RE: homeschooling (new thread)

[Guest guest]

Hi Dawn here new to the group. My eldest son Zak (14) is our

Aspergers child, which his brother Max (10) is not!

We have chosen to home school Zak most of his life. Whenever we

put him in school there are disastrous consequences for him emotionally. Being

bullied, called names, told he’s “different”. By the way these are all private

and charter schools that he’s been in, no public ones.

Both of my boys are now home schooled as it’s so much easier

than getting up at some dark hour in the morning and subjecting them to being

taught things they are not interested in, especially Zak.

He’s very much into computers and has taught himself coding and

creates websites and his own games. But he is lonely… I have heard that is “normal”

for Asperger kids and that is something we work on. One of the great things

about home schooling and being with other kids that are home schooled is that

none of them treat Zak differently.

Off to the home schooling meeting.

Namaste

Dawn in Tucson, AZ

[Guest guest]

i am interested in home schooling my son who is 11- but am not sure how to go about it. he is not and has not functioned well at school and hates it. do you have any suggestions?

From: Dawn Falbe <dawn@...> Sent: Tue, January 12, 2010 12:52:14 PMSubject: RE: ( ) homeschooling (new thread)

Hi Dawn here new to the group. My eldest son Zak (14) is our Aspergers child, which his brother Max (10) is not!

We have chosen to home school Zak most of his life. Whenever we put him in school there are disastrous consequences for him emotionally. Being bullied, called names, told he’s “differentâ€. By the way these are all private and charter schools that he’s been in, no public ones.

Both of my boys are now home schooled as it’s so much easier than getting up at some dark hour in the morning and subjecting them to being taught things they are not interested in, especially Zak.

He’s very much into computers and has taught himself coding and creates websites and his own games. But he is lonely… I have heard that is “normal†for Asperger kids and that is something we work on. One of the great things about home schooling and being with other kids that are home schooled is that none of them treat Zak differently.

Off to the home schooling meeting.

Namaste

Dawn in Tucson, AZ

[Guest guest]

We did a virtual school for 2 years and it was wonderful. Still public school.........with all the curriculim tailored around him.......we got a computer, printer, books and teachers manuals.

We just got to do it at home.

Most states now have virtual schools. You can only apply during the "school choice" time which comes up in early Feb.

Robin

From: Alli <allilewis@...>Subject: Re: ( ) homeschooling (new thread) Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2010, 6:09 AM

i am interested in home schooling my son who is 11- but am not sure how to go about it. he is not and has not functioned well at school and hates it. do you have any suggestions?

From: Dawn Falbe <dawn@astrologerdawn .com> Sent: Tue, January 12, 2010 12:52:14 PMSubject: RE: ( ) homeschooling (new thread)

Hi Dawn here new to the group. My eldest son Zak (14) is our Aspergers child, which his brother Max (10) is not!

We have chosen to home school Zak most of his life. Whenever we put him in school there are disastrous consequences for him emotionally. Being bullied, called names, told he’s “differentâ€. By the way these are all private and charter schools that he’s been in, no public ones.

Both of my boys are now home schooled as it’s so much easier than getting up at some dark hour in the morning and subjecting them to being taught things they are not interested in, especially Zak.

He’s very much into computers and has taught himself coding and creates websites and his own games. But he is lonely… I have heard that is “normal†for Asperger kids and that is something we work on. One of the great things about home schooling and being with other kids that are home schooled is that none of them treat Zak differently.

Off to the home schooling meeting.

