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I'm posting this because there have to be more out there that are really researching their children's education for the first time. We all have a crossroads we come to, where we realize that the way our children learn is different. How are you, or have you, dealt with yours?

Public school?
Acceleration?
Homeschool?
Private school?

Why are you, or have you, chosen this for your kid(s)?
Is it working?

Are you just in the panic stage, like myself, because you are at this crossroads?

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We have done a little of all of the above.

Our son didn't meet the age cut-off for K in most states when we know he was ready, so we started out with private school in K-1. Technically, he was considered "grade advanced" (as opposed to accelerated, since we never skipped a grade). Then we put him in public school for half a year in 2nd grade (and the fact that it was just half a year tells how successful that was!) He went from loving school to not wanting to go. We pulled him out and put him back in his old (private and very small) school.

In first grade, about a month into it, he asked me, "What if, when I had started in this school, I had started in 1st grade?" It was his round-about way of saying, "I could have done this last year" -- but he wasn't sure how it would be received, so he went the tap-dance route. I looked further, and then talked a bit with the principal (who, it turns out, not only had raised gifted kids, but had a masters in gifted ed, which came after her first was id'd), who said she would test his reading level when she got a chance.

He was in the 99.9th percentiles pretty much across the board, and that was the first time the G word had been used with him -- she said she had no doubt that if he had an IQ test, he would test in the gifted range.

If I knew then what I know now, I might have done things differently, but I followed the principal's lead, and she didn't want to skip him for fear of gaps. What ended up happening is that he was allowed to do the 2nd grade spelling words, and given different worksheets than classmates to broaden his curriculum, rather than outright advance.

Public school, he was just plain bored.

Back to the private school -- it wasn't until 4th grade (and the only year that they had that teacher for math and science) that his math teacher said she was having trouble keeping up with him. (Not that he was so far she didn't know the math, but that she was trying to find a comfortable challenging spot for him.) So the principal tested his math, and -- surprise, surprise, similar percentiles. Sigh -- all that time he was mentally twiddling his thumbs.

Fifth grade, we were consulted, and we consented for him to start doing pre-algebra work. Then next year, we were looking at possible schools for middle school (and considering homeschooling) when my dh got laid off. Made homeschooling the obvious choice, since we couldn't afford such hefty tuitions!

Last year was a blended year. He was at a math/science center for, well, math and science (and it worked out well that the previous year we had not done any math, since it synched him up well with their program), and he did their 10th grade of AP Physics, AP Statistics and a course that, despite its label, is essentially a precalc course. So, technically, that is ahead of grade level, but in step with others at that school.

I will say, the beginning of the year was rough, because he was resistant to being there, and he was willing to make my life as miserable as possible to see if I would pull him out. Eventually, he came to appreciate the pluses of being there (coooool lab equipment, field trips, and being with kids who were actually there to learn) though by the end of the year, though he had improved on showing his work, he acknowledged that he still had room for improvement. (I've been beating my head bloody trying to get him to do that!)

Learning differently -- well, that can be said whether gifted or not, really, since different people approach things differently. My son learns math differently than I do -- the approach I thought was easiest was harder to him, and vice versa. I had to adapt and find resources that worked better for him. And chance how we tackled things, etc.

I panic on a semi-regular basis, because I see all the things I have done wrong over the years, and I see the time slipping by so very fast. I basically have 2 years left, and I remember feeling panicky when I had a mere 7!

We all want what is best for our children, and it is so hard to know just what that is. I try to tell myself that it won't be perfect, but it will be a good enough lift (I hope) to get him to where he can go where he needs to. That's on the good moments. The other times, I panic and am sure I screwed up royally, etc.


