How many have put their dc into or back into public schooling after homeschooling?

[Apiphobic]

We did it. After much discussion, hand-wringing, heartache, back-and-forth, and soul-searching, we put oldest dd back into public school. She'd gone to public K-4 and we homeschooled 5-10. It was hard to let her go. I feel like we've failed. I'd hoped to homeschool until high school graduation. There were many reasons we did this, but the most significant was her reaching the age and maturity level to let her decide for herself how to achieve her educational and life goals.

 

It's still early but so far she's enjoying it and seems to be doing well. I'm not thrilled with the school here. I think sports comes before academics, unfortunately, so I'm worried she's not being challenged enough. But we're still doing some afterschooling, so I hope that will help. She also has a couple of teachers and classes that she really likes. And I keep telling myself that she is learning other valuable lessons that will help her in life. Parking with the flow of traffic and not against is a valuable lesson, right? (That was said tongue-in-cheek. :tongue_smilie:) (Even though the smilie's tongue is not in-cheek.)

 

No, really, I think her theater, debate and English classes have her thrilled to pieces. And even though she's not tickled pink with her math and science classes, I think she's seeing that the homeschooling has paid off because she's usually the first one done with her work and others ask her for help (or just for the answers -- she hates that). I'm still waiting to see if she'll want to transfer to the next level if it continues to be too slow. That's not to say that the instruction is terribly rigorous and she's floating through (although, of course, there's a part of me that would love to believe this). I've mentioned before that I'm not happy with this school. We couldn't choose which school she could attend, but we decided to go ahead with it. We're moving next year and I hear the school system is much better there. That seems to be my "light at the end of the tunnel" focus right now.

 

Anyway, having taken the plunge (albeit in another pool entirely), I'm curious to hear how things have gone for others. Are you glad or are you regretting it? A little of both? What would you have done differently, knowing now what you didn't know then?

 

Do your dc feel the same way about it? Are they glad or do/did they regret it? A little of both? What do/did they miss most? What do/did they like most? How has it changed the dynamics at home?

 

My 8th graders are discussing the possibility of starting public school next year. Of course, right now my heart is saying no and my head is trying to reason with it. Part of it may be that I think my oldest is more independent and maybe a little bit stronger emotionally than my twins. That might be my skewed Mommy vision though. You know how your child still looks so young and small until you have another little one? Then s/he looks so much bigger when you look at the smaller one.

 

Thanks for listening,

Edited September 6, 2009 by Apiphobic
punctuation

[Paz]

My ds went back in 8th grade and my dd will homeschool to the end. I let both of them decide. We had just moved to a new area and ds was having trouble finding friends. He is very social and really wanted to go to ps. Overall I was pleased with his experience. He was able to take advanced classes and most of his teachers were excellent and very committed. He challenged himself in ps much more than in homeschool. He took dual enrollement the last semester of his senior year which was good for him. (He could have also done this as a homeschooler, though.) I do think that even though he has a strong personality he was influenced a bit by his peers and made a few dumb decisions along the way. I am not convinced that this would have been different if he had still been a homeschooler. He had a difficult junior year because of a sports injury and some other drama but was able to work hard and keep up his gpa. He got into every school that he applied to and was awarded scholarships based on gpa and test scores.

 

My dd has decided to homeschool through high school. This is the best decision for her and she is excelling at home.

[iluvmy4blessings]

I put my daughter in public school for 5th,6th and 7th grade. It did not work out for us. The boys were after her in droves. My daughter was gravitating the wrong direction and could not rise above the influence. I think it depends on the personality of the child and if they can handle the pressure. It was nonstop with the boys. They were after her, texting her, calling the house, even coming TO my house. I felt like I needed boy repellant to get them away from her. My daughter had a myspace and a cell phone and I was beyond shocked at some of the things boys were proposing to do with her. I deleted the myspace and no longer allow her to even be on the internet unless I'm sitting right next to her. The cell phone is gone. My daughter will never set foot inside of a school buidling after my experience. Unfortunately I don't think she has the ability to withstand the pressure of the "wrong crowd". I went to public school, though, and I was able to rise above it. So I think some kids can, and some can't. I hope it works out for you!

[Dooley]

We put our oldest in ps when her behaviour was so bad in our home, it made our second dd sick. In and out of the ER sick. After the initial shock, she loved it, did drugs, got her GPA lowered and made some really bad friends. She is gifted academically, so this was a bit let down. She started college a few weeks ago and may be coming to her senses a bit. She was very, VERY worldly inclined.

 

I let our second dd try ps her freshman year. She hated it, she received straight A's, but she even said that they were based on learning only a few chapters in a book, there was so much talking, sleeping, simulated s*x, texting, going on in the classroom,the teacher could not do much I guess. She would have learned more here. She could not wait to come home and had a renewed gratitude for homeschooling. Now we are in a great co-op and she has a goal of finishing 10th grade in 6 months.

 

Unless things change drastically in the ps system, I think my last two will stay home...

[Home'scool]

This is our first year back after homeschooling for 8 years. My oldest is in 10th and my youngest is in 8th.

