Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Drs. Fernette and Brock Eide on September 10, 2009 at 10:51am

Don't be discouraged, Kellie!

Also consider joining the Preschool / Elementary School group too. Sensory issues are such a big issue in the early years, that homeschooling is often the best fit. Could you remind us about the age of your kids?

Fernette

Permalink Reply by andrew hein on September 10, 2009 at 10:56am

Thanks so much for your response! Our son is 9 and our daughter is 5.5...

Drs. Fernette and Brock Eide said:

Don't be discouraged, Kellie!

Also consider joining the Preschool / Elementary School group too. Sensory issues are such a big issue in the early years, that homeschooling is often the best fit. Could you remind us about the age of your kids?

Fernette

Permalink Reply by Dawn Moore on September 10, 2009 at 12:03pm

I feel your pain Kellie! I have an 8 year old and we are traveling the same road with you so don't feel you are alone! We are trying school again. We are "on trial" this week at school after 2 years of homeschooling. Hang in there! Homeschooling will keep him protected from their ignorance while he is young and doesn't understand. Wish I could help with the disorganized approach to homeschool....we just played everything by ear. It always seemed to depend on what kind of day he had not whether or not I was prepared or organized! I could have it all together and he would not be able to cope with what was on the agenda for that day!
Sorry I am not any help-I just wanted to cheer you on!

Permalink Reply by Christine Johnson on September 10, 2009 at 12:10pm

Kellie, I know exactly how you feel, because I've been there. Mine are boy 14.9 and girl 13.1. The late blooming is so so true. It didn't even really start to come together for my son until 13.5 and he is just speeding along in his development, even the last couple of weeks I have had two other parents tell me they can see a maturing in him just over the summer.

The crisis year for him was 9, in the third grade. He had already asked to be homeschooled at the end of second grade and since my husband was not open to it yet, we did not and tried to work with the school. It wasn't until the middle of fourth grade that we did pull him from school, and I will regret waiting that long for the rest of my life.

Regarding the school people, they don't get it probally because school went well for them and worked well for them and that it why they (duh - just joking) became teachers and administrators. They rule the school, and in our district, the teachers who do get it don't last more than a couple of years.

They crucified my son for " not trying hard enough," and " having a bad attitude." He is back in school, High school, with a 504 and is making progress. We do tend to draw some "out there" teachers in the later grades in our "out there town."

I like the classical approach, and found finding curriculum difficult. Sort of a classical, unschooling approach worked best. We had trouble with math for example because he "sees" the answer somehow. Same with history and science, I would spend weeks looking for a curriculum that was very challanging and a couple of years in grade level ahead of him and when we would start, he not only knew it already but could expand on and on until I would leave the room and secretly cry for my failure. He just absorbs information and puts it all together somehow in his brain from nowhere. That ability is not slowing down either.

Already after a week of school he told me that in Algebra II/Trig, he is working backwards now because he can see the answer by looking at the problem and is going backwards lining out the steps and using the graphing calculator to prove it. He says he is right about 95% of the time.

Hint: Most teachers don't get this!

Do not hesitate to pull him from school. We have found the 2E is not a learning issue, but a demonstration issue in the school's rigid framework. If only I could do it over. Blessings Chris

Permalink Reply by Cassidy Meyer on September 13, 2009 at 6:09pm

Hi Kellie,

I understand, though many do not and unfortunately in the school system, even if they do understand, not much support or real help is given. This is one reason we have chosen to home school.

I chose a heavy hands-on unit study approach, called Konos. There are other good ones as well. We do lots of experiments, projects, building, and exploring. We read real books, more interesting than a text book. I do most of the reading, for now anyway. We talk, a lot! Questions, questions and more questions to ensure they are thinking and inquiring and comprehending. I am slowly getting out of the mindset that he needs to keep up with whatever they are doing at public school. He is a late bloomer as is my daughter. The curriculum has a scope and sequence. If I were to use it through 8th grade as it is intended, we would cover all topics traditionally covered in a school setting and then some! In our unit studies, we incorporate many different subjects together. For example, we are studying the moon and planets this coming week. The kids will be journaling about planets, drawing about planets, writing poems about planets and doing research about planets. They will be making an art project about planets too. There is plenty of reading on the subject, handwriting, comprehension, grammar, etc. I let them do dictation on some things and other things I help them write on their own. I still struggle with how much is too much and when to press them for more. It is a daily balancing act.

I have a plan, for math and grammar. But it is a loose plan. It may take us several days to get a concept down. I try to teach to mastery, not to my schedule, to avoid frustration and disappointments! Even with mastery, I am learning when to move on, because they get the concept, but the mechanics are messing them up. So I make a note to cover those things again.

I make a daily work plan for both kids. I would love to type up a years worth for them. But their learning is not that predictable! Each weekend I update their plans based on what we were able to cover the previous week. I know what to camp out on and where we can move forward.

Well I have rambled on and not even sure that I answered your question or offered any help you were seeking!

Cassidy
(My ds is 9 and my dd is 7.)