Seeking Advice on Homeschool

Hi C.,
As a former teacher,now retired after my children were born,I have had conversations about homeschooling with other moms. I think that before you consider this you should sit down with your child's teacher and the school counselor or principal. You can request an IEP for your daughter. It is an Individualized Education Program that will be put together to help your child. The teacher in no way should be recommending medication for you to give your daughter. She's a teacher not a doctor. And if you have to mention the "No Child Left Behind" Act. I just think that you should try to explore all of your options at your daughters school before you pull her out. Now my opinion on homeschooling is that if you have the proper resources and time it is a rewarding way of going. I have many friends that homeschool their children and it gives them the sense of knowing that their child is getting the attention that they deserve along with providing some special one on one times with their children that they would normally have missed out on. The only con that I would have would be the lack of social interaction that the children get. They are still active in playgroups, sports, etc... but there is still that small thing missing when you don't have that constant everyday bond with other children.
I hope that this helps you. Best of luck!!!!
L.

I also homeschool my daughter who will be 7 next month. It can be trying at times as you are their teacher AND mother and my daughter doesn't want to listen to her teacher sometimes :) It is very rewarding. We too take more of an unschooling approach to things.
She is learning fractions in the kitchen with me while we cook and she reads off the recipes for me.
We read lots of books together and most of the time I will start a chapter and mid way though she will pick up and start reading to me.
Science is playing in rain storms (in the summer lol) and then talking about the water cycle and that lead to pollution and what we can do to help keep our world clean and then on to recycling.
We have bird feeders set up where she spends a lot of time watching out the window for new birds and then we go and look them up and find out all we can about them.
She also sits down and dose "bookwork" (a few pages a day) working with sentence structure and her writing (she gets frustrated so easy).

Homeschooling is something that dose take a lot more effort then getting up in the morning, getting your child dressed and then putting them on a school bus and waiting for them to get home in the evening. There are days where I want to scream and cry because she wont pick up her toys for 'Mommy' and she will not do any school work for her 'Teacher' either. When my daughter was two I was told by a nurse at my health department that more then likely when my daughter got into school that she would be put on meds because she is an extremely active (and sassy) child most of the time. I can see where she would cause waves in a public school and I would rather use her curiosity to TEACH her then force her into the set standard mold that I had pushed on me in school.
Sorry to any teachers if I offended you with that statement lol.

hello! we use an e-school and it is going well! we ue ohdela ( www.ohdela.com ). i have heard good things about ohio virtual academy (ova). i am also part of an online group that is very diverse and a great source of info- www.neohsc.com
best of luck! M.

There is an online school that you can requister for and they have teachers to help you and they set up the curiculum for youbut you get to do it at your pace the way you see best, i ws looking into it myself for similar reasons.

here's a link i've spoken tot hem and it seems like a great program, i'm going to see what happens at the end of the year and go fromthere myself..

http://www.ohva.org/dg/dg_oh.html?se=Google&campaign=...

Hi C.,
I was a special education teacher before I had my son.

First, let me say, teachers are not qualified to diagnose ADD (or any other disability). We can suggest/refer your child to their doctor. The only person in the school setting that is capable of diagnosing your child with ADD/ADHD is the school psychologist (after testing and observation).

Second, many times the correct meds do help children who struggle with ADD.

Third, there are many resources out there for parents who decide to homeschool their children (I saw many of the people who responded to your inquiry listed some of the websites to get you started). There are many local co-op groups, study centers, and other programs designed for children who are homeschooled to receive a quality education and socialization. (Personally, I'm currently teaching at a study center where the students come to class 2 days a week and spend the other 3 days learning at home.) There are many great alternatives to the public educational system.

Fourth, don't jump the gun. Meet your with daughter's teacher. Have her evaluated for a Multi-Factored Evaluation to see if she qualifies for an IEP or a 504 plan (both of these will get her more services to help her adjust).

Good Luck,

C.,

Homeschooling is great!
Of course, there are days when it is difficult, too, but no system is perfect.

Check out www.ohva.org to learn how easy and fun it can be. They use the K-12 Curriculum that is used throughout the United States, and even subscribed by bricks-and-mortar school classes. Also, did I mention free? It is a public charter school. You will be loaned a computer, and printer. Given the entire curricula and materials (non-consumable items are returned when you are done with them so the next student can use them--things like library books, etc.), as well as a teacher to assist you with questions. We have a monthly conference where we interact via the phone and computer. There is an internet reimburse amount for internet access. There are great group field trips and parent-planned events. There is a stupendous support group on Yahoo. The lessons have teacher guide information, and ways for the child to learn using visual, auditory, and kinesthetic methods.

