HelenVN Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Hi. Since this is my first post I feel I must just intoduce myself. I am Helen and we live in Johannesburg South Africa. I have 2 kids - ds 12 and dd 9. DS was diagnosed with numerous learning disabilities and SID 2.5 years ago. He has been at a remedial school for the last 18 months and has made wonderful progress, so much so that the school is recommending that he can be mainstreamed at the end of the year. (Our academic year follows the calendar year). He will then be in Grade 7. I have been homeschooling DD for the last 18 months as well using a rather eclectic approach - a bit of Waldorf (we were at a Waldorf school until everything went pear shaped), some WTM, Singapore maths etc. I want to HS both the kids, but DH wants them to go to school. My thinking is that an online school like Laurel Springs will be a good compromise. Has anybody here had any experience with Laurel Springs for a child with learning challenges? DS's reading is ok, but slightly slow and still needs to sound out some words. Spelling is still a challenge for him, but it is constantly improving. The school says that he will need support for maths ... Any feedback will be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellers Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Hi. Since this is my first post I feel I must just intoduce myself. I am Helen and we live in Johannesburg South Africa. I have 2 kids - ds 12 and dd 9. DS was diagnosed with numerous learning disabilities and SID 2.5 years ago. He has been at a remedial school for the last 18 months and has made wonderful progress, so much so that the school is recommending that he can be mainstreamed at the end of the year. (Our academic year follows the calendar year). He will then be in Grade 7. I have been homeschooling DD for the last 18 months as well using a rather eclectic approach - a bit of Waldorf (we were at a Waldorf school until everything went pear shaped), some WTM, Singapore maths etc. I want to HS both the kids, but DH wants them to go to school. My thinking is that an online school like Laurel Springs will be a good compromise. Has anybody here had any experience with Laurel Springs for a child with learning challenges? DS's reading is ok, but slightly slow and still needs to sound out some words. Spelling is still a challenge for him, but it is constantly improving. The school says that he will need support for maths ... Any feedback will be appreciated. I don't have any experience with LS. Have you looked at American School or Keystone? You could also do something like NARHS. Your DS would earn a regionally accredited high school diploma but you would be able to choose the curriculum, as long as it's on their list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelenVN Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 Thanks - I had a look at all the websites. I didn't know about NARHS and it is an interesting option - American school is very reasonably priced and will be good to remember for high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogMom5 Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Since you've used a Waldorf style, maybe Oak Meadow would be a good fit. It's Waldorf like, though not considered a true Waldorf school. The high school classes are very good and contain a lot of discussion/explain your answer type of material. They also have some really fun electives. Imho, they are a school that balances enough traditional coursework and rigor with slightly unique and interesting classes. http://www.oakmeadow.com HTH Denise P.S. Welcome to the WTM boards. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelenVN Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 Thanks - I have looked at Oak Meadow. Unfortunately our family was very badly treated by our local Waldorf school. I am able to separate the Waldorf philosophy from our experience, but my DH and especially my DS wants absolutely nothing to do with Waldorf - I can't even read a verse to my son that sounds remotely Waldorf. My daughter doesn't mind - she was too young to understand what was happening. So DD and I have been doing a bit of Waldorf in our HS, but DH would always view it with a raised eyebrow. I actually mentioned Oak Meadow to him yesterday and he just said "forget it". In initial discussions with Laurel Springs they said that they customise the child's curriculum and they do a whole learning styles assessment - anybody been there, done that, got the T-shirt? Is it really as good as it sounds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellers Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Have you looked at Calvert? Calvert goes from K-8. Keystone School has a junior high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 I haven't used Laurel Springs, but I can give you some thoughts anyway. I was a teacher and now I homeschool my girls, one of whom has some learning delays (developmental delays, dyspraxia, ADHD). She struggles with language and math. I've spent a lot of time looking at online options for both of my girls because they have such different needs. If we continue to homeschool, sometimes I think it would be easier having one in a program that I just helped with and didn't have to create. Laurel Springs is the most appealing for a variety of reasons. They offer all grades, which means they see their students through the entire spectrum and hopefully have a more holistic approach to education. They offer three different options and having a school that offers a project approach is very progressive. They are extremely affordable compared to other programs. They also seem to really have their stuff together. There is a lot of info on their website and I was able to get all my questions answered. This gives me confidence that their schooling would be organized and efficient. They also have a proven track record and I appreciated seeing the list of colleges their students have attended. With that said, I still have a child with special needs. She can access content several years higher than her ability, but would be unable to complete typical