 

So far it has been a great experience.

 

For my youngest: they bumped her up to 8th grade when she is supposed to be in 7th. After I showed them our academic records and they met her they had no problem putting her into a grade higher. All the friends she made through town sports are there so she knows a ton of kids already.

 

My oldest basically had the red carpet rolled out for her. She had done 2 online AP classes as a freshman (she got A's in both classes and 4's on the AP exam), so when we enrolled her the school allowed her to choose whichever class she wanted regardless of grade or AP level (usually only juniors and seniors are allowed to take APs) They even said they would allow dual enrollment at a CC when she was a senior if she wanted higher level classes. She is taking a class called Mock Trial that has a courtroom/debate curriculum and they compete with other schools in the state. She is taking AP Chem and AP US History. She is in honors level for everything else. They even put her in Honors French even though she had not taken French since 7th grade. I guess her 4 years of Latin, 2 years of Italian and 1 year of Greek in addition to the French made them okay with it all. The class is taught completely in French which she loves.

 

I love it because I could not create the same thing at home. I can not speak French. I could not find a live AP Chem lab that she could do in a group. I could not find a debate club that competed state wide.

 

The guidance counselors have been great -- very encouraging. Both girls are looking forward to joining the Drama club, and my youngest may do Volleyball.

 

For us it has been a positive experience. It think it all depends on the schools and the leadership there. I think it also helped that we have always done a very rigorous academic path and I kept records of everything.

[Crissy]

Public school has been fabulous for our older son.

We didn't jump right in, rather he began taking just two classes a year (math and science) in 7th grade. That continued until the second semester of ninth grade when he enrolled full time.

He is a sophomore at the high school this year and I am pleased with his first week. He likes his classes and his teachers, and enjoys being the 'smart kid'.

 

Last year we made a point of getting to know the principal and his family (great people!) so we (Jeffrey included) would feel as if our concerns would be heard should we have any.

 

We still afterschool a couple of subjects (Latin and logic for now, rhetoric later) and he still has time to do his volunteer work. In addition to his regular hours at the public library, he has been asked to join the Teen Advisory Board and the Teen Book Club.

[mchel210]

My 3 gave PS a shot last year. 2 are still in PS one is homeschooling. My 13 yo, 8th grader, needs to be home. He is doing so much more work at home then he did in school and I can spend time to work on what he needs. My girls are both in PS but soon will be transferring to a private school. I cant handle it anymore. I would love to bring them home, but they love school. They love having friends and being in the groups. They really are doing a lot of wonderful things. I want them home since I know they can achieve so much more here with me...but my hubby is against it. He says it is too difficult for me with my son who has slight LD. He watches that it takes me all day alone with him to get his work done. He would rather me stay home alone with my son. It is a huge disagreement for me but my girls are doing great in school...I have to agree somewhat. I know I can still afterschool my girls and give them enrichment work...but my son needs to be home.

 

As much as I would love to have them all home, it is great homeschooling just one now. I really get Everything covered with him.

[Ottakee]

My 13dd will be starting school on Tuesday. She will be in a 7th grade program for kids with cognitive impairments. So far the school and special ed. director have been GREAT. They are very willing to give her a shorter day, use the reading program we were using here at home, etc.

 

She will get picked up at 8:25 and start school at 8:50. Then she will stay until about noon and come home. If all goes well, she might later in the year stay until 2:20.

 

We are planning homeschool for my 12dd this year and will continue to see year by year.

[Anne in CA]

When my step dd was 13 she really, really wanted to go to high school and we let her. As you are experiencing the school was not academically rigorous and she floated through the first couple years with no real effort. The next two years were a different story because she had gotten into the attitude that good grades would be handed to her.

 

I will not send my younger children to this school, but right now neither of them want to go so it's a non issue.

[Sue G in PA]

We put our 3 oldest in ps this year. Dd12 has been psed from K - 3rd and homeschooled from 4th through 7th. Ds11 was psed for K and 1st and homeschooled 2nd-5th. Ds9 had only been in a private PreK and is now at ps for 4th. The boys are loving it...soaking up the time away from their volatile younger brother (ds6) and meeting new friends (good kids, thank God). Dd12 is in 8th, doesn't like it as much as she thought and wants to come home. I'm having a tough time deciding what to do. I want her to come home, but don't want her to give up too soon. I'm having a tough time with them being in ps b/c I loathe most aspects of ps. But, we had to do what we had to do. My only fear is that once things calm down around here...they won't ever want to come home to be hsed again.

[Impish]

I dread the coming years as Diva grows up and wants more say. Right now, she tells anyone and everyone that she's hs'd and doesn't want to go back to ps. We pulled her mid grade 3, so this is our 3rd year of hsing. She's supposed to be in gr 6, but will be taking gr 9 science at home, earning her hs credit for it. We're considering English too. She wants to burn through 2 years of math this year, so that she can take gr 9 math next. We'll see. I've told her I'm completely willing to get her the proper materials, its all dependant on her willingness to work. I'm not worried one way or the other, if she starts getting hs credits now or when she's supposed to, 3 yr from now. I debate if I want her even getting a provincial diploma, or her just getting one from us...We'll see. I just figure if she's doing the work anyways, because she wants to, then why not get a credit for it?