Your daughter will have the opportunity to work at her own pace, and benefit from Mom-as-teacher who understands maturity happens for different individuals at a different pace and does not wish to medicate her for being young. If she excels at a particular topic, she can proceed faster, while still concentrating on more difficult topics.

If you have any questions, just ask. We began last year in Kindergarten, and now are in 1st grade for our son, and we are completely happy with it.

Best wishes,
K.

Hi C.-
I homeschool both of my children- 9 & 5 and I can't say enough good about it!! I do it through a wonderful "cyber school" called Buckeye Online School for Sucess (BOSS)- their website is www.go2boss.com and you can get alot of information there.
Just a little about us - homeschooling is a big decision- my son went to "regular" school for K & 1st and although academically he did great he hated it- he had so much anxiety that it was making him physically ill. When I found BOSS I was so excited. They provide you with everything books, paper, a computer.. down to pencils and crayons- and it is all state funded. You also get a wonderful manual for the teacher that gives you day by day instructions and lessons- great for those of us who don't have any experience ( I jokingly call it homeschool for dummies:) The curruculm is wonderful- challenging and fun. I have found it wonderful for my Kindergartner because it is alot of activities and he has trouble sitting still ( I have no doubt if he was in a classroom he would be getting the add diagnosis too) On average lessons can be anywhere from 2- 4 hours a day- and that is with taking breaks and answering all the questions they come up with. I think the one on one is so great because if one thing leads to another in a lesson all their questions can be answered and there isn't a teacher trying to rush them along. It has been wonderful for my boys and as long as they want to we'll continue.
Obviously its not without its cons- alot of people will say that the children don't get the socailization they need. The answer to that is simple- make sure they get out, church groups, sports, play groups, dance, art or karate classes. There are plenty of opportunities besides school to make friends and interact (you also have the advantage of knowing the parents of who your kids meet.) There are also days that are frustrating- where you will have trouble explaining things or where you are giving your child a spelling test and telling them to clean their room and you feel like the ultimate evil in their life:)
I have found that despite the bad days there are so many rewards to teaching your child- My 5 year old wrote Mommy on my birthday card the other day and it was so great to know that I was the one who taught him to write those letters. And my 9 year old is a child with a million questions and I find I learn even more teaching him and looking for answers.
Good luck with your decision- if you have any questions please feel free to email me!

Hi, C.,

I really don't have the energy to type much here (I delivered my daughter two days ago), but just couldn't let this one go by without saying something. We homeschool our kindergardener for the same reasons that your daughter seems to be having. We use Ohio Virtual Academy. It's VERY nice b/c our current situation doesn't allow me to plan and do much extra prep. work. (I have the newborn and a toddler in addition to my K-er). And it's free. Check out this website: www.ohva.org. They have sample lessons to look at and tons of information on the program.
Hope that helps! -A.

Hi C.. I have a 3 girls, ages 7, 4, and 20 months. The 7 year old, Karenna is currently homeschooling, but we are more unschoolers. She is involved in a wide variety of activities. She takes drawing, sign language, and homeschool strings at the Countryside YMCA on Tuesdays. At Leaves of Learning (www.leavesoflearning.org), she takes a math class, a nature science class, and a critical thinking type class on Fridays. She also has a half hour each of piano and violin lessons each week. She does 4H once a month and is on the gymnastics team as well.

On other days, we participate in activities posted in the Homeschool Network newsletter (http://www.hsncincy.com/). I highly recommend subscribing to that. I'm also subscribed to a yahoogroup called C-A-T-C-H, which has homeschool events. For example, we are going on a tour of the Rumpke dump on Wednesday and the Homeschool Day at Rowe park on Friday. We did a trip to a dairy farm last week. This weekend, Karenna will be in a biography fair where she gets to present about any person she wants to (I think she's doing Nadia Comanici).

So, as you can see, she is learning a lot without sitting down in front of a book. We do use books of course as well. We usually go to the library about once a week and the girls pick out books on anything they want to learn about. Karenna can read really well, but some homeschooled kids read later and that's okay too.

Email me if you are interested in more information. My email addy is ____@____.com live in Landen (near KI). There are lots of homeschoolers near me and in Loveland.

