My oldest son is in the fourth grade and after much thought and prayer we have decided that we are going to finish his fourth grade year at home instead of the public school that he has been attending since pre-school.
The choice for us to do this had many factors including several learning challenges like ADD, Aspergers, and Dysgraphia. Another factor had to do with bullies and his struggle to keep up with the pace of the classroom. Watching him come home day after day frustrated and feeling upset was heartbreaking for me as a mom. Being told by school professionals that your child has to fail more to get more help… was infuriating as a parent.
I refused to wait for him to fail – I knew that I had to be proactive to protect him and preserve his self esteem. I heard someone say once that the best way to cure frustration and low self esteem is success. It is my sincere hope that by bringing him home and tailoring a learning program just for him that he will get just that. I pray that by allowing him to learn at his pace and in an environment that is less stressful that he will begin to really blossom academically and creatively.
Ironically, I was an Elementary Education major in college but changed my major after realizing that I did not want to be in the classroom all the time. I often felt like I had wasted so much time studying the wrong path — but now I see that God knew I would need those skills down the road. I have been grateful for this training as I have spent much of my Christmas break putting together lesson plans and getting organized.
I am a little nervous about this HUGE change to our schedule and how it will go. However, I have been thrilled to see my son excited to start learning again and have been impressed by all of the great online resources that I have found for us to use as we strive to get the swing of homeschooling.
I would LOVE your help too! I would love to hear from those of you who have great home school tips, tricks, and resources to share with me and my family as we start our new journey. If you have something to share with me please leave a comment to help us get started on the right foot!
Thanks!
I think it’s great what you are doing for your son. And I know you will be successful in home schooling and your son will thrive in his new learning environment. I don’t have any experience with home schooling but I just wanted to let you know you are doing a really good thing. Best of wishes and blessings to you Christie!
Thanks for the words of encouragement! I appreciate them very much.
I’m praying for you & your son. God will guide and direct both of you during this transition. I have no experience in this field; however I read a blog http://www.thepioneerwoman.com. Ree Drummond home schools all 4 of her children; she has a space on her website specifically for homeschooling and resources. Hope this helps. Hugs
GREAT link Chris, thank you for this! I appreciate the prayers and hugs also.
Christie, my friend may be able to offer advice, resources in regards to specific types of learning geared for the challenges of ADD, Asperger’s etc… She is highly trained and is a resource to resource teachers here in Manitoba. This is her website link if you ever want to contact Kim: http://www.brandontutor.com/ If you do contact, just tell her I sent you over.
Thanks so much Maria! I am going to check out her website tonight for sure! I appreciate the link.
I am ordering a special book and video for the Love family from Celebrate Kids, written by my dear friend, Dr. Kathy Koch (pronounced “cook”). The topic is, “How am I Smart?” You can find a synopsis of it at this link http://www.celebratekids.com/How-Am-I-Smart.html. The video is helps parents and their children figure out the ways in which each child (and the parent) is smart so each can see that his or her capabilities can transcend their challenges. The assumption, of course, is that if God made you a certain way, He means for you to fulfill the plan He has for you, within the way you are made!
I know your son is a special boy, Christie, because of his connection to your causes and your heart. You and your husband have been chosen and will be empowered and equipped to help him become all that he can become. There’s really nothing you are doing that will obtain the reward that his life will obtain, so I’m praying that you will easily achieve the balance you need between home and Lead Her. If you need a sounding board for this, please do call on me as I have personal experience with a challenged child and the resulting juggling act!
We at EvanTell will pray for your family, Christie, and, by name for your children if you will send their names to me via email.
I had much the same problem with my son. He is dyslexic (though never properly diagnosed because they – the public school – didn’t want to pay for the testing and insisted it was OUR responsibility to get him tested).When he was struggling in 1st-2nd grade they said, “We professionals don’t worry about this until 4th grade.” Why wait until he is failing in everything before we get help. It makes sense to remediate the problem earlier rather than later. We finally did get them to do some testing – he has an IQ of 117 (average being 90 – 110), so he is above average. Why then is he at a reading level of 2.8 when he is at the end of 4th grade?? We called DESE to see what our rights were as parents. We found out we could pay for a lawyer to take them to due process / we could pay to have him tested / or we could pay for home school books. We decided to buy the books. I have never regretted it for one minute. I didn’t realize to the full extent of how frustrated he was while in school. He was so much calmer, not as angry, and relieved after we started home schooling. It was a slow process at first. I am sure I made a lot of mistakes but God’s grace is sufficient to see us through. He has graduated High School now and completed his first year of college.
My best advice to you besides LOTS OF PRAYER is to seek out a local Home school group. I also have enjoyed going to Home School Conventions with curriculum fairs as this gives you an opportunity to see the books first hand vs. a catalog. Don’t be overwhelmed by the # of curriculums out there. You know your child better than anyone else and what is good for some children is not necessarily good for all.
Also I would suggest you check out The Charlotte Mason Method of Education (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/charlotte-mason-education/)
We love Math-u-see (http://www.mathusee.com/) Not pretty to look at but easier for students who don’t need all the distractions that they sometimes put on worksheets, just the problems and an EXCELLENT hands on approach.
I did have him tested at a local university and found out he was reading left – right 12% of the time. No wonder he was so frustrated. So I did a lot of the reading for him in the beginning, for history and science and we worked hard on a phonics program. Looking back I think the one on one where I was watching him and saw when he wrote backwards and could have him immediately make the correction helped him to start making those corrections before he put the pencil to the paper, as well as taking the pressure off and working at his pace. Not to underestimate the hands on math as well as science and making games to play made learning fun again. The love that was poured out while working together on his schooling got us through to the end.
YOU can do this!!!! You will not regret this decision! Pray and let God lead you!! I will be praying for you as well. : }