Homeschool Chat

[csk470]

Thank you for the welcome and i will look online at the Rod and Staff to see about that program its always nice to have imput! We are doing ok and the boys know that there are just mean people in the world for whatever reason and that maybe they just dont know any better and we "feel" sorry for them and forgive them! Those are the qualities that i am trying to keep in my children and not turn them into the people we are away from now. We are only about 10 min from the mexican boarder so we are really close to all the bad stuff that filters over, also the schools here are not DOD schools so anyone that wants to put there kids here can. so we have a really large mix of people and very low scores plus they have to teach down since alot of the kids dont speak very good english. Its just really weird here! But the VA is working out great for us!!
Tracey

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I don't know girl, but that sounds really weird to me. Do they know you are planning to hs next year?I wouldn't say anything at this point if you haven't already. i would be leary of what she is saying to her--why is she so desperate to talk with your kid now that the year is almost over?

yes, that would have really upset me too.

I have mentioned at a previous meeting that I was thinking about it, in which they told me if I do that she will never get over her anxiety and may not go to college I am very upset. And it sounds like they are just trying to pretend everything is all better right now. I guess because they know I would like to HS. I mean come on, I know she has been behind in reading and writing since day 1, don't tell me because we had a meeting 3 weeks ago and you thought I might hs that she is now reading on grade level and her spelling is fine, that's quite a joke.

Talk about being manipulative! How much longer do they have to be in this school?

Their last day of school is June 24th! It can't come soon enough. Oh, minus our week in Disney World Can't wait for a vacation, that's for sure.

Yep, I have warning bells going off in my head after reading your post! My guess is that you already told them you were thinking of homeschooling (or she did) and they are going to try and convince her that she doesn't want to homeschool! It's CRAZY how manipulative they can be.

You are absolutely correct, they know from me that I was thinking about it, and dd has told a few friends at school. They are being very manipulative.

Is it too late for you to withdraw that permission??? I'd get down there NOW and put my body between her and DD if at all possible. She is definitely up to something and is violating your parental rights if she is talking about anything but school issues without your express permission (that's why she needed the note). If it were me, I'd pull DD out of school now, just to let them know that they aren't going to get away with that crap and are no longer going to manipulate my child, planting Lord knows what kinds of seeds in her head.

Ok, I did not give her permission to talk to my dd. She just told me she was going to tell her that she wouldn't be having sessions with her. I'm going to ask dd what was said to her as soon as she gets home, if it was anything but that, I will go down to the school. I would like to take her out know. But I'm not 100% sure. I don't know what to do I can't wait until she gets home from school so I know what was said.

 

[graygables]

Ok, I did not give her permission to talk to my dd. She just told me she was going to tell her that she wouldn't be having sessions with her. I'm going to ask dd what was said to her as soon as she gets home, if it was anything but that, I will go down to the school. I would like to take her out know. But I'm not 100% sure. I don't know what to do I can't wait until she gets home from school so I know what was said.

I took my DDs out mid-year and it was not a problem at all. I simply sent in the required paperwork for notification and that was that. Honestly, what are they going to cover in the next 8 weeks that you can't handle? It would also make your vacation a lot more peaceful and less hectic with all of the busy work they are sure to make you mess with when you get back. I'm just sayin'...

 

[wvdislover]