Namaste

Dawn in Tucson, AZ

[Guest guest]

My son went to an online high school for 4 years, and we helped alleviate loneliness by enrolling him in a friendship-social skills class, and also taking him to monthly support group meetings for Aspergers. Our group had social activities for teens also, so there was usually something going on. His transition to college (so far) has been good. I wondered how he would do with attending classes, but it hasn't been a problem at all. Your son may be interested in the college that my son attends: DigiPen Institute of Technology. www.digipen.edu It's not easy to get into, but it's THE school to go to for video game programming and design. They also have summer school classes for kids grade 7 and up. Very inspirational to get kids interested in doing their school work all year, actually, as they stress the importance of it during the summer school classes.:-)SaraSara Gardnerwww.aspergersupport.comhttp://nototherwisespecified.typepad.com/blog/>> Hi Dawn here new to the group. My eldest son Zak (14) is our Aspergers> child, which his brother Max (10) is not! > > > > We have chosen to home school Zak most of his life. Whenever we put him in> school there are disastrous consequences for him emotionally. Being> bullied, called names, told he's "different". By the way these are all> private and charter schools that he's been in, no public ones.> > > > Both of my boys are now home schooled as it's so much easier than getting up> at some dark hour in the morning and subjecting them to being taught things> they are not interested in, especially Zak.> > > > He's very much into computers and has taught himself coding and creates> websites and his own games. But he is lonely. I have heard that is "normal"> for Asperger kids and that is something we work on. One of the great things> about home schooling and being with other kids that are home schooled is> that none of them treat Zak differently.> > > > Off to the home schooling meeting.> > > > Namaste> > > > Dawn in Tucson, AZ>

[Guest guest]

Hi

Alli:

Gosh….

I’m not sure where to start.  Firstly home schooling is about a completely

different lifestyle than buying into “normal†life, where everyone puts their

kids on the bus and then deals with the fallout when they get home or trying to

“fix†the system to help our children.

There

are so many sites out there where you could find information about different

types of home schooling.  Finding out if you have a local home schooling group

would be a great place to start.  Go to the meeing and talk to others in your

area.

Home

schooling runs anywhere from where you do “school at home†– lessons based on curriculum

to unschooling, where you use no curriculum and you let your kids learn what

THEY want to learn, rather than what the schools believe they need to know and

everything in between.

Most

home schoolers that I know end up with a combination of allowing kids to decide

what they want to learn and some form of lessons.  I personally allow my kids

to decide what they want to learn.  They watch quite a few shows on the science

and history channels and other channels that really interest them.  From that

they spend time doing research on things they love to learn more about those

subjects.  We do belong to a home schooling group in Tucson, plus we have the

best laws in Arizona in the entire country for home schooling in that we are

not accountable to the government so our kids are not tested (testing is for

teachers) and no portfolios to “prove†what they are learning.

It

takes about a year of home schooling (I have found after all these years) to

get comfortable with the idea that your kids are learning in a different way

and different information than “school kidsâ€.  The biggest difference for me is

that other home schooling kids rarely tease other kids as they don’t have the

school mentality.

Remember

that if we were to ask all of our kids if they want to be in school or home

schooled, even “normal†kids would rather be home and don’t want to deal with

the bullying, name calling, one upping each other.

If

you would like to talk about this off list then please e-mail me.

Usually

writing about home schooling when others are choosing to school brings up a lot

of “stuff†for the school people, which I understand as I got defensive when I

sent my kids to school each time that I did.

Hope

some of this help.

Namaste

Dawn

in Tucson

From:

[mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Alli

Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 5:09 AM

Subject: Re: ( ) homeschooling (new thread)

i am interested in home schooling my son who is 11- but am

not sure how to go about it. he is not and has not functioned well at

school and hates it. do you have any suggestions?

From: Dawn Falbe

<dawn@...>

Sent: Tue, January 12, 2010 12:52:14 PM

Subject: RE: ( ) homeschooling (new thread)

Hi Dawn here new to the group. My

eldest son Zak (14) is our Aspergers child, which his brother Max (10) is

not!

We have chosen to home school Zak most

of his life. Whenever we put him in school there are disastrous

consequences for him emotionally. Being bullied, called names, told he’s

“differentâ€. By the way these are all private and charter schools that

he’s been in, no public ones.

