Kids ever have a change of hs heart??

[Guest jenpsi]

My kids (ds9, dd10) have been in ps since K. Planned to pull them out this year (mostly) to ease our schedules, allow some flexibility to travel, and encourage family time. We had our first day of hs on Monday--and I must say it went very well!! Kids were eager and excited, but I realize this will likely wear off after a month or so!! DD went to a Girl Scout meeting that evening, found out she was placed in a class (school had not received our hs info) with ALL of her friends--great kids--great teacher--you get the picture! She is so upset that she won't see her friends on a daily basis. How important is this??!! We have her in GS with them and she swims with several of them a few afternoons a week. We are planning to do sleep-overs and such, but it is NOT the same as being in class with them day in and day out. Any ideas?? I realize my DH and I will make the ultimate decision (as WE are the adults here), but I am wondering if anyone else has dealt with this....and how did it go with your child? DD is really torn, wants to hs and travel, but really wants to be with her peeps at school, too. Any suggestions, or experience with this situation? (btw--DS still wants to hs) THANKS!!

[MusicMama]

After my kindergarten year, my parents decided to hs. I saw a brochure they left on the desk, and freaked out at what they were planning to do to me! My mom says after 4 months, I was very happy, and thanked her for pulling me out. She said that some of the more negative aspects started coming to light at that point. It just took me awhile to get over "the grass is greener" mentality. Now I am a happy homeschool grad, with Lo's of my own that I will be Hs. Sounds like you have a busy social schedule for her, just give her a year to adapt!

[Hedgehogs4]

i guess this begs the question of why you are homeschooling her. if you want her to be with her friends every day, then by all means, send her to school. but if you want her to be bonded to her family and getting a fantastic education, experiencing things that only you and your husband can provide, and giving all the love and emotional security a mom can give, no matter how great a teacher is...then keep her home.

 

the only "friends" i remember from 4th and 5th grade are people i now have no contact with whatsoever. family means more.

[redheadeddaughter]

and then I read "Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need To Matter More Than Peers" and it changed the way I looked at so many things with regard to parenting and homeschooling. The bottom line is no matter how sweet and mature these friends are, they are still young kids and time spent with you is far more valuable in shaping her character. You also have provided a seriously wonderful social schedule for her! But I completely understand wanting to take her desires into consideration. I think, in the long run, you & her will be so happy you made this decision!!!

[campmom]

Remind her that it really doesn't matter if they are in her class or not. Class time is not visit, play, and talk time. At some schools children are not even allowed to talk in the cafeteria! so in reality recess is the only time to really visit with those friends.

Also in my experience with friends of mine who have "lost" their children as they got older it was the "friends" who basically stole the children from their parents. I'm very thankful that I got my children out of that situation. I hope that make some sense.

[....]

Homeschooling is rough, so if you're going to do this, you've really gotta be convinced that what you're doing is best for your family. If you seriously feel like hsing is best for your daughter and son, then pull them out and don't look back. Your daughter will have plenty of time to hang out with her friends after school and at girl scouts. Your daughter can also make new friends at co-op, at enrichment classes and homeschool group (if you guys are going to do those things).

 

I would not leave the decision up to them. In fact, we did 2 yrs of ps at an "incredible school" and my kids were always very excited to start in August. After about 2 weeks, the novelty wore off, the kids were bored and tired and we were back to the "routine": my daughter going to the nurse's office during the day, my son asking to call in sick, everybody crabbing at me at 6:30am- telling me about how they don't feel like going...etc etc.

 

I would spend some time googling homeschool groups, co-ops and enrichment classes. Enrichment classes are awesome. My kids are taking several this semester and love them. We also have a homeschool theatre troop here and hs drama classes. One of my friends did a co-op where they went once a week for P.E, Music, Art and Drama. There's fun stuff out there - you just gotta browse around.

 

Good luck with your decision! :)

[michaeljenn]

Yes, mine have... I have homeschooled for 9 years. One of those years, they went to public school. All of my children loved school, thought it was fun, and loved seeing their friends!!

 

Then the next year they all decided they wanted to homeschool again. Of course there were times when my 11dd saw her old PS friends and asked to go back... it is an emotional thing! The moment fades and then the desire to go back fades. I would encourage you to build homeschool relationships. I would also encourage you to make it known that you will finish this year out homeschooling. There are just so many benefits to homeschooling. I am NOT anti public school either. In fact my oldest son is in Public School High School. He wanted to do to the IB program there.

 

Just this past week, my 11dd was invited to a party and saw all her PS friends and of course she asked to go back. I just told her, we'll discuss it later. Then, we went to a homeschool co-op, and when we got home I mentioned public school to her and she said she never wanted to go back because she loves homeschool!! LOL LOL Now, my 14dd had loads and loads of girl drama... ugh!! She loved school, but BEGS to be homeschooled all the way through!:lol:

 

Hope my ramblings help.

[TKDmom]

I pulled my dd out halfway through 2nd grade. She was excited to see the math manipulatives that I bought, but that wore off pretty quickly. The first six months were full of whining and complaining about missing her friends. It didn't help that she was still going to Girl Scout troop meetings at the school. We had to walk by all the kids lining up at the car loop after school, and dd would practically be in tears b/c she missed it. It wasn't like these girls were even all that nice to her. I watched some of their interactions during gs meetings, and even her best friend was pretty catty with dd at times.

 

She used to tell her brothers how much fun Kindergarten was, and try to get them to convince me to send them all back to school. It was really aggravating. I didn't take off enough time to de-school right after pulling her out of ps, and I ended up taking frequent breaks during those first several months to give us time to get used to being home together. Once I made a complete break with school activities, things were easier for her, too.

 

Last month I heard dd turn to her brother and say, "You would be soo bored if you were in first grade right now. I didn't learn anything in first grade except how to add that way [vertically]."

 

You could have knocked me over with a feather. Then this week, she started telling me reasons why she liked homeschooling better than ps. She told me that she used to think she would miss her friends, but she doesn't. She still plays with some of her friends after school, and it's enough for her.

Edited September 2, 2010 by bonniebeth4

[....]

Then this week, she started telling me reasons why she liked homeschooling better than ps.

 

My two oldest kids bring this up frequently. I was at an ATM the other day and my 7 yro broke out into a monologue about why he prefers homeschooling over public school. I also had another mom drive him home from scouts one day and she said he spent the entire time telling his friend "all about homeschooling" and "how much fun it is to do word searches in language arts". :glare: Kids are so funny.