful One Acre Farm.

In first grade I think you can read books from the library. I used a lot of Usborne illustrated science encyclopedias. The kids loved them. There is SO much for a kid to learn about animals, weather, the ocean, etc, which they are usually more than happy to learn, you don't have to look far... or even use a formal curriculum. I say have fun at this age and let her explore. :)