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We went with homeschooling because I researched it when our son was 2 (at the urging of others, including our son's pediatrician who informed us at our son's 18-month-old check-up that he should be homeschooled, even though she had her smart kids in the same county's public schools the entire way up) and found it the best option *in general* (not just for high IQ kids) academically (not just in standardized test scores, but also higher GPAs and far less drop out rates in colleges), socially (yes, socially), physically (less health issues), emotionally (less mental issues), professionally (couldn't find a single case of unemployment for the homeschooled group, and they have an incredibly high rate of entrepreneurship, which our son at 2 had already expressed as his goal), etc. So while I was resistant about homeschooling for the first few years after I learned about it (I first heard about it when I was pregnant as our Bradley class instructor was about to pull her son out of public school to homeschool, and at that time, I wrote it off to a "CA thing" just as I did when the pediatrician mentioned it as she was trained in CA), once I researched the topic, it seemed a no brainer to me. And I've never regretted that decision or even been iffy on it. Our son still so strongly supports homeschooling that he stopped seeing a girl who had been homeschooled and then went back to public school (he feels that he could marry a girl who had never been homeschooled so long as she was open to homeschooling, but can't see having a girlfriend who was homeschooled and didn't realize how great that opportunity was such that she returned to public school).

We never skipped any grades as far as acceleration went, but we did allow our son to learn what he wanted as he wanted as best we could. Now he wanted to start college when he was 6, and we wouldn't even let him apply as *we* as *parents* felt we weren't ready for our son to be in college, and then we let him apply though a fluke incident to apply to college at 8 and he was accepted, but we insisted he wait till turning 9 to actually start and even then, would only allow him to take one course to start. He earned his two bachelor's degrees at age 13 and wanted to go straight to graduate school until he went on Semester at Sea the summer before his final year of college and I promised to give him more foreign travel if he just waited another year to apply to graduate school, and he accepted that offer, but even waiting a year, he still started graduate school at 14 (as he was one of only two people in his major who was invited to start in June rather than the fall).

Early college went well for our son, but living on his own in a graduate dorm has been trying for us as he hasn't continued to be responsible about going to bed or getting up at a reasonable time, eating right, exercising, making appointments, etc. like he was before he moved out, but he has so far still been more responsible than many college or graduate school students (he has paid all his bills on time, never asked us for money, not abused the family cell phone service and told us about the time he had a conversation with a gal in the USA who called him while he was on business in Norway and offered to pay for that charge, managed despite his procrastination and missing classes due to business and being late to classes at times due to absent-mindedness to still do well academically - he got all A's and an A+ last semester, hasn't used drugs or alcohol as best we can tell, doesn't go for days or more not returning our calls or emails like some students do with their parents, etc.). My vote on both early college and living on one's own while in graduate school *for our son* will remain out for many years to come, I suspect, after I learn how *he* has felt about the experience as an adult in his mid-20's to early 30's. For other people, early college has worked for more than it hasn't according to research done on the topic (despite what anecdotes online might have one guessing), and I hope it will be the same for our son (who as of this past weekend, still says early college was a good decision that he made). I'm not even sure if I know of any other early graduate students who were living on campus so young, though I know of at least one early college student who lived on campus at 14 and felt it was crucial to his development. The number of early to graduate school students who live on campus might still be too small to even make judgment calls on whether it is wise or not to do *in general* and of course, each person isn't a "general" situation and so even knowing how it "usually" goes might not be *all* that helpful.

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Briefly considered homeschooling, but decided it wasn't for us. We've done public school all the way--never regretted it. Two boys, both of whom are identified as gifted. The youngest one (age 10) skipped a full grade and has been accelerated several grades in math--this fall he will start 8th-grade algebra. The schools have been very helpful and have accomodated all of our requests and issues. Can't complain. We wouldn't do it any other way.

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We'll start with homeschooling and then take it year-by-year.. He's thriving at home and is involved in multiple homeschool groups, sports, and classes.

Have you seen these sites about homeschooling gifted kids?

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Amy! I'm glad to see you here again. It's interesting to hear that you once considered homeschooling. May I ask what prompted you to even think about it? I know that you have been very successful at getting the needs of your children met through the public school system.

My own family took a series of steps leading away from traditional neighborhood school. At one point we opted for a city magnet school, at another "crossroads" we chose to send our son to a start-up charter school. The final crossroads that ended with homeschooling would have been inconceivable for us had we not tried so many other arrangements.