The school definitely doesn't want to lose your DD! If she leaves the school, they lose money (they get money for each child enrolled at the school). Sounds like manipulation to me, too. Are they trying to convince your DD that things are bad at home, so she won't want to homeschool I think I'd be getting her out of there sooner, rather than later.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Thanks for the replys. dd said that the Mrs. "D" did not talk to her today. So i'm not sure why she said that to me and then didn't even end up saying anything to dd. Maybe it was just to make me feel like I was doing wrong from "keeping her from getting help" with the her. I don't know I'm thinking of taking her out at the end of the week, which would be thursday, there's no school friday for Good Friday and next week is our Spring vacation. It will be stressful anyway for dd to come back from Disney and make up 7 days of work(although 2 of those days will be field trips), so taking her out now will end that too. I'm not sure if they're going to give me a hard time about taking her out for the week while she's struggling, and they'll probably end up making me mad about that also. I'll let you know what I decide, my dd7 is sleeping with a fever right now, I had to pick her up from school a half hour before it was over.( As I was driving to the school, I was thinking, if they were home, she wouldn't have been sitting in school all day feeling horrible.) We're going to color our Easter Eggs tonight and then when the kids go to bed, i'm going to talk to dh, and tell him what happened today and see what he thinks we should do.
I figure too If I take her out now, we'll have a head start on knowing what it's going to be like in the fall when we really start.
I'll keep ya posted, Thanks again.

 

[csk470]

thank you for the information on Rod and Staff i think this is the study program we are going to go with!!
Tracey

 

[WeDisney4]

We did it! Jumped in at the last minute & started homeschooling last August!!! We are Catholic & So I went w/ Seton w/ Saxon math for my 2nd grader & Kindergartener. It was perfect for us, except for Science. I am looking for a new Science program for next year. (Girls will be 3rd & 1st.)

So far I’ve read opinions on: Apologia elementary science, NOEO science, 106 Days of Creation Studies, Science in a Nutshell, Dinah Zike's Great Science Adventures.

I want to teach science to them together, simply modifying to fit the grade. Hands-on and already put together are a Huge plus for us!!

I’d love for your advice! I lurked here, I think even posted while we were in the should/shouldn’t I, how to convince DH stage. I am so grateful to be posting as a Homeshooling Mama!!!

P.S. I apologize ~ I’m sure this has been covered, I’ll also start reading backwards & try to catch up w/ you all!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I don't have any advice for you because this coming year will be our first year homeschooling, we'll be starting in August! But i've heard good things about Apologia, and looked into it, we're going with that.
I'm going with all Abeka, but looked into this when I heard it could be used for more than 1 child. I was excited! It sure beats doing 2 or 3 Science lessons and different projects for each child. It will be so much fun to do it together.
I wanted to group them for history too, but the curriculums i've looked into for that, i'm not too sure of. I really love the looks of Abeka's History, so we'll start out with that this year and see how it works out.

 

[Denine]

3princesses: Keep us posted on what you do. Remember we are here to support you.

Day 2 of testing has gone well. I did my own grading today and DD got 100% on the language part and 96% and 91% on the math tests. She would have gotten higher on the 2nd test, but she forgot to fill in a circle. Instead, she wrote the numbers in. She would have had the right number.

We have the science and social studies parts to do yet.

I think I will go back and "grade" yesterdays tests too.

I don't know how it works out percentile wise, but I am guessing pretty well.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

3princesses: Keep us posted on what you do. Remember we are here to support you.

Day 2 of testing has gone well. I did my own grading today and DD got 100% on the language part and 96% and 91% on the math tests. She would have gotten higher on the 2nd test, but she forgot to fill in a circle. Instead, she wrote the numbers in. She would have had the right number.

We have the science and social studies parts to do yet.

I think I will go back and "grade" yesterdays tests too.

I don't know how it works out percentile wise, but I am guessing pretty well.

Thank you denine, I know I receive a lot of support from this thread, I check it daily, and have even been going through the older posts, and the posts from the first thread that was made. It really helps, because a lot of people have been through this and I can read about their situation, what advice was given to them, and how it turned out in the end for them.
I am still thinking about whether to take her out this week or wait until the end of the year. She is having major anxiety right now thinking about what she will be missing when we are in Disney World next month. I feel bad, if we're going to homeschool next year anyway, I SHOULD just pull her out now and end her misery. We'll be on a nice vacation and she will not have anything to worry about. Oh, I don't know!!! I know what I should do, so i'm getting aggrivated wondering why I just don't do it.
She's home with me today anyway, she had a Dr's appt. So all is well today, although not really because she is worrying about what she is missing. I told her I could bring her in after the appt. but that was a NO. So, I called the teacher and left a message to see if she could leave her work and i'll pick it up after school, so she can do it tonight.

