Should I bring my kid home right away?

[Stellalarella]

Well, I guess I can just say what so many of said already. But I really just want to give you a hug and let you know that you are supported. It is a gift that you have a little boy who has a heart for learning.

 

I have a boy who turned 6 in October. He's working a couple grades above K. He asks questions all the time. He is constantly moving.

 

Set him in a class of 24 other kids and his teacher would be crying. It would be the teacher calling me, begging me to homeschool him....

 

Well, hugs to you, OP as you make your decision in the coming days.

[claluck]

I can say 5 of my kids have done public pre K at least and they have all LOVED it. My 4 boys have been through kindergarten and all have been above grade level at the time. They just love the social aspect of it. Right now my twins who turned 6 in October are in public school kindergarten (my husbands insistence). They love it. It is more playtime for them with a slight learning bend. That's how I view it. If they hated it, I would probably bring them home. They know they will be homeschooled from second grade on maybe first grade depending on situations. That's just what we do. They look forward to it, but don't beg for it. My husband came home last night and told me they are putting the twins in a special group with another little boy. (My husband works at the school as a speech pathologist) Apparently the other little boy is way above and bored out of his mind and causing trouble. My twins are advanced as well but know how to behave and deal. They are the only ones in the class at or near this boys level so they want to pull the three of them to do science projects and more fun learning that will challenge them. Just telling this story to show how different kids deal with different situations. The other little boy has a totally different personality than my guys. They were on the same soccer team so I know him well. He is a firecracker to say the least and I can see how school could be a struggle for him.

 

As for parenting stuff I second the "Raising your Spirited Child" recommendation. It taught me so much about ALL my kids, and my husband, and myself. Just to see how different personalities work together or clash at times and to try and understand how to relate to each member a bit better.

 

As for transitions and other parenting, we use alot of the "Love and Logic" approach in our house (though not all) and they have some great info on giving children reasonable choices so they feel in control while still being within a range of acceptable choices. For example when we should be leaving soon, if I am almost ready I will say "Hey we need to go soon, do you want to leave now or in 10 minutes." They usually say in 10 minutes though I have had them say once or twice that they want to leave now. It does better to give them that open to try and finish up what they are doing. At the end of ten minutes remind them they made that choice and so it's time to go. I agree as well to recognize they are busy or working on something but that other things need to be done as well.

 

Christina

[SarahW]

So, yeah, between you guys and my husband, I guess we'll be pulling him out.

 

Haven't picked a firm "end" date yet. We didn't actually meet with the teacher today. Husband and I had to go both go to the clinic this morning, and since it was a 1/2 day today anyways we kept kid with us. My husband just has some lingering health issues. As for me, I'm 2 months pregnant, and having nearly every side effect you could possibly think of. So that weighs heavily into this whole decision. Dh says he's more than willing to do some of the schooling, but the only previous "homeschooling" he's done is 100 EZ lessons, and that's scripted. A lot of the stuff I'm looking at isn't scripted, mostly just because those type of things tend to be more expensive and I don't feel the need for them. Plus, DH has dyscalculia, so....I'm not sure how things would get on in the math area with the two of them.

 

Husband and I will sit down with kid later today (when we're all feeling better) and see where's he's at exactly. Since he's very resistant to sudden change he may be in favor of having a firm future date to work with and get used to, and have the time to say goodbye to his friends and teacher.

 

I need to go buy some notebooks. And a good pencil sharpener. And I think kid would like a sticker chart too. Here goes my adventure ! :gnorsi:

[North Coast School]

I pulled my DS from Kindy last month. Don't hesitate. HS'ing Kindy is so fun! Science experiments every day is great!

 

Oh, and this was the process for pulling him out: "Oh, BTW, my son won't be in school aymore. I am homeschooling him now." Then I signed a paper that said I know the diffrenece between homeschool and PS. That was it.

[claluck]

When is your spring break. That seems like a good stopping point. He can PS til then, and then after that stay home?

[PeterPan]

So, yeah, between you guys and my husband, I guess we'll be pulling him out.

 

Haven't picked a firm "end" date yet. We didn't actually meet with the teacher today. Husband and I had to go both go to the clinic this morning, and since it was a 1/2 day today anyways we kept kid with us. My husband just has some lingering health issues. As for me, I'm 2 months pregnant, and having nearly every side effect you could possibly think of. So that weighs heavily into this whole decision. Dh says he's more than willing to do some of the schooling, but the only previous "homeschooling" he's done is 100 EZ lessons, and that's scripted. A lot of the stuff I'm looking at isn't scripted, mostly just because those type of things tend to be more expensive and I don't feel the need for them. Plus, DH has dyscalculia, so....I'm not sure how things would get on in the math area with the two of them.

 

Husband and I will sit down with kid later today (when we're all feeling better) and see where's he's at exactly. Since he's very resistant to sudden change he may be in favor of having a firm future date to work with and get used to, and have the time to say goodbye to his friends and teacher.

