Re: To homeschool, or not to homeschool?

[Guest guest]

First, get in contact with homeschool groups in your state and find out what the

laws are in your state. IMO, the states that tend to offer the least amount of

support in school tend to have more lax homeschooling laws. In my state there

is very little paperwork and I have a lot of flexibility in how and what I

teach, but it depends. Generally speaking you have control over how and when

they learn.

The positive end of homeschooling is that you are in control and you don't have

to worry about your child's school environment. The negative side is that you

are going to be working with them all the time (fewer breaks), and you need to

be there. Socialization depends a lot on your finances, your community and your

child. In my area there are a lot of activities they can get involved in, but

it costs money. Also, my son doesn't like a lot of stuff. Still, we do

playgroups, homeschool skating, and get togethers with other homeschoolers.

Also, in my area there are a lot of people with special needs kids and kids who

don't fit in who homeschool.

So I have to say that it is hard as hell for me (a non-religious stay at home

dad on a tight budget), BUT my son has friends and he didn't get one of them

from his 3 years in public school. For us personally, the decision was largely

because our public school wasn't teaching him or providing any therapeutic

services, and they were inclined more towards hiring lawyers than helping

children.

Also, it helps if you have good support from family/friends.

-

>

> Hi everyone,

> My son and I have a major problem here, and I was considering home schooling.

How does it all work? What do you do to get started? Where do you get supplies?

Who decides what he/she should learn and when?

> Basically, I know nothing about this. And I may consider it this year. I would

greatly appreciate anyone who could tell me about it. I know, from reading here,

that there are many homeschoolers in this group.

> What are the reasons you are doing it? How do you fit in socialization?

> I'd also like to hear from those who may oppose home schooling, as well.

>

> I just don't know what to do. And we have to decide in 2 weeks!

> Thanks,

> Kathy

>

[Guest guest]

living is called socialization....do not get 'caught up in that.....' seriously. SOCIAL SKILLS are going to church, teaching your child feelings (which we as the parents have to do anyway---or, at least we do because of where we live, which is NOT with the great schools for autism / aspergers like NEW JERSEY), etc........your child NEEDS to do all kinds of things they do not want to do....what THEY WANT TO DO IS STAY IN THEIR ROOM, never leave home, and that would be called 'cured' in their eyes, as that IS what they want. The sad thing is, just like said, we have to homeschool our special needs kids because of the public school failures to do so (waste money enforcing the law if desired but, in our case, after several thousands of dollars, we decided to heck with that). Socialization IS going outside for a walk on your street (THAT IS THE PUBLIC)----teach your child ahead of time (use social stories if you have not already but prepare and practice) that we say hi to everyone we pass on the side walk. Make a grocery list, have your child help you shop and add tasks to this (maybe today it will be just shopping, next time, to ask the produce department a specific question, next time maybe WHERE CAN I FIND a can of _______?, etc.).......these are essential daily living skills. The most important thing I was told when I was going to start homeschooling my now 16 year old (I didn't support / believe in homeschooling due to my preconceived notions) is that school is not book, not how SCHOOL is doing it---you do NOT have to do it that way...........going for a walk (exercise) with your child (bonding / quality time), talking about nature (Science), discussing things (potentially history---depending upon what you select to discuss but seriously, you would be surprised the things we talk about without even thinking about it), etc. these are all called LEARNING just because you didn't sit down with a set of books, make the child read all kinds of things, etc. doesn't mean they were not being educated (and, seriously, my son and my life have completely changed since I ACCEPTED THAT and how much less stressful our lives are is incredible. WE DO SOME BOOK LEARNING without him having any idea he is doing book learning because that just does not work well for him.............so, realize that public IS socialization, and it is the store, the post office, a restaurant, etc.

JUST GO FOR IT.............talk to a local program, in Iowa, we have home school assistance programs.......I am confident you will love it as much as I do now. I home school my 16 year old with Aspergers, and this WILL be my 9 year old entering 4th grade Asperger Son's last public school year PROVIDED THE SCHOOL DOESN'T GIVE HIM AN IEP before March 2011 (time I have to enroll to home school next year (we have asked EACH YEAR AND TO DATE, never have tested him or anything and we have a law in Iowa requiring it now----"i believe my child has a disability' which requires the school to start testing...............we've said it twice now in writing without a response.....we know the law stinks but it is what it is.............worthless to us for some reason!)......................and our 7 year old is in regular public school as well but has no special needs at this time, and we have a neurotypical 1 year old................