Both of my boys are now home schooled as

it’s so much easier than getting up at some dark hour in the morning and

subjecting them to being taught things they are not interested in, especially

Zak.

He’s very much into computers and has

taught himself coding and creates websites and his own games. But he is

lonely… I have heard that is “normal†for Asperger kids and that is something

we work on. One of the great things about home schooling and being with

other kids that are home schooled is that none of them treat Zak differently.

Off to the home schooling meeting.

Namaste

Dawn in Tucson, AZ

[Guest guest]

Hi Alli,

This is a great support group and although I don't comment much, I read everything and have learned a lot about Asperger's and other issues.. I am also a member of an Aspie Homeschooling Group and that is a great place to gain tons of practical information for homeschooling. If you are interested the address is: HomeschoolingAspies

Cheers,

----- RE: ( ) homeschooling (new thread)

Hi Dawn here new to the group. My eldest son Zak (14) is our Aspergers child, which his brother Max (10) is not!

We have chosen to home school Zak most of his life. Whenever we put him in school there are disastrous consequences for him emotionally. Being bullied, called names, told he’s “differentâ€. By the way these are all private and charter schools that he’s been in, no public ones.

Both of my boys are now home schooled as it’s so much easier than getting up at some dark hour in the morning and subjecting them to being taught things they are not interested in, especially Zak.

He’s very much into computers and has taught himself coding and creates websites and his own games. But he is lonely… I have heard that is “normal†for Asperger kids and that is something we work on. One of the great things about home schooling and being with other kids that are home schooled is that none of them treat Zak differently.

Off to the home schooling meeting.

Namaste

Dawn in Tucson, AZ

____________________________________________________________

Small Business ToolsLearn how to save time and money. Click to find what tools your business needs now.

[Guest guest]

Look for some homeschooling organizations in your state, and they should have a

list of local homeschooling groups. They will also have details on the

paperwork you need to file. Also, start looking for groups for both like

minded homeschoolers as well as local groups. If your local population is large

enough, there will be plenty of homeschoolers around, and they are generally

accepting of kids who are different (many of them are homeschooling for the same

reasons). If you aren't Christian, your pool of homeschooling groups to COOP

with is limited, but secular people will still be out there. In my area there

are large Christian COOPs that are darn close to being private schools. Many of

the places that provide extracurricular services to kids have homeschooling

classes or days as do parks and museums.

Curriculum...there are online schools and you can buy a grade in a box from

various sources. Eventually, you'll want to get to a homeschool convention that

has a LARGE new/used book sale. If you are picking as choosing, other

homeschoolers will have some good suggestions. Personally, I had some success

with getting books from http://www.fes.follett.com/ (caters to schools) , but

most everyone else likes http://www.rainbowresource.com/index.php which caters

to homeschoolers and will send you a phone book size catalog. Also, if a

curriculum isn't working for you, don't try to hammer that square peg in the

round hole for too long. Find something else that works. I should add that

there is an adjustment period that you need to read up on. IMHO, more in

learned academically in a bad year of homeschooling than a good year of public

school.

I just started homeschooling again with my son. He is high functioning

Aspergers (very bright), is vision impaired, and has recently had his 4th set of

tubes put in due to fluid issues with his ears. My school system offered him 1

hour of OT a month with no direct ABA (or other therapy) for his behavior

issues. The kid was ahead in academics across the board when I returned him as

well as 2 grades ahead in mathematics, and if anything after 1.5 years he

regressed in math. There is a possibility that next year I might have my son

" live " with friends in a neighboring county that cares about these kids.

-

>

> i am interested in home schooling my son who is 11- but am not sure how to go

about it.  he is not and has not functioned well at school and hates it.  do

you have any suggestions?

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________

> From: Dawn Falbe <dawn@...>

>

> Sent: Tue, January 12, 2010 12:52:14 PM

> Subject: RE: ( ) homeschooling (new thread)

>

>  

> Hi Dawn here new to the group.  My eldest son Zak (14) is our Aspergers

child, which his brother Max (10) is not! 