 

[saremca]

thank you for the information on Rod and Staff i think this is the study program we are going to go with!!
Tracey

My kids have all used R&S and love it. We use R&S, Apologia, and ABEKA mostly.

 

[wvdislover]

Thank you denine, I know I receive a lot of support from this thread, I check it daily, and have even been going through the older posts, and the posts from the first thread that was made. It really helps, because a lot of people have been through this and I can read about their situation, what advice was given to them, and how it turned out in the end for them.
I am still thinking about whether to take her out this week or wait until the end of the year. She is having major anxiety right now thinking about what she will be missing when we are in Disney World next month. I feel bad, if we're going to homeschool next year anyway, I SHOULD just pull her out now and end her misery. We'll be on a nice vacation and she will not have anything to worry about. Oh, I don't know!!! I know what I should do, so i'm getting aggrivated wondering why I just don't do it.
She's home with me today anyway, she had a Dr's appt. So all is well today, although not really because she is worrying about what she is missing. I told her I could bring her in after the appt. but that was a NO. So, I called the teacher and left a message to see if she could leave her work and i'll pick it up after school, so she can do it tonight.

If she's this anxious over everything, I would go ahead and pull her out. What's the point in leaving her there, esp. if you're going to be HS her next year, anyways Think of it as a "practice time" for next year Your whole family will probably be much happier when the major source of your DD's anxiety is eliminated.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

My 2 cents?....definitely pull her out-celebrate Easter and let the vacation be the big What Are You Celebrating!!!!!!! this would be a celebration vacation!! How awesome and cool would that be? I say do it--fill out whatever you have to tomorrow and take to your school saying you are un-enrolling ----go to your library (or buy at your bookstore)and get her 3 or 4 really good books like Little House on the Prairie or Anne of Green Gables and just let her read for a few weeks and get out of all that school pressure. Literature that's really good does wonders for children--you will feel so much better if you go ahead and pull them out. Of course, dh has to be on board----but what's 6 or 8 weeks early? Not enough for her to be upset about!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Right now I am leaning towards taking her out now. I will let my dd7 and dd5 finish off the school year! They would want to. Lizzie's teacher right now is so amazing, she has developmental delays and is in an integrated classroom with a Teacher, Special ed. Teacher and 3 teacher assistants. The classroom is a great setting ,but it's more like a K class with a lot of stuff always going on. And poor dd7 has a concentration problem, she cannot sit through anything. My main concern for her is for next year when she goes to 2nd grade, it's a different school, which is where dd9 is now. I'm afraid she would not get the help she needs, that's when my dd9 went "under the bus" They do not have classroom with Special ed teachers in them all day, it's just the one teacher and 1 assistant, I know my dd7 needs more than that. So hs next year for her is going to be great. And my dd5 loves her preschool and friends. I hope she'll be fine with HS, i'm sure once we start and start participating with the HS group and she meets new friends she'll like it. I mean how could she tell me she wants to go back to school after we've been taking field trips and doing projects with the HS group. It's going to be fun.

I got the name and email address to a homeschooler in my city from the leader of our HS group. I've been talking with her through email and I remember her dd from 1st grade, she was in with my dd. They were in different classrooms though. It was after 1st gr she pulled her dd out. She also has a son who is 5 just like my youngest. We are meeting them at the park next week. dd9 is so excited she's going to meet another homeschooler and this woman said her dd was excited too. Maybe my dd will have a new best friend with alot in common. She was also taken out of school for anxiety issues. She was making herself sick every morning.

I would like to decide for sure by tomorrow so I can let the school now. I actually already submitted a Letter of Intent back in October, but decided to leave her in. So my letter is already in, and of course it was aproved for the 08-09 school year, so I think all I have to do is let them know. I will find out for sure what I have to do!

