Has anyone alternated between HS and PS intentionally?

[Crazyderiver]

In considering the best options for my oldest ds, I think 1-2 yrs of PS would be of great benefit to him right now. I obviously can't see the future, but I would foresee him being HSed again before possibly attending a public or private high school. Has anyone had a student that they placed in PS for a year or two and then back home and then back to PS? Do you have any advice? How to transition him? Looking back, was it a good or bad experience? I am feeling very insecure (probably some fear about trying to explain to my parents and fellow homeschoolers in our community) about my inclinations to alternate his education experiences. Someone please share their experience.

[Matryoshka]

I haven't, but I have a friend who pulls her kids out every few years and homeschools them for one year, then back in they go for a few years, and repeat. She seems happy with it.

[2squared]

I don't have this experience, but I am seriously considering putting my 5th grader in PS at the beginning of May. I think it would be good for both of us to see what PS is really, truly like. A month should be enough for both of us to get a taste of that world.

[NotSoObvious]

I'd do whatever is best for my child and family. Personally, I can't see hoping in and out of school because wherever my child is, I want to do everything in my power to make is a positive and successful experience.

However if your child is young, I could see putting him in for a year or two of elementary, hsing for jr high, then putting him back in for high school, so maybe that is what you are describing.

[myfunnybunch]

I'm inclined to say that it would be very difficult to make this work well.

 

What are your goals (general education goals), how would those goals be met by alternating hs/ps, and what are the benefits you anticipate?

 

Cat

[Crazyderiver]

Thanks for all the comments. I guess I need to think through my educational goals again. My gut reaction says that the PS is a better fit for him, but I don't know for sure unless I try it. He is a bright kid, but lacks any motivation. He flourishes at co-op and in his church Bible classes and I can't help but feel like I'm holding him back. Things I try to teach him and encourage him in......nothing. Then, three seconds with someone else at co-op and he is blowing me away with what he is capable of. I don't see any of this with dd, who has learned and progressed steadily with me at home. So that further makes me doubt if HS is the best environment for ds. But I plan to continue to HS dd.....is this all crazy? Has anyone else gone through something like this?

 

[North Coast School]

We have done this with our DD, who is in second grade. She HS'd preschool, public Kindy, HS first and is in public for second. We are in a funny situation in that we live in a VERY rural area with only one school, and lots and lots of homeschoolers. Our district allows HS'ers to participate in things like sports, art, reading support etc, and are happy to help HS families pick curriculum, check in with us, and help us navigate testing. So, even when she is HSing, she is in contact with the school, using the library, and keeping up with the basics of PS curriculum...plus staying in contact with her friends--which is the ONLY thing she cares about in school.

 

All that being said, DH and I realize that this is probably the last year that we can go back and forth with her. Whatever we choose for third grade, we'll stick with it until she is in junior high, which we will most likely HS. IMO, third grade is about the time to commit to HS or PS, and stick with it until JrHigh or HighSch.

 

For our family, we seem to have one homeschooler (DS) and one PS'er (DD). DS is a dream to homeschool. Easy, fun, interested. DD was a challenge to homeschool and justs seems to "fit" better at PS for now. She is happier, more confident, and better behaved at home. Her academics are not so great, but she is learning-delayed, so it was the same way at home.

 

Visit the school, chat with your son, discuss with you partner. You give up A LOT when you choose PS, especially when you have been HS'ing for a long time, but some kids just do better at traditional school. I am nearly the only HS'er I know that really believes that Public School CAN work in some situations, and IS sometimes for the best interest of the child. As for telling other people, only you know your kid well enough to make the decision, so forget abouy what other people say ad just make the best decision you can.

 

If you do decide to attend PS, the best thing you can do to get him ready is to visit the school and find out from the teachers what they are learning and where they are at. You have enough time left this school year to borrow some curriculum from the school and get him used to the type of learning he will be doing there. If you have been doing Classical Edu, it is VERY different than PS, so be prepared for that. DD did not follow TWTM for that very reason. The other thing to get ready for is TESTS. Multiple choice tests, spelling tests, math tests, standardized tests. It's definately the WORST thing about PS for our family. The emphasis on tests drives me batty. Also, you might want to work on his stamina for a long day. He will be wiped out the first few weeks as he adjusts to six hour days five days a week. My DD LOVES that part of school now, but it is a challenge those first few weeks out of HS.

 

GL!!