I love the home schoooling..........we do a lot of free to cheap things...........it doesn't have to cost a lot of money. We are working on social skills, volunteering (has to solicit this year for his volunteering opportunities), doing drivers' education (just got his permit), having to do a resume and apply for jobs, etc...........these are called LIFE SKILLS, and these are invaluable, necessary skills for our children, and I, as his mother, get to do these things with him...........what a better reward............

ONLY REGRET IS THAT WE DIDn't do it when he was headed in to 5th grade because with our now 10th should have been 11th grader, 5th grade was when the school quit doing anything to meet his needs so we have had to get tutors, etc. to keep him up to grade level................had we homeschooled to start with, we would be much better off financially! THAT IS MY ONLY 'regret' is that I didn't do it sooner.

GOOD LUCK

Ruthie Dolezal

mom of four and 's wife in Iowa

From: bucaroobonzai2003@...Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 03:23:53 +0000Subject: ( ) Re: To homeschool, or not to homeschool?

First, get in contact with homeschool groups in your state and find out what the laws are in your state. IMO, the states that tend to offer the least amount of support in school tend to have more lax homeschooling laws. In my state there is very little paperwork and I have a lot of flexibility in how and what I teach, but it depends. Generally speaking you have control over how and when they learn.The positive end of homeschooling is that you are in control and you don't have to worry about your child's school environment. The negative side is that you are going to be working with them all the time (fewer breaks), and you need to be there. Socialization depends a lot on your finances, your community and your child. In my area there are a lot of activities they can get involved in, but it costs money. Also, my son doesn't like a lot of stuff. Still, we do playgroups, homeschool skating, and get togethers with other homeschoolers. Also, in my area there are a lot of people with special needs kids and kids who don't fit in who homeschool.So I have to say that it is hard as hell for me (a non-religious stay at home dad on a tight budget), BUT my son has friends and he didn't get one of them from his 3 years in public school. For us personally, the decision was largely because our public school wasn't teaching him or providing any therapeutic services, and they were inclined more towards hiring lawyers than helping children.Also, it helps if you have good support from family/friends.->> Hi everyone,> My son and I have a major problem here, and I was considering home schooling. How does it all work? What do you do to get started? Where do you get supplies? Who decides what he/she should learn and when?> Basically, I know nothing about this. And I may consider it this year. I would greatly appreciate anyone who could tell me about it. I know, from reading here, that there are many homeschoolers in this group.> What are the reasons you are doing it? How do you fit in socialization?> I'd also like to hear from those who may oppose home schooling, as well.> > I just don't know what to do. And we have to decide in 2 weeks!> Thanks,> Kathy>

[Guest guest]

I agree with Ruthie and . Find a local group. Find state laws. Contact the education department and go from there. It can be daunting, but personally, I'd rather deal with my own child and see positive results than fight with the school endlessly to no avail. There are many pros and cons, many of which were already listed. The biggest one is you never get a break. Not unless you force one (babysitter, spouse taking them). That can be really daunting. Also, support of course. My family does not support what I do. They think I am not qualified. But I work with a school and I work with a licensed psychologist. I have no doubts in what I am doing or my ability. hth.ConnieFrom: kvamp666 <KVAMP777@...>Subject: ( ) To homeschool, or not to homeschool? Date: Saturday, July 31, 2010, 12:46 PM

Hi everyone,

My son and I have a major problem here, and I was considering home schooling. How does it all work? What do you do to get started? Where do you get supplies? Who decides what he/she should learn and when?

Basically, I know nothing about this. And I may consider it this year. I would greatly appreciate anyone who could tell me about it. I know, from reading here, that there are many homeschoolers in this group.

What are the reasons you are doing it? How do you fit in socialization?

I'd also like to hear from those who may oppose home schooling, as well.

I just don't know what to do. And we have to decide in 2 weeks!

Thanks,

Kathy

[Guest guest]

I heard that some states have online public school now. If so it's easier to go that route.In 6th grade we opted to have doc state we need in home schooling for our aspie (middle school) was an issue......but we only did it temporary and our child knew the time line......if you do it once you have to do all the time unless you have a plan to go back out of the action.-- Sent from my Palm PreOn Jul 31, 2010 19:45, kvamp666 <KVAMP777@...> wrote:

Hi everyone,

My son and I have a major problem here, and I was considering home schooling. How does it all work? What do you do to get started? Where do you get supplies? Who decides what he/she should learn and when?

Basically, I know nothing about this. And I may consider it this year. I would greatly appreciate anyone who could tell me about it. I know, from reading here, that there are many homeschoolers in this group.

What are the reasons you are doing it? How do you fit in socialization?

I'd also like to hear from those who may oppose home schooling, as well.