These days, I am very grateful that we took that leap to homeschooling, but I also realize that this lifestyle isn't for everyone. The burden felt tremendously huge at first. Nowadays I don't stress over the educational stuff, but I do dream about having more time alone. I feel the pressure of always being "on duty" and the rare moments when I can read or write without interruptions are too fleeting. It's all cyclic though, and I am sure that once my toddler begins to sleep through the night I'll have more energy and time on my side.

Jan, did you always plan to homeschool? Your kids are very young, right?

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We've gone from public school, to private school to charter school and next year our DS (age 8) will start at a magnate charter (school within a school). The public school classified him as having ADHD. The private school insisted he had behavior issues. We had him tested. He was BORED! The only subject he performed at grade-level in was math--he wasn't at all interested in it. Every other subject he was several grades ahead. We're only moving him from the charter to the magnate now to keep him in an accelerated path. Would we homeschool? Without a doubt, if and only if it was what he truly needed.

Education is successful when the program (regardless of source) fits the specific needs of the child and challenges him/her to do his/her very best. In my book, simply meeting basic educational needs isn't enough. The child must be nurtured, supported, challenged, guided, and exposed to the world in which he/she lives. If the program can do all of that and permit the child to develop as an individual, encourage free-thinking, encourage independence, encourage creativity and help the child discover his/her own path to success (as defined by the child), then you're good.

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Lorel, you just confirmed my fears. Not that that first year of hs'ing wouldn't have. smile

I was looking forward to sending my son to ps for one reason - off-duty hours. I've decided they can wait a little longer, but I do run a business as well. Juggling sounds interesting to say the least!

Any ideas that you've had success with for sneaking in those childless moments during your day that are still productive for your children? That may be the most important advice I can ask for. I do NOT want to be a burn-out hs'er! I will need a little solitary rejuvenation now and then, as my son (like so many gt kids) is a relentless learner and guiding him in his pursuits will need attention and energy!


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yes jan, thank you! i actually pulled them off an old thread you posted. they're very interesting!

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I met a friend/teacher at a spring meeting of our state gifted ed advocacy group. She asked me "Are you still homeschooling?" and I was wondering if she was amused, horrified, etc, at my response:" Well, I've got to tell you. I realized that there were a few schools in the state I had not sent X to yet, so I had to remedy that situation. X has been to public school, parochial school, homeschooled two different times,charter school, and next year he will be in a private school. Yes, he is only 10, but what a record he has." I say that with a laugh...and some secret tears.

It can be really tough to find the right place for a gifted child. We have found elements of success in all schools, and big holes in all schooling situations. We also have seen that what works one year does not always work the next year. We have labored with the idea that continuity in itself would be our ideal, but we have also had to deal with schools in which teachers or administrators just could not accept the flexibility needed to deal with an unusual learner.

My son is very well behaved and I have never heard a complaint from a teacher (well, two said he learned too fast and that really bothered them).But he has often been very sad.

So, with number two I am holding onto my seat.We investigated a number of schools and considered trying him in the public school at which my first son started.They are as different in learning and personality as night and day. But #2 is often described as a character (lovingly and not so lovingly) by some adults and we tried to find a school that could let him be a character (a well-behaved character) and still learn and be appreciated. We are going to put him in K in a school that #1 never attended. It is a small private school that does seem to get differentiation. We will be watching very closely and keeping our fingers crossed.

I would never RECOMMEND our educational itinerary as a route for all families but I would say that we know that we have done our best in advocating for our child in each and every school. I have been class mother and on every volunteer committee you can imagine.We have tried to support teachers 150%.But our allegiance is to our kids and when it ain't working it ain't working. Their lives are too short to say "Buck it up...". One way or another, I want them to learn how to learn and try to keep the spark alive.

