Does anyone do different schooling options for different kids

[MistyMountain]

I am no longer homeschooling my oldest dd. She got into a classical like charter that is academically rigorous and a good fit for her. So far she is doing good there. I am still afterschooling her and want to have a big part of her education but for the time being I am not homeschooling.

 

I am still working with my younger two and teaching them stuff and enjoy it. I am a little worried that dd's charter may not be a good fit for ds. They sit in desks a lot and he is very wiggly and has focus issues. They have high standards for behavior which is good for dd but I worry about ds. There are other charters and the local school to consider but I am not crazy about the local school's curriculum and I don't really want to have to deal with pick ups and drop off at 2 different schools. DS's school will be farther away. DD's is less than a mile away. I am considering homeschooling him as an option. I do like a lot of aspects of homeschooling and I did enjoy it when I was trialing it for dd not thinking she would get into the charter she did. I am used to teaching my kids now even though dd is in school now I still work with her. My youngest is only 2 and I don't know what will be the best option for her.

 

How many people have some of their kids in public school and some at home? Are the kids OK with that? Have they expressed disappointment either over not being at home or not in school? How have you talked about it with them so none of them feel bad.

[chiguirre]

GW goes to a private school and always has. Geezle and Trinqueta don't mind because the school is meant for kids with severe autism. GW doesn't mind that G and T stay home because he likes going to school. Other than the commute, I really like this solution for our family. Everyone gets the education they need and I have a manageable workload. There is no way that I could teach GW at home and even coordinating in-home therapy would add a lot of stress to my day.

[Pawz4me]

My oldest chose to go back to public school for high school beginning when he was a freshman. That was after four years of being homeschooled. He's now a junior and doing great. Youngest has been homeschooled since second grade, is in eighth grade now and at this point believes he wants to continue homeschooling through high school. I'm a firm believer in doing what's right for each individual child, and in giving them the final decision when they're older.

[Dory]

My older three brothers went to public school and my younger three siblings homeschooled all the way through. I did grades 1,2,5, and 6 at a Christian school. It bothered me a little, but my younger three siblings were completely happy with it. I

[JFSinIL]

I have four kids. Two are now in college, one is aging out of SPED this spring, and another is a sophomore in public high school.

 

Homeschooled all four at one time or another. One of the twins 4.5 years: second half of 3rd grade, 4,5,6, he tried middle school - his request - he came back home for 8th ;-) I put him in high school - mostly Honors and AP - as it was the right thing for him.

 

His fraternal twin was only home the one year I had all four home at once - his special needs dominated our day at the expense of the other kids. I did get him started with actually learning to read - Reading Reflex!!! - and we are still after schooling reading to this day.

 

DD1 came home halfway through first grade. Was home 2,3,4 - I finally had to put her into 5th grade - with the strictest teacher at the local school - a few weeks into 5th grade. We get along so much better with a daily break from each other - she is my obstinate, mildly bi-polar kid. She just made the Dean's list her first semester of college, so it is working out, I did not ruin her by tossing her back too soon ;-)

 

Youngest was home K,1,2 - then I had her up to speed and the public school had a former reading specialist as a teacher so we put dd2 in her classroom to repeat 2nd (she could have possibly done 3rd, but we felt the benefit of Reading Teacher out-weighed sticking with age-mates. DD2 had been diagnosed with the same diagnosis as her older brother - but we caught it much sooner with her, knew how to treat it - and now she is in Honors/AP in high school. I also homeschooled her 4th and half of 5th grade (finishing off the 5th grade year and summer with 6th grade material!) and did a combo of 6th and 7th grade materials in what would have been 6th grade year. She went into middle school (my social butterfly was lonely at home) and thanks to our recent homeschooling she went into pre-Algebra a year ahead of other kids in her grade, and into Advanced English.

 

( I have ( lost) track () of all the ( ) marks in the above (paragraph) and give up trying to (Figure) it out. :-)Whether or not each kid stayed at home or went to school depended each year on the needs of the kid and the offering of the local school vs. what I could do for them. I think homeschooling the grammar years to get the reading etc. down solid is most important - and most fun! I enjoyed mummifying that chicken! Making those paper mache Egyptian masks! Covering our walls with history timelines! Taking a WEEK off between Thanksgiving and Christmas to simply do seasonal arts and crafts and homemade gifts for relatives with the kids one year! We even dipped candles and made soap!

