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What if they beg to go back to PS?


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I would sit down and have a long talk with my child. Find out what appeals to her about public school and what she dislikes about being at home; see if any of it can be addressed without attending public school. In the end, though, you are the parent, and have the authority to do what you think is best for your child.

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I agree with the above post. Ask for sure what she misses, see if you accommodate that in a different way (inviting friends to visit on the weekend?)

 

But beyond that, you are the adult and can see the long-term issues here. She's just a kid and only sees the short term.

 

Lovingly stick with your original decision. You know what's best for the child.

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My kids don't get to make that decision. My dd is about to turn 15 and it's only now that I'd seriously consider her request if she wanted to go. She'd have to convince me, however. First off I'd make her read WTM (again; I've had her read chunks already) and maybe Gatto and probably Family Matters. Then I'd have her explain to me why she thinks it's best for her to be learning somewhere else.

 

Until the child reaches a certain maturity and can demonstrate comprehension of the issue, the parents make the decision.

 

Have you read Hold on to Your Kids by Neufeld? I think it would help keep you strong, esp if it's peer attachment that's the issue. The more they want to be with their peers, the more I think they need to be home. So I'd consider all the protesting as further evidence of how much they shouldn't be going back.

 

as always, ymmv :)

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Yep, get to the heart of the matter.

 

Our old homeschool group fell apart last year, and ds began asking to go back to school so he could see his "friends". Never mind the fact that those kids were mostly *acquaintances*, his concern was genuine.

 

So, I sucked it up and joined a new homeschool group/co-op, and we're planning to get him back into acting workshops. He's a happy little clam now! (Well, most of the time, lol.)

 

Just because he kept saying he wanted to go back to school didn't mean he actually wanted to go back to school. He was missing a certain element, and we're doing our best to fix that element.

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I would sit down and have a long talk with my child. Find out what appeals to her about public school and what she dislikes about being at home; see if any of it can be addressed without attending public school. In the end, though, you are the parent, and have the authority to do what you think is best for your child.

:iagree:

We've gone through this, albeit briefly. Diva loathes the thought of being back in school. We pointed out the 'fun stuff' that she gets to do that ps kids don't...she gets to work til she's done, and then have the rest of the day off. We can spend all afternoon on art if we want (providing that she gets her other work done). We can spend several afternoons a week at the science centre, or go to the observatory til late at night, sleep in the next am. Too many benefits to hs, and too many negatives to ps (bullying, boredom being the top 2).

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That's the only reason my oldest ds would want to go back to gov't school is because of "friends", who like another poster said, are more of aquaintences anyway. With my boy though, we DO go to an awesome HS group and he get's to see friends many times per week. He has MANY social outtings and he STILL wants to go to "school" to be with the kids. Also like a pp said, all the more reason to keep him home :).

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DO you or another like minded mom have the time to set up homeschool volleyball team? Two groups here in our area set up homeschool sports team. They play against public and private schools. You can google homeschool sports, homeschool football, homeschool soccer and it should pull up different groups who are making that happen. ANd they will be more than willing to share how they got that started. I know around here the mom simply sent out letters to all the support groups askign people to email her with interest and then she sent out another saying meet here at this place for the first meeting. She worked things out with a local rec area and negotiated the price and insurance so they could have high school soccer.

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I think that most kids at some time think that they would like to go to ps. I think that it's 'the grass is always greener on the other side' issue. Another thing that I think is important is to make sure that our kids understand why we homeschool them. A friend's daughter (age 27) just told her mom that she doesn't think that she will homeschool her kids, and then she asked, "Why did you homeschool us anyway?"

 

Then, like the other posters have said, I would have your child specify why she wants to go to school and look for options within the homeschooling community. But like other posters have said, the parents have the final say. Hopefully, by listening to her and doing your best to help her meet her goals, she will feel respected by you and your relationship will grow.

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