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Oh, I just should add a note to answer your question. My elder son, who is the one who has been in every schooling situation available, has been grade accelerated twice.We would have loved a flexible subject acceleration (which we did while homeschooling) but that never worked for our schools. The parochial school skipped him once and would have worked if the principals plan for further subject acceleration had been accepted by the teacher, but that did not pan out and eventually led to some very bad teacher attitude issues. After homeschooling one more year,my son was allowed a second skip into a public charter school (with proper documentation and with the caveat that he could be pushed back if he did not perform academically or socially). He was on the high honor roll in that school but the school was very inflexible and just did not foster any love of learning...it was more like a boot camp.

In retrospect, I think that grade accel has worked for this child but I would have loved more flexibility like I know works for friends across the country. If at age 10 he could be allowed to work at his own pace and be in classes with ages 11 or 12 to 16 he would be very happy.Homeschooling should accomplish this but did not pan out socially or academically in our geographic location (and my son really likes to be in classes, so we had to find some of those situations that were open to young kids). He is a newly-minted 10 year old who will be in 7th graders who are 13 and above. But that does not bother him and has yet to become an issue for us.

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Surfersmom, I am really hoping that the new school situation will be a positive one. Please keep us posted!

Lynn, you said this:
Education is successful when the program (regardless of source) fits the specific needs of the child and challenges him/her to do his/her very best. In my book, simply meeting basic educational needs isn't enough. The child must be nurtured, supported, challenged, guided, and exposed to the world in which he/she lives. If the program can do all of that and permit the child to develop as an individual, encourage free-thinking, encourage independence, encourage creativity and help the child discover his/her own path to success (as defined by the child), then you're good.

I agree completely. I hope your son will not just get along, but thrive this coming year.

Zandes, I'm a bit stressed from some rough nights with the little one. I'm sorry if I make homeschooling sound scary. Actually, I felt a HUGE weight come off my shoulders when we began homeschooling my eldest. The morning rush, the afternoon rush, packing lunches, uniforms, report cards, teacher meetings, and PTO were all eliminated in one fell swoop. The entire family felt the difference, and it was very liberating.

When I need a break, I can trade off childcare with homeschooling friends who have similarly aged children. I also make an effort to be unavailable from 7-8 pm, just before bedtime for the youngest. I like to sit and read while DH watches TV or works on his laptop. Dh and I also sometimes leave our teen in charge and take a walk in the evening, just to have a half hour or so alone.
My friends and I have dinner out without the kids every so often too, but it can be hard to coordinate schedules. Next week, I am meeting a friend for tea, and between the two of us we have nine children! It's no easy feat getting away from them all, even for an hour. It matters though, and so we keep making the effort.






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I totally agree with this!

Originally Posted By: Lynn_B

Education is successful when the program (regardless of source) fits the specific needs of the child and challenges him/her to do his/her very best. In my book, simply meeting basic educational needs isn't enough. The child must be nurtured, supported, challenged, guided, and exposed to the world in which he/she lives. If the program can do all of that and permit the child to develop as an individual, encourage free-thinking, encourage independence, encourage creativity and help the child discover his/her own path to success (as defined by the child), then you're good.

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Lorel,

I actually *never* planned to homeschool..LOL smile Or stay home. I didn't know how I'd feel about parenting until I actually became a mom--and even then I figured I'd just stay home for a few years and then put them in school and go back to work.

My story of how I got to where I am in terms of my beliefs is actually an article here at Bella:

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Exactly. I sometimes hear from other school teachers that I should put my energy into changing the school system instead of homeschooling my own kids.

I used to fight for change. It was exhausting and I soon realized that it would be YEARS before things would be better.
Sure, things might get better down the road, but I have make decisions based on what's happening NOW in schools in my area (and my child's individual needs).

Originally Posted By: surfersmom
We have tried to support teachers 150%.But our allegiance is to our kids and when it ain't working it ain't working. Their lives are too short to say "Buck it up...". One way or another, I want them to learn how to learn and try to keep the spark alive.