 

I need to go buy some notebooks. And a good pencil sharpener. And I think kid would like a sticker chart too. Here goes my adventure ! :gnorsi:

 

Congrats on your decision to bring him home! If I could suggest, I'd make getting some help on the 2E thing more important than academics right now. You can do library trips and get a math workbook (or better Family Math, which is activity-base) and be fine on his schoolwork. You need a ped visit to get a spectrum and EF screening, and then it takes 1-4 months typically to get into a neuropsychologist. Homeschooling with unidentified SN is NOT fun and you want these things sorted out.

[Lecka]

Ftr my son is in public school but I after school.

 

His unhappiness is a red flag and at minimum I think you need to talk to his teacher and try to figure out what is going on.

 

I don't think it is a good thing, he is way too young to say "oh kids, saying they don't want to go." That is not really the age he is at.

 

I think, if you don't want to invest in doing that, do pull him. If you are not going to pull him, investigate and speak with his teacher.

 

He is a little kid still, he is not able to fix things for himself, and his teacher may not realize it is an issue -- she may be able to pinpoint something with one conversation, who knows.

[Mom2OandE]

Last year my dc were in ps. After a meeting with ds's Ieper team I wanted to walk to his room, check him out and never return. I didnt because I didnt feel I was q unite ready curriculum wise. Looking back I totally regret not going with my gutt. I wish I would have brought him home and just let him de-school a while.

[SarahW]

Ftr my son is in public school but I after school.

 

His unhappiness is a red flag and at minimum I think you need to talk to his teacher and try to figure out what is going on.

 

I don't think it is a good thing, he is way too young to say "oh kids, saying they don't want to go." That is not really the age he is at.

 

I think, if you don't want to invest in doing that, do pull him. If you are not going to pull him, investigate and speak with his teacher.

 

He is a little kid still, he is not able to fix things for himself, and his teacher may not realize it is an issue -- she may be able to pinpoint something with one conversation, who knows.

 

Thanks! I should have realized that asking "should I homeschool??" on a board populated with 95% homeschoolers would garner a certain response (doh!). It's nice to hear from a public schooler. He had attachment issues, so originally we and his teacher thought his unhappiness was just that. But he's gotten better on the attachment angle, but still hates school. The other night when we talked to him he said he hated learning :crying: . Hates learning? He's the one who picks a pile of kids science DVD's at the library every week!

 

He makes me scratch my head. And apparently his teacher has already moved him to the desk closest to hers, so I suspect she's at her wits end too. So I think that right now the best thing is to pull him. But, I know that his teacher will be really sad to see him go. And us too, she's Catholic, so we sometimes end our P/T conferences with "we'll pray for you. Me too." Ack, we'd lose that in a few months anyways, but it still feels tough.

 

 

 

Your kid is in K? That would mean you'd start math right at the beginning. I say, it would be great for your husband to do the math lessons! I was diagnosed with dyscalculia too, but starting from scratch with Singapore Math and the Home Instructor's Guide has really helped me gain an understanding of elementary level math! You may be surprised what your husband can learn along with your child, given the right curriculum and him being in charge of the learning process.

 

Well, he is somewhat advanced in math, but my plan at the moment is to start him at MEP Y1, which I think will be good for kid, not so sure about my husband! If I understand dyscalulia right, it's like dyslexia in that you can learn to manage it, but it never just "goes away." DH is very interested in "learning math this time" so...maybe I should print out a set of worksheets for him too? :laugh:

[MistyMountain]

I'm an afterschooler right now. My 6 year old is going to a charter school for kindergarten. She is well above grade level in reading right now but not in math. She is learning stuff she knows already with reading and she does have trouble focusing and completing things. She on other other hand enjoys going to school and is happy there. She has kids in her class she likes. She isn't an outgoing child but she does talk to kids in her class and they say hi to her and are friendly to her.

 

If she was severely unhappy and hiding under a desk all day I would probably either pull her from school or try to figure out what was going on by talking to the teacher and possibly looking into an evaluation done if I felt it was warrented. I worry the charter school will not work for ds because he is very unfocused, active and I am guessing he will be quite above grade level by the time he goes to kindergarten at 6. Time will tell. I will start him there and if it doesn't work out homeschooling would be a strong possibility. I enjoy working with my kids and teaching them things. Even though dd goes to school I also take time to work on things with her.

[Hunter]

I haven't read the whole thread. I'm on information overload. How about you? :lol:

 

You have the right to be "wrong" and do it anyway. You have the right to change your mind. You don't have to explain/defend yourself to anyone, not even the teacher, or anyone here.

 

Just do what YOU want. "Less is more" when explaining yourself. There are endless pros and cons to any decision, and no way to predict the future. Just choose to do SOMETHING. Keep doing it if you like the results. Try something else if you don't.

 

I suddenly pulled a 5th grader out just before Christmas. I wasn't prepared and didn't care. He was on total strike at school and wouldn't even eat there. I was told I had to wait until I was given permission. I yanked him anyway, calling their bluff. They just processed his paperwork quicker :D. I just did what I did until January, when I finally had a real math curriculum. Some things were not organized until early Spring. Other not at all. Despite all that, in August he scored the highest standardized test scores in the entire town. I still think the only reason he scored that high was because we were NOT using an organized curriculum. :lol:

[Word Nerd]

Sigh. Every kid hates going to school, right?

 

 

 

No—especially in kindergarten. I wouldn't wait to pull him out, as it's clearly not working for you.