writing assignments without significant help. So, that would be my first question for someone at LS. If my child were in a PS, she would be on an IEP and receiving accommodations for assignments. I would want to know how they manage that and what their expectations are. Can students work behind grade level in certain subjects? I do notice that they have an add-on writing/spelling class. I wonder if that is there for students who struggle, as extra help. That would be a plus in my eyes. One drawback to using any type of umbrella school is that you become bound to their schedule. Maybe this isn't a big deal to you, but it would be huge to us because one of the benefits of homeschooling is that it allows us to travel a lot when other schools are in session. LS also requires students to be available for live sessions, again tying you to a very strict schedule. This wouldn't work for us right now, nor do I think it would be necessary. However, for middle school and high school, when the work load significantly increases, this may be something you look at as a benefit. Another thing to think about is the fact that you would be less engaged in your child's learning than if you were doing the teaching. This isn't to say you can't be right there with him, actively involved, you would just have to make that extra effort. One of the things I love about homeschooling is that I get excited planning lessons and looking for resources. Our whole family is learning together, especially in history, and we can plan family outings and vacations around specific things we've studied. This has been a HUGE benefit to homeschooling and it is why my kids are learning so much more than they would in PS. We weave content into our lives and I know exactly what my kids are learning and what they are struggling with. I can pinpoint areas of weakness and focus on them, rather than spending a lot of time doing assignments that don't necessarily provide a huge benefit. I'm not sure what schools are like where you are, but you might consider keeping your child in school and just being a bigger advocate and having a stronger presence in the school, if he can be successful in a regular classroom. I just am not confident you are going to get the benefit you are looking for with a SN child from an online school. Just really weigh your options and make sure you aren't trading one set of problems for a new set. I'd also hook up with a local homeschooling group ASAP and have your husband tag along. Sometimes husbands take a little prodding to get on the homeschool bandwagon. :) We've all BTDT. Good luck and good for you for wanting to do right by your kids! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Also, here are some links to other reviews: http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/reviews/curriculum/reviews.aspx?id=135 http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=302208 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelenVN Posted September 4, 2012 Author Share Posted September 4, 2012 natnclay - Thanks for the reply - I can see that you have been round this block and we have both considered the same issues. My biggest bug bear is that if the kids sign up with LS, we will have to give up a lot of our HS. The fun and excitement of finding something new and just trying it for today. At the same time, I am rather nervous about bringing my boy home as such. He is a high needs child and going into puberty is an added challenge. Then still to find material that will work with him - DH will hit the roof if we do flounder. We are part of a homeschooling group (2 of the families do have kids signed up with LS). It doesn't really seem to float DH's boat. He works for a bit corporate and there is a great elitist element there as far as the kids education go. I can only imagine the conversations at work - first his son is at a remedial school and then being home-schooled while everybody else have their kids at the posh schools. He also travels a lot so he doesn't have a lot of time to get involved with the kids schooling... I will just have to whittle away at him. As far as keeping one child in school and having one at home - We have done that for 18 months and it is very difficult. My son feels very hard done by - he has to go to school and his sister is at home. We go on an outing and he has to go to school. For me it is very much a case of both at home or both at school. Public schooling in our nick of the woods is problematic. To give you an example - in one province of our country, by the middle of the school year the education department had not managed to deliver text books to the schools - the text book were sitting in a warehouse in Johannesburg, but they could not get their ducks in a row to get them to the schools. There are some functioning public schools, but I would not want to send DD to one of them, let alone DS. Officially we have an inclusive education policy, but in practise it is no more than a constitutional mention. The child will be included in the class but there are no services. There are various private school options. Some of them will not except a child that has been to a remedial school. Some of them offer excellent support. Fees are high (IMHO) - doing a quick conversion it will be about $14,000 p.a. All these private schools also require a substantial deposit of around the rand equivalent of $7,000. This may or may not be refundable. On top of that there is uniforms and books etc. My fear is that we send DS and DD, so costs X2, and after 3 months they hate it and we take them out - it could turn out to be very expensive. I would still have to advocate for DS and that whole scenario of trying to sort out academic and social issues via remote control - personally I would rather opt for a hole in the head! From my side I now feel that we should just give LS a bash. If it works it will be great, if it doesn't we just cut our losses. I just need to convince DH... Everybody has been most helpful and the links have helped to get a feel for what else is out there. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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