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We've lucked out with the charter and the new magnate, I think. Both are child-centered (not child-led, but centered around his needs... give my DS the chance to decide for himself what he wants to learn and the only thing he'll aim for is gaming... that may change... someday... maybe...). There are no true GT programs in any of the schools/districts servicing our area. Here, GT translates to an extra hour a day spent on "academic enrichment" (can you say "let's learn how to ace the state's academic performance test"?). We drove almost an hour north for him to attend a day school that permitted him to flex grades in the subjects he excelled in; and will drive an hour south for the new magnate in order to offer him the same opportunity as he's advancing in grades. It's been a learning experience for all of us; and we have years left to keep this up. Yippee.


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The mother of four gifted students, all went through the public school system. Some years were great, others were not so great. There's pros and cons to whatever you do. We live in a smaller community so it was important that they had the other opportunities as well, such as social, sports, arts, that were primarily only available through the school system. Was it the best choice? We'll never know, but three graduated as valedictorians or top five, two scored the highest of their class on the acts, one holds the school record. So I guess the public school system didn't completely fail them, although some teachers along the way did.

Here's a few examples: Math grade 6, ds is above grade level, teacher gave him the book and basically said have at it. Science, grade 6, ds is above grade level. Well, he's very bright. dd grade 6 is tested as geniouse, we could put her in an enrichment program. dd grade 9, math teacher is incorrect and argues with student to the point of frustration, dumb. dd grade 10, english teacher doesn't know what to do with her, allows her to develop her own curriculum, ok fine. But it went on like this forever, and there was only a time or two you would find a teacher that truly appreciated your childs intelligence, for the most part they are intimidated by it. Forgive me if their mother doesn't spell like a geniouse!

Have one to go, this dd doesn't have the social stigma that can go with being gifted, she has all the common sense in the world to blend in, yet retain a 4.0. Lucky for her, most don't have that which makes the public school a not so fun place to be. While the other three were the ones the teachers wanted to take home and keep, this one is the one that the teacher would prefer to send to detention. Oh my. Isn't it all fun. Yet, her attitude allows her to survive.

Funniest thing, the only B dd #1 received was in penmanship in grade three. How funny is that? She still writes like she's in third grade, she just writes beautiful words now, as she has a BA in english.

Good luck with your decision, I know a lot depends on the resources you have available to you within your community.

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Iwonder-

It is funny that your daughter got her worst grade in penmanship, and went on to be a writer. My oldest has a similar story. He has dysgraphia and hated writing assignments up until he learned to type. He's a keyboarding whiz now, and is a college student planning on a career in writing. All through his childhood, I has him pegged as a programmer! You never can tell which way they'll go...

Lorel

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I was secretly hoping to read a delusional little paragraph that there was a magic fit for highly gifted kids that just materialized because there was a need. My district doesn't "do acceleration", has no remaining gifted programs, resources, teachers. I feel shoved into homeschooling. A good choice for him, I think. But, maybe not such a good choice for me. I was really hoping to be able to devote the 1-on-1 time to my youngest while he's just starting out that I gave Zoren when he was that age. I thought the hours he was at school would have been a great bonding time for me and the baby. I also wanted to take a dream or two of mine out of queue and would have appreciated a few hours of freedom a day.

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Unfortunately, Zandes, the situation you and I've experienced in our districts holds true for a majority of students in the U.S.

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My dd brought home her class schedule with teachers. Oh my, here we go again. I love summer. Are any of you familiar with AR, the accelerated reading program, or the new senior project?

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I only know about AR from others -- but what I've heard isn't pretty. I know a boy that was given such a high AR goal, that he didn't pick out books based on what would be interesting, but based on points, so he could get that ridiculous goal set for him.

I think every school that has that program should have the powers that be read Punished By Rewards. Those sort of programs -- including reading incentives -- killed my son's reading for a long time.

