Kate989 Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Hey there. I've been lurking around here for months and months, but think it's time to actually say hello. We started homeschooling my son (11, 5th grade) this September because he was miserable to the point of self-harm, extreme anxiety, intrusive thoughts. YUCK. The difference in him is astonishing. He is happy, truly happy, for the first time since he started kindergarten. All mental health issues have disappeared. His work ethic and self-control have skyrocketed. Now that he is really engaged and appropriately challenged in school, he's like a border collie who stops chewing its paw off and gets down to business because it finally has some darned sheep to herd! Academically, ds is a normal 5th-grade math student. In the humanities, he's accelerated 2-5 grades ahead depending on the subject area. Our general strategy is to keep him up to grade level in math, make sure we're covering the bases with middle school-level grammar, writing, latin, and logic, and then let him run with about 500 pages a week of literature, mythology, and history reading. My question for y'all is: do we just stay the course, or would it be helpful to do some testing to qualify for Davidson, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, whatever? I feel good about the curriculum we've got going, and we don't need an outside observer to let us know ds is smart. (Or to remind us that he still can't tie his shoes, and regularly forgets to use soap in the shower. :001_rolleyes: ) But is it helpful (looking ahead to possibly going back to public high school someday) to lay a paper trail confirming that this is an unusual kid, that we had good cause to do pull him out? Does the advising that Davidson offers really help? Would there be real opportunities to connect with other kids like him if he was involved in something like CTY? Anyway, thanks for being here - not that you knew you were - when I was frantically trying to figure out what to do with my sweet, distressed, asynchronous boy. It has been so lovely to know that we aren't alone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 First off, hi! About testing, in your circumstances I don't think I would go through the process of testing. There are, in my opinion, three good reasons to test. One, to find learning issues, that is, you suspect your child is dyslexic or has some other problem. It doesn't seem to be the case. Two, to get into an existent program, that is, some school or something needs test scores for admittance. This doesn't seem to be your situation either at least not right now. Or three, you as a parent need the test scores to give you courage to radically change the learning environment, that is, to homeschool or jump three levels in math or sign up for high school classes at age six. This doesn't seem to be happening either. You seem in a pretty good place. Welcome and enjoy the time with your kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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