>  

> We have chosen to home school Zak most of his life.  Whenever we put him in

school there are disastrous consequences for him emotionally.  Being bullied,

called names, told he’s “differentâ€.  By the way these are all private

and charter schools that he’s been in, no public ones.

>  

> Both of my boys are now home schooled as it’s so much easier than getting up

at some dark hour in the morning and subjecting them to being taught things they

are not interested in, especially Zak.

>  

> He’s very much into computers and has taught himself coding and creates

websites and his own games.  But he is lonely… I have heard that is

“normal†for Asperger kids and that is something we work on.  One of the

great things about home schooling and being with other kids that are home

schooled is that none of them treat Zak differently.

>  

> Off to the home schooling meeting.

>  

> Namaste

>  

> Dawn in Tucson, AZ

>

[Guest guest]

Dawn, you put all of that so eloquently! I always try to search for a way to tell people how and why we homeschool (because they always ask) and you just did it! Our state does require a portfolio but not testing. I find it's super easy to find a homeschooling mom in the support group who is a licensed teacher (per state req) who: A) understands our special needs limitations, and can approve my folio while still providing support as to where and how to improve my teaching at home and materials used. The homeschooling world is HUGE! Which is good and bad. There are many resources and sometimes it's hard to choose. Build your support network first. Find a homeschool group and then call/email to your state's education department and talk to someone knowledgeable in homeschooling (find out the

regulations). We have a homeschool dept here and the lady is very nice to talk to!Good Luck! ConnieFrom: Dawn Falbe <dawn@...>Subject: RE: ( ) homeschooling (new thread) Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2010, 6:11 PM

Hi

Alli: Gosh….

I’m not sure where to start. Firstly home schooling is about a completely

different lifestyle than buying into “normal†life, where everyone puts their

kids on the bus and then deals with the fallout when they get home or trying to

“fix†the system to help our children. There

are so many sites out there where you could find information about different

types of home schooling. Finding out if you have a local home schooling group

would be a great place to start. Go to the meeing and talk to others in your

area. Home

schooling runs anywhere from where you do “school at home†– lessons based on curriculum

to unschooling, where you use no curriculum and you let your kids learn what

THEY want to learn, rather than what the schools believe they need to know and

everything in between. Most

home schoolers that I know end up with a combination of allowing kids to decide

what they want to learn and some form of lessons. I personally allow my kids

to decide what they want to learn. They watch quite a few shows on the science

and history channels and other channels that really interest them. From that

they spend time doing research on things they love to learn more about those

subjects. We do belong to a home schooling group in Tucson, plus we have the

best laws in Arizona in the entire country for home schooling in that we are

not accountable to the government so our kids are not tested (testing is for

teachers) and no portfolios to “prove†what they are learning. It

takes about a year of home schooling (I have found after all these years) to

get comfortable with the idea that your kids are learning in a different way

and different information than “school kidsâ€. The biggest difference for me is

that other home schooling kids rarely tease other kids as they don’t have the

school mentality. Remember

that if we were to ask all of our kids if they want to be in school or home

schooled, even “normal†kids would rather be home and don’t want to deal with

the bullying, name calling, one upping each other. If

you would like to talk about this off list then please e-mail me. Usually

writing about home schooling when others are choosing to school brings up a lot

of “stuff†for the school people, which I understand as I got defensive when I

sent my kids to school each time that I did. Hope

some of this help. Namaste Dawn

in Tucson

From:

[mailto:AspergersSu pport@group s.com] On

Behalf Of Alli

Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 5:09 AM

Subject: Re: ( ) homeschooling (new thread)

i am interested in home schooling my son who is 11- but am

not sure how to go about it. he is not and has not functioned well at

school and hates it. do you have any suggestions?