 

[Denine]

Thank you denine, I know I receive a lot of support from this thread, I check it daily, and have even been going through the older posts, and the posts from the first thread that was made. It really helps, because a lot of people have been through this and I can read about their situation, what advice was given to them, and how it turned out in the end for them.
I am still thinking about whether to take her out this week or wait until the end of the year. She is having major anxiety right now thinking about what she will be missing when we are in Disney World next month. I feel bad, if we're going to homeschool next year anyway, I SHOULD just pull her out now and end her misery. We'll be on a nice vacation and she will not have anything to worry about. Oh, I don't know!!! I know what I should do, so i'm getting aggrivated wondering why I just don't do it.
She's home with me today anyway, she had a Dr's appt. So all is well today, although not really because she is worrying about what she is missing. I told her I could bring her in after the appt. but that was a NO. So, I called the teacher and left a message to see if she could leave her work and i'll pick it up after school, so she can do it tonight.

I say just do it now. She is miserable and you are miserable. If you take her out now, you can start fresh after Easter break or vacation. You won't have much to do since it is the end of the year anyway. Then when you start up in the fall, you will both be ready.

 

[Denine]

The CAT test is done and mailed.
We were going to finish tomorrow, but we are going down to Amish country instead.
Overall, I think DD did very well and I am proud of her. She got 100% on 2 of the tests and in the 90's on most of the others. I am anxious to see how it correlates with the percentile score. We should get the results in 1-3 weeks.

 

[saremca]

The CAT test is done and mailed.
We were going to finish tomorrow, but we are going down to Amish country instead.
Overall, I think DD did very well and I am proud of her. She got 100% on 2 of the tests and in the 90's on most of the others. I am anxious to see how it correlates with the percentile score. We should get the results in 1-3 weeks.

You'll probably be very pleasantly surprised. I always am when my kids' scores come back.

 

[bellebud]

I am still thinking about whether to take her out this week or wait until the end of the year.

You may have already read my older posts, but wanted you to know I was in a similar situation. We were fairly certain we were going to start hsing next september (dd9 and ds7). My ds was going to make communion in may and I didn't want him to miss that (we were at a catholic school), and I didn't want a dramatic exit from the school, and I was unsure about what I had to do to start hsing and just nervous about the whole thing, so I thought I needed some time to get myself used to the idea and research more before we started.

then 3 weeks ago, I decided to just do it, immediately. I was really mad about my dd9 crying about a silly incident (typical girl social stuff) - not mad at my dd, just mad this goes on and on and my daughter wasn't really "happy" anymore... I needed my anger to give me a shove.

Now 3 weeks later, I'm SOOOO happy!! I'm not nervous at all (I really thought I would be)... there's nothing to be nervous about. If you know your state laws, just do what you need to do, and that's it. The school doesn't own your kids, but sometimes they act like they do. What state are you in?

I see a change in my ds7 already for the better (my dh has noticed too). He's calmer, happier, more content. And ds was very happy w/ school and he wasn't even sure he wanted to homeschool. And he still isn't 100% sure, but I am now that I see this change in him. He was a very good boy in school, but at home he was a total handful. It's like he was holding it all together for school hours, then letting it all out at home. And our home life was suffering. And I think he was developing a tick. Not good! Our house is calmer, our family life is better, my kids relationship w/ each other is better... I'm so glad I didn't wait to pull them!

I jumped right into hs networking locally - I joined all the local yahoo groups, and have been attending everything w/in an hours drive for the past 3 weeks. We're now picking and choosing which of these groups we feel comfortable with, and sticking w/ a few. But I think jumping in like that helped us all a lot - the kids see they can have friends other than at school (ds was worried about that), and I have talked w/ so many other hsing parents and I see how much there really is to do out there for hser's - and my area doesn't have a lot of hsing networks - it's here and there, but putting them all together has let us get together w/ people at least 3 times a week (and it could be more if we wanted). We'll probably stick w/ 2 times a week, and a once a month book club, and field trips.