I am currently a teacher for JCPS, and have a few ideas/suggestions for you. I would not recommend pulling your daughter out to do homeschool mid-year. We have received two previous homeschooled students this year, and as far as Kentucky curriculum goes, they are well behind the others.

I don't think you should assume medication will fix all problems. Yet, don't be confused with ADD vs. ADHD. What your child's teacher is recognizing is ADD, which is just with her attention and no hyperactivity involved. Your child's teacher is with her 6 1/2 hours a day, and most teachers are a pretty good judge when it comes to these issues. I have never met a teacher who pushes medicine; I personally want to see medicine used as a last resort. Your daughter may just have trouble with her focus, and is easily distracted, which would result in being behind.

Another idea, she may need to be tested to receive additional services that the school has to offer. The program (ECE) services children with various disabilities. She may have a mild Learning Disability. But, further testing would determine for sure. The process usually takes about 12 weeks to complete, so if this is something that interests you, discuss this with the school counselor.

Please let me know if you have any questions about anything. I would love to be updated on what you decide to do.

I was a teacher. Teachers don't have the right to recommmend meds for students. They cannot diagnose-only Dr.'s.can. They can, however, recommend a child be evaluated by the pediatrician for certain issues, such as Add/ADHD. Meds can be a quick fix but if your child is truly ADD there are other options, such as diet, that can help. If your child is ADD then a Section 504 plan can be created. If your child has a multi-factored evaluation (MFE) and it shows a deviation of scores then your daughter may have a learning disability and an individualized education plan (IEP) will be created by a team which is a legal document detailing goals, modifications, adaptations to the curriculum, etc. Has your child's teacher approached the intervention assistance team (IAT)? Is the teacher helping your daughter to stay on task, with time management, etc.? The teacher can create a picture schedule, use a timer, positive reinforcement, a reward system for completed tasks,etc. to help your daughter. There are things that can be done without labeling and/or medicating a child. Your daughter's teacher has great insight into your child's academic performance- she is with her for 7 hours a day, so I wouldn't ignore the teacher's concern. I am just not sure the teacher is going about this all correctly.

I see that you have a new baby and a preschooler. I have 3 around the same ages as yours and I can honestly say I don't think I could set the time aside that is necessary to effectively educate my child at home. I would also be concerned about socialization. Also, you pay taxes. If something does come up where your child has say ADD or a learning disability you can take advantage of the services the school district offers. I would try to get more answers before making such a tough decision. Just my two cents as a former teacher and busy mommy of 3 little ones:)

We homeschooled 4 of 5 of our children. The last 2 were add and adhd. They were medicated during school hours for half a year and then we took them off. I saw the meds take effect and wear off. I didn't like this. We worked on different ways to work with them and found ways that would suit their personalities. It wasn't easy at first but they are both in college and doing great. For me the hardest thing homeschooling was sticking to what I planned. the benefits far outweighed anything else. We belonged to a homeschool support group. We did more running for our last 4 than we did for the first one and she was very involved in school. We now have 2 grandchildren that will be homeschooled because of what we did for our children. That is my 2 cents.

I've tried writing this about 5 times now and each time it comes out as a book! Long story short- Talk to her teacher and see about drawing up an IEP for her. She may just be "socially challenged" and in need of a more specialized education plan. My oldest son was labeled as socially challenged in pre-school and had an IEP up through 1st grade. We've dropped the IEP on him because he no longer needs it, but having that plan in place helped the teacher to better understand how to focus him in group settings. (The ADD word has never been brought up in any of our conferences even though he is a firecraker of a little man.) Group settings are daunting for a child at best, and if they're socially challenged, it's almost impossible for them. IF you do decided to homeschool your daughter, please make sure that she is still exposed to group settings and team-work opportunities to help her get accustomed to working with and among other people.

C., Hi. I am new to the area, Hebron. We moved about a month and a half ago. I homeschool my children, girl-7, boy-4 and 9 month old boy. I truly enjoy it. As with anything, there are good days and bad days. There is a support group through the Boone County Public Library. That is all I have found so far but I am not searching all that hard either. I make up my 'curriculum' as I go along. I get a lot of stuff off the internet because it is free!! You can spent 100's, even 1,000, of dollars on programs or all-in-one curricula if you have those resources. I do not. There are a lot of great programs available and a lot of books that an help you make the decision. I use the library, a lot. If you want to talk more, feel free to contact me. Best of luck, J.

P.S. I also found this site that might offer some assistance: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/index.htm