I just don't know what to do. And we have to decide in 2 weeks!

Thanks,

Kathy

[Guest guest]

Kathy,

If you decide to use a curriculum, you can always contact your local school and

ask for the ISBN numbers of their curriculum. You just tell them that you want

to keep him grade appropriate in case you put him back in school. They are all

about that since they dislike getting homeschooled kids as they feel like they

have to do a lot of catching up with these kids. I know when I entered my kids

into public school after homeschooling them that they outperformed on their

tests, LOL, and I did not use their textbooks.

I only made it 1.5 years in a public school.

You can also do your own thing - look up Unit Studies and ecclectic

homeschooling. You can buy workbooks from bookstores. A lot of people let

their kids pursue their own interests in everything - some do this in everything

but math which they keep their kids doing (Saxton is pretty good). This allows

a kid to really explore a topic until s/he is done with it - something our kids

with autism really like to do because it gives mastery to them.

There are a lot of online supports and local public library materials you can

get. My sons got an extremely good exposure to American History last year by

reading and discussing their textbook plus watching a ton of videos.

One of the best reasons to homeschool is socialization. Our kids have a lot of

anxiety from being square pegs that the school system is trying to fit into

round holes. Having that freedom from lining up, being told when to pee and

eat, and having to switch subjects every 50 minutes even if they are really into

something - it relaxes them.

Getting together with homeschooled friends for recess is a 2-3 hour event. A

kid on the spectrum has plenty of time to relax into this environment. When my

child was in school - he'd circle the playgroun never knowing what to do, and

then when it seemed like he had finally decided, they blew the whistle to end

it. That stress combined with his teacher's method of discipline with him

(taking away his recess if he had a fit) made him voluntarily give up recess.

He sat by himself in the classroom instead. The school did not care. They kept

saying to me that his being by himself did not interfere with his getting a free

and appropriate education. Socializaton to my school was not that important.

L.

>

> Hi everyone,

> My son and I have a major problem here, and I was considering home schooling.

How does it all work? What do you do to get started? Where do you get supplies?

Who decides what he/she should learn and when?

> Basically, I know nothing about this. And I may consider it this year. I would

greatly appreciate anyone who could tell me about it. I know, from reading here,

that there are many homeschoolers in this group.

> What are the reasons you are doing it? How do you fit in socialization?

> I'd also like to hear from those who may oppose home schooling, as well.

>

> I just don't know what to do. And we have to decide in 2 weeks!

> Thanks,

> Kathy

>

[Guest guest]

You might check out a homeschool list for your area. We actually e-school here and are lucky to have a few e-schools in our area to choose from. It works really well for me so far. My boys have real teachers, classes online, books are provided, IEP's are provided, etc. They still get their therapies. I do have to spend a good amount of time with them, organizing them, providing the special education help that they might need. I am "the aide" for my ds. But I don't have to come up with the daily assignments or curriculum.

Homeschool groups can help you learn how to find out the laws in your area/state. There are a lot of books out there to help you as well. And you can also just google "homeschooling laws" and your state and probably will get a ton of information. Good luck with the decision!

Roxanna

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

( ) To homeschool, or not to homeschool?

Hi everyone,

My son and I have a major problem here, and I was considering home schooling. How does it all work? What do you do to get started? Where do you get supplies? Who decides what he/she should learn and when?

Basically, I know nothing about this. And I may consider it this year. I would greatly appreciate anyone who could tell me about it. I know, from reading here, that there are many homeschoolers in this group.

What are the reasons you are doing it? How do you fit in socialization?

I'd also like to hear from those who may oppose home schooling, as well.

I just don't know what to do. And we have to decide in 2 weeks!

Thanks,

Kathy

[Guest guest]

Hang in there Connie. One lady actually said to me, "I thought he was gifted" and I said, "Yes, he is" and she then said, "Well, aren't you afraid...you know...that you can't teach him then?" LOL. I just smiled and said I would muddle through.

Roxanna

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

( ) To homeschool, or not to homeschool?

Date: Saturday, July 31, 2010, 12:46 PM

Hi everyone,

My son and I have a major problem here, and I was considering home schooling. How does it all work? What do you do to get started? Where do you get supplies? Who decides what he/she should learn and when?

Basically, I know nothing about this. And I may consider it this year. I would greatly appreciate anyone who could tell me about it. I know, from reading here, that there are many homeschoolers in this group.

What are the reasons you are doing it? How do you fit in socialization?

I'd also like to hear from those who may oppose home schooling, as well.

I just don't know what to do. And we have to decide in 2 weeks!

Thanks,

Kathy