And we're taking it easy for the remainder of the school year. Every hsing parent has told me to 'deschool' for a while. We're reading, doing lapbooks, doing things w/ other hser's (social and co-op classes). We're not doing the classic 'textbook' work (although I did buy a 4th grade and 2nd grade textbook at sam's club, and the kids have done a few pages when they felt like it)... but I don't want to "bring school home". And I've decided we'll school all year - at a relaxed pace - so I'm not worried about keeping up w/ the school calendar. After easter vacation (we leave for florida today actually - we live in NY), I'll do a little more of a schedule for math and spelling, and everything else we'll do in a fun way (science, history, writing, reading).

Good luck w/ your decision and keep us updated!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Thank you for your post bellebud! And you're leaving for Florida today, Have fun, my niece and nephew just got to Disney World last night! And we're leaving in 33 days, I cannot wait


So it sounds like you were in the "same" situation as I am with deciding to HS next year, but having to think about doing it sooner. I was finally content with my decision to start in the fall, and then all of this "stuff" happening with the school has had me really stressed out this week. And I know I've mentioned before dd9 has anxiety issues and is already dwelling on our Disney trip next month and how her teacher is going to make her stay in and complete all missed assignments. (and she will, she only brings home homework, but missed school work, she'll have the kids stay in from recess to complete them.) I know as we're nearing the end of our trip THAT is what she's going to be thinking about! dd is a very slow worker with everything, she is that kid in class that always finishes with a test or any assingment last. So you can imagine the anxiety she gets from that, so not only is she upset because she's "last", but she knows that when the time is up, she will be done and finish it at recess time, which is call "tutorial" It's for when homework or schoolwork is missed because of an absence or work is not completed.
We had a really nice talk last night about everything that bothers her and I feel really bad. It's not just school stuff, although that is the brunt of her "issues" she says she worries about stuff alot, like something bad happening to a family member. She says when she's bored and starts to daydream, only thoughts that worry her come into her head. I know I am going to ask her Pediatrician for a referral for her to talk to someone, I can talk to her, but I am not a professional and don't really know what to say, other than, try to think of something happy like Disney World. But she says she's tried, and that doesn't work. I don't really know what else to say to her to help. And ya know, the funny thing is that you'd never know she was "bothered" she's always happy , and doing crazy things. But I think that's why everything is getting worse, she's keeps it inside and it just builds up there.


Anyway, long post You'll be happy to know that.........................










































She is not in school today, i'm going to call the school department and see if there is anything I need to do. I mentioned before that I already submitted a Letter of Intent in October and got approved, but of course decided not to start. So, i'm already approved, I just don't know if maybe I need to send in a letter letting them know we are starting now!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

This Easter Vacation is going to be so nice. My other daughters are not in school today either, but that's because dd7 is really sick. she's got a fever and a nasty cough. but they will finish out the school year. dd7 may not want to when she sees dd9 home, so we'll see how it goes. so our vacation starts today, of course there's no school tomorrow for Good Friday.

Anyway, we're meeting a homeschooler next week, dd9 is excited, and I just got an email from my hs group and every tuesday in May from 1-2pm they meet at a field and play kickball or Tball, good exercise for dd, we've signed up for that. dd5 will already be home from preschool and dd7 doesn't get off the bus until 3:30. Although we will be in Disney for 2 of those "field days" at least on May 5th and the 26th we can go and hang out with some homeschoolers, I know that will be good for me.
I got an email last week saying they were all going bowling yesterday, of course Lizzie was sick but They're always doing things, this is going to be so much fun. We're going to get to meet so many people and do so much!

I'll let you know what happens after I contact the school department . dd9 is still sleeping I think she is getting sick too now, she was coughing until she finally fell asleep at 10pm last night. So she does not know the decision yet I'll let you know what she thinks about that too!