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I just wanted to share an update. I am now homeschooling zoren. he loves it! i haven't seen that zeal since before i sent him to school. i got my kid back. i expect that we will hit our bumps, our obstinate mornings, our days off for mommy burnout. A week in, it's working for us. You're right, Lorel. It was a weight off to just make the decision, roll with it, and stop fighting for what he needs and provide it.

before we decided for certain, he attended a trial week at their K-2 summer program so that the potential teachers could become familiar with him. after a week, they had already seen the brain and the boredom. he sat with the 2nd grade kids by choice (he turned 5 today), and socially fit, but was bored out of his mind by the work). They met with me, the principal, curriculum coordinator for the district, and the educational services director. they offered grade skips, but admitted that in class acceleration or differentiation would be very limited. he's not going to slow down the rate at which he learns. so, instead of eventually having him in with kids significantly older than him (i didn't like the idea of social exposure), we decided the only viable and local option for him is homeschool.

so, here we go!

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We've done a few things and ds is only 6 years old. At his tender age, he's already a preschool and a kindergarten "drop out." A few months into preschool, which he absolutely pleaded and begged to attend with one of his friends who also has a fall b-day, the novelty wore off and he didn't want to go back. We made him stick out on more month just to see if it was phase and to see if we could advocate for an adaptations, we pulled him out.

We happened to be homeschooling that year because we had just brought home our newest son, who was 6 at the time, and our oldest would have been the only child leaving for school each day. We also did not think she would do well in 1st Grade with all the upheaval in our home that year. So... we just homeschooled him at that K/1st level.

DH really wanted to give public school a try so we put everyone in school last fall. The older two did fine, but K was devastated by the 3rd day when he realized that kindergarten was simply a repeat of preschool. He tried to shine - and the regular teacher may have noticed - but there was a student teacher that year. When our 2nd grader brought home her homework, K snatched it up and did it himself. When we tried to bring this to the attention of the regular kindy teacher, she was too stressed to listen.

By the end of week two, K was experiencing health problems due to the stress and coming home in tears. He's a stoic kid, though, and would put on a happy face for his teacher because he had been taught by us to behave and respect your elders (unless safety is a concern). We brought it up again... this time to the principal. Assessments were done, a meet was had, and they finally agreed to part time 1st grade while still attending afternoon kindergarten.

We decided to play it their way as far as we and our son could stand it. At the 6th meeting we all but demanded grade acceleration. Our little guy was stressed out, depressed, begging & pleading to homeschool and ready to give up on life. After winter break, he was full-time in 1st grade. Once he settled in and trusted he was there to stay, he thrived.

Now 2nd grade starts next week and I'm nervous about how things will go. Just because last year was finally successful... to a point... there's no reason to believe this year will be.

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Zandes,

I am SO happy to hear that homeschooling is working for you! Hurrah! Have you been able to meet with other homeschooling families yet?

Rebecca,

You highlight a very important point. Kids who don't get any challenge in school often become depressed or angry, and eventually may "tune out" altogether. People often perceive pro grade skip parents as "pushing" their child, when in fact the child is the one chomping at the bit. I hope that your son's school will continue to monitor him and make accommodations as neccessary.


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i saw the tune out in prek, which improved some when she moved him to the k class for most of the day. the teachers at our trial noticed he was much happier working with the 2nd graders on their work. i didn't know when the acceleration would be enough to challenge him, and wasn't sure he'd still get to be 5 years old.

hs is how we think it's going to work out best for him.
however, we're still struggling to find our community.
any suggestions on how to dig out secular, gifted, unschoolers? smile

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Gecko
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Gecko
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Zandes-

I'm going to start a new thread on this topic.

smile

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Newbie
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YES

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Koala
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Koala
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I feel the pain.

Update... We're unfortunately experiencing some unexpected difficulties this year. We ended up having to place the DS (age 8) in our local public school as the magnate school bumped his placement to make space for a local student. When we enrolled him in the public school, the sending school provided all of their notes, test scores, grades, etc. The receiving school didn't look at any of it, instead insisted on putting him into an age appropriate class room. Several conferences later (and its only week three for him) they finally realized the behavior problems they're seeing ARE resulting because he's bored. He needs to be challenged. So they're moving him into an accelerated reading program. Oi... if they'd just read the notes from the prior school and followed through on the suggestions made by the teachers and counselors that had worked with him previously... Ugh...