[DianeW88]

Well I guess I'll be the oddball and say I don't understand the reasoning behind doing this. I think it would be very disruptive for most kids. I agree on doing whatever is best for the individual kid. So if this is what is best ok. But I still don't understand under what circumstances this would be ideal.

 

Totally agree. We never considered PS (and my oldest two are now homeschool grads attending college), and I can't imagine any circumstance under which we would purposefully choose what we consider an inferior educational method. I'm not sure what benefit switching back and forth would be to the child. So my answer would be no.

[swellmomma]

My biggest concern with that, is for high schoolers, I know out here at least the credit issue for graduation would be messed up. For example, my kids are currently in grade 7 & 8 and are already earning high school credits (our credits in Alberta are different than what many of you discuss, no one cares what classes they have as long as they have 100 credit, and have Engl 30, social 30 and a few other requirements). Anyway, if they go back to ps or switch school boards at all between now and 10th grade (when high school starts here) they lose all the credits they have already earned. If they homeschool through 10th and then want to start 11th in ps, it is harder to prove they actually did cover the pre-reqs for the grade 11 courses. Especially because the main way many homeschoolers out here get their credits is doing an equivalent line of study and challenging the exam bypassing the alberta curriculum, AND things like for example my kids can write the grade 12 Biology diploma exam if they are homeschooling, without having done grade 11 biology because we will use a 1 year program that covers it all, rather than 2 programs of study the ps uses.

 

 

SO back to the concern, credits earned hs may be lost before they are properly entered with the gov't (they get earned now but can not be filed with the gov't until they are registered in 10th). As well students may have to redo topics they have studied and miss out on others, leaving more chance og gaps along the way in their studies.

 

Doing that in elementary school generally you have time along the way to fill gaps but not in high school. Personally I would plan to stick with one for the long haul but with the openness to reevaluate annually.

[Dmmetler]

I know one mom here who has done this because of specific grade levels/teachers in their local school. She pulled both her kids out, one at 6th, and one at 3rd, but put her youngest back in for 4th because the 4th grade teacher had been wonderful for her oldest, and she plans to pull him again at 5th, which failed for her older son, and then homeschool them both through middle school, deciding when the oldest reaches high school whether to put him back in or not.

 

I admit, if I had a 2nd (hypothetical), I'd seriously consider sending them to PS for K if the 2nd could have the same teacher DD had-because DD's teacher was wonderful, and it was a good experience for her.

 

FWIW, DD, who was, at 2nd grade, depressed about not going to a "Real" school (which was when we structured our homeschool more like a school), now gets anxious at any discussion of public school. She's apparently heard enough negatives now from her friends and teammates, mostly those 3rd-5th grade, to realize that she's got a good thing :).

[DragonFaerie]

My kids have been HS and to PS, and I make decisions each year based on what's best for each kiddo (hehe... had to use THAT word!). I never intended to HS DS, but the situation called for it when he was in 1st grade. When we moved back to GA in the middle of the school year, we put him back in the local PS (luckily, it's a decent school system). DD got sentimental for PS (she was in 2nd at the time), so we put her back in for the last half of that school year, too. By April, they were both ready to come home. I HS them for the next two years, and then in October of this school year, DD decided she wanted to try PS again. (She missed being around kids her own age and having different teachers, etc.). So, she went back to PS and is doing really, really well there. DS is currently in 4th, and I have toyed with the idea of putting him back in PS next year, but I don't think I will. He just seems to do better at home. Right now I am thinking he'll stay home at least until HS, and maybe even all the way through. I'll have to play that one by ear. As for DD, she can stay in PS as long as she wants but can also come home if she changes her mind. Now that I've typed all that out, I don't know if it really helps at all, but there it is. :D

[Crimson Wife]

I have run into a bunch of folks who HS for middle school only. They are okay with their zoned public elementary school and plan on private high school but need to HS for 6th-8th.

 

I will probably be putting my oldest into private high school when I bring my youngest home (who is currently in a special ed preschool).

[Mélie]

I admit, if I had a 2nd (hypothetical), I'd seriously consider sending them to PS for K if the 2nd could have the same teacher DD had-because DD's teacher was wonderful, and it was a good experience for her.

This is exactly what we're doing. :) Ds5 is loving kindergarten and might stay in school for 1st grade, but I think we'll be homeschooling most of the way. We don't plan to alternate, although public high school is a possibility.