[TheReader]

I take a "what is best for each kid, each year" approach. So, this year, I have a highschool freshman using an on-line distance learning program, a middle schooler using part of the same on-line distance learning program and doing his other studies in a more traditional home school setting, and the youngest who is mainly doing at-home therapies to remediate a slew of things we just put a name to recently. School for each of them will look vastly different from here on out, including whatever homeschool material I use with the youngest -- already he is using a different math than his older brothers used, will use different language/reading programs than they used, and I teach him in a vastly different manner, besides adding in all the therapy stuff.

 

Each one is getting exactly what he needs, though, which is the beauty of taking charge of your child's or children's education.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I'm homeschooling my older and my 6 yo first grader is at school. I have very, very mixed feelings about it. When I started homeschooling Miss P, Mo had just started Kinder and loved it, and had no desire to come home. This was just as well, as I couldn't have managed it with her - I work part time as a consultant, and on occaision have to do work out in the field, or go to meetings. Miss P can come with me out in the field without interfereing with my productivitiy, and she can stay home alone for short stretches if I have a meeting I can't take her to. Mo can do neither.

 

This year has been a lot harder: Mo has had a hard time adjusting to her new teacher, and has said that she wants to homeschool. I still have the above constraints, so it really isn't possible at the moment. It's also the case that I do see some benefits to having her in school right now - she is making friends, learning social skills, and learning how to get along in an environment outside her family. These are things that would be harder for me to provide for her than for her sister, who has good friends in town, and strong interests in extra-curricular areas (theater and horseback riding) that give her plenty of opportunities to socialize.

 

We'll take it year by year. If and when Mo wants to homeschool, and I feel I can provide her the best education along with meeting all my other obligations - chiefly to help pay the mortgage - I will do it. That mostly will require her to get a little older and/or develop the ability to stay home with her sister, or come out in the field with me. So maybe next year, maybe 3rd grade.

 

I also believe that you have to make the choice that's right for each kid, where they are now, and that this can change over time. One of my parenting mantras, that I've been repeating to my girls their whole lives, is that "Fair" doesn't mean everyone gets the same thing. "Fair" means that everyone gets what they need. I'll do my best to provide each of my girls with what they need, along with providing my family what it needs, whatever that looks like.

[lauracolumbus]

I started homeschooling ds after 3d grade at a Catholic school because the homework load was too much for him. DD spent about 6 weeks in 2d grade and decided she wanted to join ds b/c we were having so much fun. Ds decided (with very mixed feelings) to go to a rigorous Catholic high school as a freshman. It's ironic b/c he rarely has free time b/c he has so much homework. But it's where he wants to be. I had mixed feelings when he went, but see the enormous growth in him as far as his responisbility and work ethic go.

 

DD13 is still homeschooled in 7th grade and would prefer to be hs'ed through high school, but b/c of the sport she loves (volleyball), she should really go to high school. We have the part time option, and that's what we'll probably do for her. DD9 has always been homeschooled and is a tad bit curious about school--not enough to want to go though. I wish I could give her the recess/school bus experience and be done w/her curiousity--park play dates just aren't the same.

 

Like a pp mentioned, for me the biggest drawback is the commute and the commitment to a school schedule. I hate when my alarm goes off at 6:20 to get my ds up and ready for school. And then I have to stop what I'm doing to pick him up. And of course fall vacations, etc., are a thing of the past.

 

Laura

[Unicorn.]

I have one in high school at the ps, who went to private school for his 8th grade year. He needed to be taught by someone other than me, and I felt he needed a transition between homeschooling and ps. It was very small; 19 students, in a combined class of 7/8 th graders. One of my twins is in 8th grade at the ps, and the other one is home w/ me. The one at ps is extremely social and also needed to be taught by someone other than me at this point. She has no problem making friends and jumping right in to new situations, so I didn't feel she needed to go to a small private school.

 

I think doing what's best for each individual child is always the right thing to do.

[Crimson Wife]

Oldest DD is jealous that her little sister "gets" to go to a classroom-based school. She is obviously not jealous of the autism but she does wish that the district offered a specialized program for GATE the way it does for autism. TBH, so do I.