And now I have to work with this same school to try to get speech pathology set up for my DD when she turns 3 and no longer qualifies for early childhood intervention.

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Gecko
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Gecko
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Lynn-

Have you made any progress at the school? It really is a new battle every year, as the kids change schools or teachers. I hope that you can get your son squared away sooner rather than later this year. It sounded as though you put a lot fo thought into selecting the new school. It would be a terrible shame if it wasn't much different after all.

Please keep us posted!


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Shark
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Zandes--Try your local library and, possibly, the local health-food store. We are religious but not what you'd call fundamentalists, and we had trouble finding homeschool groups that fit our outlook. We homeschooled at a time when it still was not so well accepted, and we never really found a single group we'd term "our community." We made up for it chiefly by just sticking with pursuit of the kids' personal interests. Gradually, the kids met people they enjoyed--one via art classes, the other via horseback riding activities.

Dispite the lack of "community," both our kids swear by homeschooling and plan to homeschool their children. When you think about it, there's really no absolute need for kids to associate only with other kids. There are advantages to having friends in all age groups. (Of course, you want to keep a close eye on things.)

Our local librarian says they have tons of homeschool associations visiting the library all the time. That's where I got the library idea for you. The one about the health food store I remembered from our homeschooling days. We have a wholefoods co-op in our area, and they maintain a bulletin board. It occasionally has info on what might be called "alternative" homeschool groups.



cela
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Koala
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Koala
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Lorel - The public school process is going to drive me crazy. We're now shifting teachers to try and resolve some issues. I keep hoping the magnate school will call and say they suddenly have a spot open again. Ugh!

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Gecko
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Gecko
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Lynn-

How is your son dealing with the situation? Is he very upset?

Is it likely that the other school will have a space at this point in time, or do you think you are stuck with the troublesome public school for the entire year?

Sigh...

Lorel

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Koala
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Yes, the DS is fairly upset. He didn't want to go to school at all this morning and asked if he could go back to the school he attended for 2nd grade. We're giving the Pub School 2 more weeks with the new teacher. If we don't see some changes we're just going to bit the bullet and go back to commuting an hour and a half so that he can attend a school he's comfortable in and benefits from. Even if they don't have an accelerated program.

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Shark
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Hi, Lynn--I just went back through your posts. Your description of what true education should be sounds like being homeschooled by a dedicated parent. I would encourage you to look at homeschooling again.

The time it is taking to straighten out DS's school situation seems worrisome. Kids perceive time so differently from adults. The time it's taking could seem like forever to him, especially if he is enduring something you are unaware of (like teasing). (I know you haven't mentioned teasing, but one of our children experienced this without telling us until years later--after we started homeschooling.) Kids have such a hard time verbalizing what specific emotions they are experiencing. They can be miserable and only reflect this in questions like "Why can't I go back to my old school?" Then they wonder why we don't fully perceive their distress.

Another factor is that DS is a boy. I'm convinced that schools are not usually geared for the normal activity level of a lot of boys. Schools can be too quick to label a boy as having behavior problems or as being hyperactive. They want kids who are pretty cooperative about sitting down most of the day.

Anyway, with homeschooling, you are completely free to help your child explore whatever he finds interesting. Judging from your signature add-ons, it looks like you'd be more than qualified to homeschool DS.

Good luck to you.


cela
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Koala
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Koala
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We've evaluated our options and unfortunately full-time homeschooling is not a realistic option for us at the moment. So we endure.

He is, however, doing better with the new teacher (much better, quite honestly, than we expected he would). We'll continue to monitor progress closely and to reinforce and supplement the curriculum at home.

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Jellyfish
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Lynn, you sound like a wonderful mom and a fantastic advocate for your son. Keep pushing, even when the system pushes back. smile

MsA, Punished By Rewards is one of my favorite education books, as well as Genius Denied.


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