ExPats & High School..

[kolamum]

We've been living outside the USA for more then 10 years now. While living outside the US we've abided by the laws & rules of where we live. This has never been an issue thanks to dual citizenship & so forth. However, we received word within the past couple of months that we could be stateside again in 12-18 months. This is not written in stone yet & we don't have departure date yet.

 

I'm a planner, it's in my nature. Once I knew I started doing the leg work to figure out where we'd stand with homeschooling for the state we'd be moving to. We weren't homeschooling in the USA before we left as our children weren't legally of age at that time. The #1 biggie is that we'll need an umbrella school, that's not an issue except.. In our current location we school Jan - Dec because that's just how it's done here. Summer is in December. The umbrella school I spoke with can't help me unless I can get myself on schedule with the USA school year. 

 

With my younger it's not a big issue to deal with because he's young enough & low enough in grade that I can make the switch & he'll still have time to catch up, level out, etc if the needs arise. My eldest is another story. We held him back a year due to getting a LATE diagnosis for VPD/SSS/Irlen. He's on the severe end of the spectrum & due to this we wanted time for his brain to heal & catch up with him on a mental level. He works on grade level in some areas & ahead {due to the hold back} in other areas. It's been a great way for him to ease into being an independent learner & just even everything out.

 

So, to get to the crux of things..

 

We are just about done with our 3rd term, or 30th week of the 2016 school year. I could then use our 4th term as the 1st term of a new school year & just promote my children there. I'm debating the pros & cons of this.  Help me think this through, specifically for my high schooler to make sure I'm considering every angle & not setting him up for a hurdle he can't climb.

 

 

 

Pros:

He'd be much more close to the state's school year that we are moving to. The local schools start sooner then Sept, but clearly as homeschoolers we can carve our own math & march forward without issue. It would be easier to adjust by a month or so then it would be 6 months, yes?

 

He'd gain a little more speed on that year we held him back putting him back in the same grade as some peers, but still on the older end of the spectrum.

 

He'd be able to relax a little if/when we get stateside without stressing over an overlapping school year.

 

 

Cons:

He's currently using BkSk for history, he hasn't quite finished up the level he's using. He's due to finish all the spines by the end of this term, but he'd have had some Lit that he was going to finish up in T4 along with an Election Unit & Gov. Unit. He could still do either of these, but we might need to spread them out a bit & I don't think the Gov Unit would be enough for High School credit {it was only meant to be a background intro type thing} I don't want to drop that Lit either, he had about 6 of those to go.. I could drop a couple, but overall I'd rather not.

 

He'd be "behind" in math. This would be frustrating because he worked hard after getting his filters to not only get caught up but ahead of the game. He hit a bump this term with a concept that has halted him a bit, unfortunately. He could make up time by working on math over the term break {s} & the summer holiday we ARE going to take regardless of any changes we make. Would it even out or would he be in hot water. He's currently in 8th & on track with Pre-Algebra.

 

Science.. He wouldn't be done with that either. He's finishing up Physical Science, but has another 10 weeks of that to go. There's no way he can rush through those 10 weeks to finish up quickly, kwim? I did double check with the state standards & he doesn't need this for high school. He all ready had a 4 year plan for science which now might have a hiccup.. FWIW, if it helps any he's been using Apologia High School Science, we're not attached to it all though I've all ready purchased his book for next year {& schedule}, we use it because he can get an audio lecture of it & then stay on track with it. He can then use the brain power to deal with the labs & notebook.

 

 

 

WWYD:

 

I have considered that he could move into the spines for the new BkSk Level {or basically SL 100} while finishing up those other Lit books.. but over all I'm not sure about that. I really wanted him to do at least 3 of the 7 books. I had no intentions of him skipping any of them, but I could probably narrow those 7 down to 3, doing another one together with Little Brother who'd enjoy it {Snow Treasure}. 

 

I don't have his new gear here yet, it's sitting at a relative's house in the USA so we'd need to double time it's arrival & get here in the next 5 weeks.. This wouldn't be a huge issue, but it's a hiccup, kwim?

 

What about our summer holiday? Summer starts in December, the kids have worked hard all year maintaining their schedule & are set to wrap up the year the week of Thanksgiving. We were then going to go away the week after that & take the month of December off & hit the new year on January 8th when hubby goes back to work. Would it be dumb to start our new school year & only work 10 weeks before we take a month off? It seems weird to me, but we've been looking forward to this break most of this term! :lol: 

 

Okay, tell me what YOU would do if you were in my situation. :)

[mumto2]

:grouphug: I can only imagine how stressed you must be.

 

Since the move is more than a year away I would probably try to accelerate slightly to put you more in line with where you might be moving. Not hugely, not skipping things that you have been looking forward to. I would move onto the new year's subjects as soon as you finish up one if the books have arrived. Maybe do a bit of math over the break keep it fresh for an easier start.

[kolamum]

Thanks Mumto2. :)

 

Yes, before the move came to light he was all ready keen to do math over all his breaks & we'd worked out a plan so he got a mental break but was able to meet his own goal. He was really worried about getting "rusty" over a break. ;) I do think it will all work out, but gravy train! I feel all a twiddle trying to sort us out. 

[Lanny]

Thanks Mumto2. :)

 

Yes, before the move came to light he was all ready keen to do math over all his breaks & we'd worked out a plan so he got a mental break but was able to meet his own goal. He was really worried about getting "rusty" over a break. ;) I do think it will all work out, but gravy train! I feel all a twiddle trying to sort us out. 

 

Everyone gets "rusty" with a long break. My DD is a "Distance Learning" student (TTUISD) and she likes to study year round, so she doesn't forget a lot over a long Summer break. Also, she is afraid to lose the "rhythm" of studying.  We are also overseas, but have much less of a shipping problem than you do. GL with your move!