[MIch elle]

It's been a great experience! It's TOUGH academically - much more than dh & I remember high school to be! But the schools in MA typically are better than most states, both public & private.

[LizzyBee]

My oldest went back to high school after homeschooling grades 3-8. Her school is a small public college-prep charter school. She is the type of learner that classrooms are designed for, and she is thriving in school.

 

My middle dd is still undecided whether to return to school for high school. I think she might do better at home because she has mild APD and dyslexia, and she's very introverted, but if she wants to try school, I won't tell her she can't, assuming she gets accepted to the same public charter. She was actually accepted for 8th grade, but we turned it down.

 

My youngest dd has more severe APD and dyslexia, but she's very social and extroverted. Her APD and reading are improving, but she's still significantly behind in writing. If we can get her skills up to grade level and she gets accepted to the public charter, I would send her to school. I won't put her in school while she is behind grade level, because she would be devastated to have to start school a grade or two behind her age-mates.

[Donovans4]

My dd will be starting as a freshman at the local high school on Tuesday after being homeschooled for grades 3 through 8. I am nervous, but she seems very excited. We met all her teachers last week, and I was impressed by 4 out of 6, and trying to reserve judgement on the other two. A girl at church today had my dd's world cultures teacher last year and said they watched the tv show "No Reservations" in class (which shocked me) and said the way to get a good grade was to bring in food for the teacher based on the countries/cultures they are studying. Ack! But, my dd has a lot of good friends at the school and they are all studious, good kids, so I am hopeful that she will have a good experience. The tough part, at least initially, will be making the 6:46am bus pickup, school starts at 7:30, which is way too early in my opinion!

 

LauraD in MN

[Karen in CO]

He wanted to go to high school with his friends. He loved the art, photography, foreign language and science class. I enrolled him again for 10th grade and after one semester I brought him back home for good. He wasn't being challenged, and he had quit eating lunch (again even though I thought we had worked through that the previous year). The big school was really just too much for him. He also wanted more challenging foreign language classes which were not available. He ended up taking Japanese plus other foreign languages, philosophy and lab science at the local cc and the rest of his classes at home.

 

In the end we had to find the right balance for him which is what we all are trying to do. If I had to do it all over again, I don't think I would have put in back in the ps. However, there are some newer charter schools that have opened that I would have put him in if they had been available. I have also found an great Early College high school that I plan to look at for the girls when the time comes.

 

I did put my older girl in a ps enrichment program to give her a wider circle of friends than she previously had. She loves it and it is a great fit for where we are now.

Edited September 6, 2009 by Karen in CO

[mazakaal]

Hey, Stacey. Haven't seen you on here much lately. I can't believe your oldest is 16yo already. Time sure does fly, huh?

 

I have no words of wisdom for you. My kids are all still homeschooled, but I am seriously considering putting my oldest into the school here. He doesn't want to go, but his attitudes are having a negative affect on the other kids, and I'm just not sure how much more of it I can take.

 

I hope you get some helpful responses from others. I just wanted to poke my head in and say, 'hi.':seeya:

[Doran]

I now have to call us "former" homeschoolers. Ours went to public school in '08 and returned this year as well. One is in 10th, the other in 7th. Though the oldest had attended public school for first grade, the youngest had only been homeschooled. Like you, I agonized over the decision and felt like a failure to my kids and, somehow, even to fellow homeschoolers. But, I have come to terms with those feelings and no longer beat myself up so badly. I still have regrets about the quality of their educations now (the school is not especially impressive, but not awful), and I worry about what they may be missing by spending so many hours a day in school. Then again, I used to worry about the quality of their educations when they were home (was I ever doing enough?), and about what they might be missing by spending so many hours a day at home. :lol:

 

So far, school has been a mostly positive experience for our girls. The oldest is a natural student and learns easily. For a 15 year old, she has a solid self image and seems to truly enjoy both the social and academic aspects of being in school. I have seen no frightening changes to her behavior or personality since the transition a year ago. The youngest, otoh, is not a natural student (at least, not in the way that schools expect) which makes learning more difficult for her, although she did manage to get straight As on her last report card. Personality-wise, I could see her being persuaded to walk down a wayward path or several by the time she's in high school, so I'm still holding my breath a little over her. Middle school is brutal, in many ways, especially when it comes to maintaining one's self esteem and integrity, so I'm especially sensitive to that issue for our youngest. If the situation devolves, we will definitely consider bringing her home again, at least until she's past the middle school years. But, for now, public school is working well for all of us.

 

Oh, and one more bit of info to share: I was, at first, inclined to try to afterschool, but I let go of that desire. A day of school and homework was quite enough for us. :glare:

[Apiphobic]

Thank you all for sharing. I've enjoyed hearing your stories.

I asked my dd to read them, too. It's good for discussion.

 

Hi, Megan! Yes, it is amazing how much time has passed.

It feels like I turned around for a second and five years have already gone by. Good luck with your ds! :Angel_anim: