How many of you are only homeschooling some of your children?

[Cricket]

It is getting harder and harder for me to school our 9 yo ds. I'm not ready yet to send him to school (I'm not sure that would solve the problem) but I'm actually considering it.

 

If one or more of your kids goes to public/private school, why did you send them there? What were your reasons for not homeschooling that particular child? I guess I'm just curious as to what your thought process was. :)

[StacyWithFourRugrats]

At this moment I homeschool my eldest 2 officially. I have 2 younger ones, one is 4 and one is 5 yo. While none of my children is in school at the moment, there will possibly be a time in a year or two (unless things change) when I send my youngest 2 to public school. My reasons for it is that all my children are not the same. My eldest LOVES homeschooling. It works very well for him. PS was not for him due to his emotional nature and the fact he was working above most of the other children in every subject.

 

My 3rd (the 5 yo) is the total opposite. I believe, even with the scary thought of PS, that PS might be better for her. I believe she will flourish in PS. It will work for her in the same way it doesn't work for my eldest.

 

Each child is different and as parents, it is great that we can choose the educational journey that works best for each one.

 

Now as for my very creative, very active 5 yo boy, I have no idea where he would fit. PS would call him ADHD and possibly insist on medicating. Unless we had one of the awesome teachers, they would just not understand him. At the same time, there are benefits of PS that may work for him. For now, we wait. We have time.

 

And my 4 yo. She is soooooooooooo determined to work hard and learn how to read. She is the hardest worker. Don't know on her yet either. We have time. One thing I have learned homeschooling is that a year or two will not matter in the whole course of their education. I feel the early years are best at home if only to cement their character before they get thrown in with all those juvenile deliquents *insert sarcasm*.

 

Of course, for us, if we move to the Czech Republic this year, all of my reasoning and thinking is down the toilet! LOL

[Pamela H in Texas]

Well, it's probably not the same thing (seems we no longer fit in anywhere), but my 7th grader now does a virtual academy (public school at home). We jumped at the opportunity and it has been wonderful for him. I still homeschool my 15yo the way we have for years.

 

IMO, you do what is best for each individual child. There are getting to be more and more options from univ model schools, cooperatives, private, public, etc...I think it's a good thing.

[Diana in OR]

I put my 9th grader in ps high school (first time in school) this past fall. I actually started out hsing him this year, but realized early on that it was not the best thing for him.

 

There were many reasons I decided to to this. On the most basic level, my ds needed to be accountable to someone other than me. He had not always been the easiest dc to homeschool, but we trudged along persistently for 9 years. He is very strong willed and determined (in a good way :-) He is the oldest, so I think that makes a difference.

 

Another motivator for me was that ds was playing football at the ps, and in the choir. There is not a homeschool opportunity for football in our area, and the homeschool choir conflicted with ps football practice. Thus, I was driving him to the school and back twice a day. Also, I realized that I did not want to teach high school.

 

On the positive side, ds is doing very well in ps. My relationship with him has improved vastly since he started there.

 

I would say, however, that I felt ds was ready to handle the social challenges of ps , and any challenges to his faith that might arise. I know that is different for every dc.

[Gigi]

I have four boys. 1st, 3rd, 5th, & 7th grade. This year the 3rd grader is attending public school. Why did we do this? Well, first he wanted to go. He wanted the social interaction and I think he wanted to be different from his brothers. The second reason was that he was consistantly teasing his brothers and it was very hard to make it through the school day. I felt it was hurting their relationship and I felt like a referee all day. I also felt like I was always correcting him.

 

So we decided he could attend for the year but at any point we would bring him home if we felt that it was not working. H

 

He loves school...all of the social aspects of it. He could care less about the acedemics- and personally so could I.

 

I think the break was right for our family. I think it was good for him to have "his" thing. He won't be attending next year but I have decided to get him in more social activities to help fill that need. I also realized how stressed I was becoming and it was hurting our relationship. I think having that break this year really helped me and how we interact with each other.

 

Now there are drawbacks. Giving up control, homework and other assignments that cut into family time, no acedemic progress this year, and having to not only homeschool but once we are done my son comes home and I have to help him.

[chiguirre]

Our oldest ds attends a private autism school because it's a great fit for him. He gets 1 on 1 academics, lots of group time and, since he's the youngest student, exposure to lots of science and history topics your average 2nd grade wouldn't cover.

 

We hs our 7yo because we couldn't find a good school fit. He's too high-functioning to be in a self-contained class all the time, but he wouldn't do well in a typical classroom either. Since we're having a great time, we also brought home our 4yo dd. She liked her Montessori school, but she likes hsing better. Having her home has made my schedule much more manageable too.

[JennifersLost]

We needed a break. We'd moved to a new place and tried homeschooling here for two years without meeting any other kids. It was too much, so they all went to school.

 

Now the oldest is coming home. He will pursue his passions with an eye to attending college in three years. I think my second oldest will follow, but the younger two like the social aspects of school.

[Mom2GirlsTX]

I homeschool one and public school one. The reasons are many, but simply put I am doing what works best for each of my children. Now I still afterschool the one in public school, I loathe the math program the school district uses and keep her going on her Singapore Math.

I did try (and it was a trainwreck) to homeschool the youngest this year, but we had so much frustration with it all, she went back to Public School where she has an awesome teacher and thrives beautifully. my oldest thrives beautifully in homeschool...

[BritAnnia]

I have 3 children. The youngest, ds 12, is homeschooled. The middle child, ds 15, attends the local public high school. The oldest, dd 17, attends a few classes at the local public high school and homeschools for the remainder.

Why? Well, we began hs'ing because of the youngest. He has ADHD and school was becoming more of a battle (for everyone involved!). That was 5 years ago when he was just starting 3rd grade.

After the first year of having him home, my middle ds asked to come home for the remainder of middle school.

Then my dd had some problems in high school so we brought her home as well.

My homeschool 'student' attendance list looks like this..

yr1 3rd grade ds

yr2 4th grade ds, 7th grade ds.

yr3 5th grade ds, 8th grade ds, 10th grade dd.

yr4 6th grade ds, 11th grade dd

yr5 7th grade ds, 12th grade dd.

 

If I had the chance to begin their education all over again I'd have hs'd from the start and never stopped. As it is, especially with my older ds, he was set on returning to public school for high school. It's not my first choice but we try to make the best of it.

[Jann in TX]

Our oldest dd is homeschooled and has been for the past 8+ years. She is 17 and in 11th grade.

 

Our middle dd is 15 and in the 9th grade. She attends the local high school. She was homeschooled for grades 1-5. We had TERRIBLE problems with her at home due to hormone imbalances the last year. She was impossible for me to work with/teach and she was also physically and mentally/verbally abusive to me. She was sent to our local PS beginning in 6th grade. She is an honors student and overall teacher's pet. She also LOVES band--another reason why we considered PS. I hate the average of 3 hours a night in homework, but she is thriving there and our relationship is slowly healing. Her moods are starting to become more stable and her anxiety level is beginning to subside.

 

Our youngest will be 6 next week. She is in K in our local PS and has the most wonderful teacher. DH made the ultimate decision for her to go to school, and it has been very good for her. It has also given me the opportunity to spend lots of quality time with oldest dd. Unless there are major changes in our district (teaching to the test) youngest dd will not be attending past 2nd grade...we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

 

We homeschool because it is the best learning environment for oldest dd.

[hsmamainva]

I homeschool both of my boys 'full-time' (8th grade & 5th grade).

 

My oldest (11th grade) is taking classes at the community college, so she's only homeschooling 'part-time'. She's really enjoying her classes and she's hoping that, by having a college transcript to show to a 4-year university, it will make her chances of being accepted even better.

 

My youngest (Kindergarten) attends our local public elementary school. She has autism and she has speech therapy 3 times a week. She spends half of her day in special education and the other half of her day in a regular Kindergarten class.

 

She's very 'high need' and, to be quite honest, I couldn't accomplish a thing when she was home 24-7! She may be 6 years old physically, but emotionally and mentally, she functions at around a 3 year old level. She needs to be supervised or she gets into mischief, so..for now..the family functions on a more harmonious level with her in school.

[skimerinkydo]

Me!

 

I am in the 2nd year homeschooling 10yods. His three sisters attend ps. I always wanted to homeschool but dh said no, not until Jr. High.

 

My sweet, quiet ds always hated ps. By the time he was in 2nd grade he boiled over...he had a personality change...he wasn't coping with public school. He was being sent home from school 2+ times per week for his behavior. Dh said "since they keep sending him home, why don't we just keep him here" :) I jumped at the opportunity and brought him home, and after a year of de-toxing he returned to his sweet self again :)

 

My daughters are thriving in ps...all except for oldest dd. She did well until this fall she began to hate school. I get to bring her home next year:)

 

Having a part day Kindergartener this year limits our available time for outside classes and I dislike homeschooling all day with ds and doing homework all evening with the girls. Sometimes I get overloaded on school!

[JFSinIL]

Who is home vs who is at public school (or private placement) depends, year by year, on what each kid needs. DS1 came home halfway through 3rd grade and did not go back until 7th (his idea). He HATED it and was home again for 8th (plus the school refused to let him start algebra in 8th...so we bought VideoText, started it the summer between 7th and 8th and kept at it until the start of 9th grade, so we got through all but the last module. He then took geometry in 9th, and is in algebra 2 as a sophmore...in public high school. I would only high school a kid is he/she was a little SWB (studious) :-)

 

DD1 came home 3/4 of the way through 1st grade (a couple months after DD1). She stayed home until a week into 5th grade - this pistol of a kid is now honor roll in 8th grade, and we get along much better now that we are NOT homeschooling.

 

DS2 (fraternal twin to DS1) is special needs, and only home one year while I gave him the intensive phonics work he needed and was not getting from school. The amount of 1:1 attention he needs makes it very hard to have him home along with others - plus he does NOT like Mom being a teacher! Mom (to him) is supposed to be Mom! He has no friends or interests outside of home, so he needs to go to school or he'd hardly ever leave the house! Ah, autism!

 

DD2 homeschooled 1,2, then public school, then back home for 4th...then public school for the start of 5th grade this year. She is very social, but the offerings at public school are not a good match for her. She restarts homeschool TOMORROW, a combo of 5th and 6th grade material. Next year will do 6th/7th at home, then see if middle school works for her or not. The public school will let her come for band twice a week. so that is good.

[Night Elf]

I believe in doing what is best for each individual child.

 

Dd15 is in public school. She's always been in either private or public school so this is really no surprise. I did offer to homeschool her for the high school years but she is afraid to do it, mostly because her bio dad would likely be upset.

 

Ds11 has been homeschooling since we took him out of ps Kindergarten. That was when I learned about homeschooling. We were dissatisfied with his school environment and I met a homeschooler who told me all the basics. We did attempt to put him into public school when he was in 4th grade. I was having a really hard time with life. He lasted 13 days. He was absolutely miserable. He has Asperger's, but that was before we had a diagnosis. He hopes he never has to try that again.

 

Dd9 has had some experience with public school. She's the kind of person who can thrive in any academic situation. She did 4 months in 2nd grade, all of 3rd grade and one month of 4th grade. She decided one month into this school year that she didn't want to be in public school this year. I love her being home. But if she decides to go back, I won't have a problem with it.

[Mandamom]

I homeschooled my oldest stepson and my youngest stepson stayed in public school the whole time. It was the best fit for each one. I homeschooled my now 2nd grade dd for K and my younger dd hasn't been homeschooled. If I homeschool again it will likely be for my younger daughter but we'll see what happens.

[Chris in VA]

I don't homeschool my middle child because he is in ETOH/drug treatment, residential. But I made the decision not to before that happened. We originally were going to just homeschool my dd for K, but then my eldest asked if he could be, too. The middle child just didn't want to, and we felt it best for him to stay at school. Then he got into all kinds of sex and drugs. Not just because of public school--there were lots of reasons. He has expressed feeling left out--but still didn't want to come home for school.

Do I feel guilty? Do I wish he had been homeschooled? Do I wish I had known earlier that homeschooling was really wonderful and that I'd be capable of teaching my own kids. You betcha to it all. I most wish I had kept him away from the kids he found at ps.

But we can't beat ourselves up for doing the best we could at the time.

[AKshanmar]

I didn't start homeschooling till my kids were K, 3rd, 4th & 6th. Originally, it was just going to be for one year. Quickly, we realized that it was very good for them to be home. I told them that when they got to high school, they could choose. My oldest went to school as a sophmore this year, and my next one will be a freshman in public school next year. I don't know yet what the other two will do.

 

For me, it is a natural time to transition. Middle school is too rough of a time, but high school has many more options. I like watching them take control of their lives. My dd was very hard to motivate last year, and yet this year she is thriving and #7 in her class. I had no idea she was capable of such a thing!!

[RoughCollie]

We sent 3 of our 4 children to parochial school this year. DS1 and DS2 are in 8th grade, and DD is 7th grade. DD and DS1 were kicked out of homeschool for not doing their schoolwork. DS2 went because DH thought that since he is shy, it would help him to be around other kids.

 

DS1 and DS2 were homeschooled from 2nd through 7th grade.

 

The school they are going to has only 13 students in each class, so it was a great transition from homeschool to regular school. Some of those students were formerly homeschooled as well, and as luck would have it, they have become my DC's "best" friends.

 

My DD still does not fully cooperate by doing all of her homework. Her report card was the worst, including an "F" in Spanish! She says other things (ie., her new social life, her hair, her wardrobe) are more important. We are in the process of nipping that attitude in the bud. Mind you, she did not get this from school -- it's just that her friends in the 7th grade are just like her and this does not help matters any. DD is a social butterfly who was in PS through 3rd grade and was reluctant to be homeschooled. She loves school -- just not the academic part.

 

Our best student is DS1, and he was the worst in the 7th grade at homeschool. He thinks the parochial school work is too easy. DS1 has practically got a photographic memory and school work has always come easily to him. The difference is, he's applying himself now, whereas he would not do anything in homeschool in 7th grade. He is an extrovert and loves being around the other kids.

 

DS2 left homeschool reluctantly. I gave him the option of returning to homeschool at the end of every grading period. He is very concerned about how well he does at school (for the first time ever), has made a few acquaintances, and does not want to return to homeschool unless he leaves the parochial school in a blaze of glory. DS2 said he hates school, no matter where he goes, so he may as well stay in the parochial school. He is not doing that well, but that has more to do with some learning disabilities than with his attitude.

 

DS3 is still in homeschool in the 8th grade. He want to attend "regular" school eventually, once he is caught up in math, but he prefers being home especially since the other kids are not home. DS3 has been homeschooled since the middle of 1st grade and has always wanted to be homeschooled by himself, so he is in hog heaven.

 

I find it much harder to keep track of everything now that 75% of my kids are in regular school. There is a lot of work that is required of them after school -- homework and projects and reports-- which we would have done during school hours. I think a lot of time is wasted in regular school, and this proves it to me more than anything else does. No one wants to do more school work when they get home, after being in school all day. The whole thing gets on my nerves.

 

Also, none of them want to get up at 6:30 a.m. -- they really hate that, all of them being night owls since birth.

 

In summary, the DC are happy enough at parochial school and I am more stressed out than ever!

[8filltheheart]

Our 15 yos starts his first day of private school today. Until now, I have always homeschooled all of them from K up. This young man is extremely intelligent and I can't challenge him enough here. His boredom has lead to huge behavioral issues that were not only disrupting our homeschool, but intimidating the other children and causing extreme stress.

 

We are praying that being in an all boys school will help him blossom into the young man we know that he desires to be and wasn't finding a way to that person at home. We aslo pray that by being around so many different personalities, he will find friends and realize that he has incredible gifts to share with others and that they will recognize his strengths.

 

Whether it will turn out that way or not, only time will reveal. Either way, the other children and I need a break from him during school hours. I am also hoping that being on a strict routine (he will have to leave at 630 am to get to school) will force better sleep habits and that he'll come home tired at night (less energy to provoke and aggrevate.)

[Brindee]

My 16yo ds (oldest) plateaued (is that how you spell that???) last year. We are very picky about schools, but found the perfect one for him. He LOVES it, and is getting 4.0 grades as a junior!

 

I am still homeschooling my 14yo ds and 11yo dd, and would love to homeschool them all the way through highschool! But I'm open to change if it's in the best interest of that child.

 

My oldest is, well, the oldest. ;) The 14yo was kind of under the oldest's thumb, but now he is FINALLY figuring out who he is and that it's OK to be himself! And the oldest learned to buckle down and study and work hard for his grades. So it's been very good for both of them.

 

I homeschooled my oldest from 2nd through 10th grades. The younger two are in 9th and 6th, and have always been homeschooled.

[6packofun]

Our oldest dd is homeschooled and has been for the past 8+ years. She is 17 and in 11th grade.

 

Our middle dd is 15 and in the 9th grade. She attends the local high school. She was homeschooled for grades 1-5. We had TERRIBLE problems with her at home due to hormone imbalances the last year. She was impossible for me to work with/teach and she was also physically and mentally/verbally abusive to me. She was sent to our local PS beginning in 6th grade. She is an honors student and overall teacher's pet. She also LOVES band--another reason why we considered PS. I hate the average of 3 hours a night in homework, but she is thriving there and our relationship is slowly healing. Her moods are starting to become more stable and her anxiety level is beginning to subside.

 

 

 

What was done for her hormonal imbalance and anxiety so that she could cope at school, if you don't mind my asking? My oldest dd sounds very similar. :001_unsure:

[chickenpatty]

We're considering sending 2 of ours to Christian school next year. I will keep my 9 & 10 yr old dds home, send the 6 & 7 yr old dss to school and also keep the 4 & almost 2yr olds at home.

 

We have many reasons for wanting to send the 2 boys (and possibly the 4 yr old boy in the future). I feel at peace with this set-up.

 

:001_smile: