Homeschool....I'm ready!!

[justbugged]

I forgot to add that the biggest down side to homeschooling is that the kids never go away. Of course the best part is that they never go away also.

 

[tobin123]

I want to tell you to google your state and look up the laws on homeschooling.I have to agree that I have never heard of this either.i was an substitute before homeschooling my 10 yr old and they bullied us into thinking lots that weren't true.I had enough with them and finally sent my son in with an note saying that was his last day and I came in with a WITHDRAW letter and done.We are required to keep an calender of dates(attendence)in Indiana.




Quote:
I would check with HSLDA if I were you...I don't think that is legal for them to inquire about the curriculum you will be using. It would be illegal in the state of WA for them to require that of you.

The less information you give them, the better off you are. Anything you say can and will be held against you....

But it sounds like maybe you know the laws of your state already. I was shocked and appalled that you would have to submit that.

 

[tobin123]

I want to tell you to google your state and look up the laws on homeschooling.I have to agree that I have never heard of this either.i was an substitute before homeschooling my 10 yr old and they bullied us into thinking lots that weren't true.I had enough with them and finally sent my son in with an note saying that was his last day and I came in with a WITHDRAW letter and done.We are required to keep an calender of dates(attendence)in Indiana.




Quote:
I would check with HSLDA if I were you...I don't think that is legal for them to inquire about the curriculum you will be using. It would be illegal in the state of WA for them to require that of you.

The less information you give them, the better off you are. Anything you say can and will be held against you....

But it sounds like maybe you know the laws of your state already. I was shocked and appalled that you would have to submit that.

 

[tobin123]

Look at AMAZON.com.I have found lots of our workbooks and curriculum there for very cheap.We use LEARN at HOME(whatever grade your son is in)it is by American Education Publishing.I supplement with lots of reading books and hands on ,day to day living.We are a eclectic little unschooling style.I know i am a hodge podge but it works with having one child.
Remember the less you tell them the safer you are.They don't need to know anything unless your state states that you have to.The HSLDefense will be able to help you.
I will be praying for you. You might want to wee if your state has a YAHOO group as well.

 

[dianaross77]

What a bummer that you're having so much trouble with your school. We moved to a new district this school year and thank God we did. The old district was a "blue ribbon school" that treated my son like a behavioral problem. At the new school, his teacher called me within the first month to say something was wrong and we had an Asperger Syndrome diagnosis by the first of February. I am thankful everyday that we chose the district we did. It's too bad they can't all be that good. My sister is having trouble with both of her kids at school.

Good Luck!

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Please don't think I am trying to stir up trouble. I have always been curious about this though- how do you prepare an unschooled child for college? How do they transition from the unstructured environment of unschooling into the structure of college? Clearly some do. How do you prepare them? I know some of the students in my college classes come from homeschooled backgrounds. Some do great. Others struggle (which is, of course, true with non-homeschooled students as well).

Justbugged- what did you do to prepare your kids?

 

[Momagain1]

Quote:
I would check with HSLDA if I were you...I don't think that is legal for them to inquire about the curriculum you will be using. It would be illegal in the state of WA for them to require that of you.

The less information you give them, the better off you are. Anything you say can and will be held against you....

But it sounds like maybe you know the laws of your state already. I was shocked and appalled that you would have to submit that.

I agree..REALLY look into

http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp

This is an invaluable site!!

Here is a direct link to MA:

http://www.hslda.org/laws/analysis/Massachusetts.pdf

please call them..they will tell you legally what you need to do etc..

I'm VERY, VERY lucky; in IL; we have to answer to NO ONE AT ALL! No curriculum to get approved, no set amount of hours, we dont even have to register!!!

GL! We pulled our son last yr and I have heard so many positive things about how much he has changed in church and with his happiness in general..
now we are dealin with other issues stemming from having to be so darn head strong and "mean" in school and that is transferring over into social/peer
situations where he is having issues w/that...but you will never be sorry you pulled him!!!

I'll pray for you!! Good luck!! you can do this!

per history:

Mystery of History is a FANTASTIC curriculum!!!
Teaching textbooks is a terrific math program that is computer based and graded automatically; you just do nothing
with it..they do it all..about $80 not too bad IMO...

 

[WyandotteTX]

I am a public school teacher of 14 years. My father was a math teacher for 32 years, have numerous other family members in the profession. I am sorry you have had such a problem with the current school you are dealing with. Truth be told there are some good districts and some bad districts. There are good teachers and bad teachers as well in the world.
In my experience with kids who were home schooled and then returned at some point, they had major problems with socialization. They didnt know how to interact with their peers groups in alot of instances and had trouble making friends because of their lack of skills socially.
I know there are circumstances where special needs supercede any type of socialization, such as the afore mentioned Autism by another poster.
I guess my biggest question about it is, if you cant handle the world now how are you going to be able to handle it when you go to college or go and get a job? How do you teach socialization and coping strategies with all varieties of people?
Lastly, I am not asking these questions or bringing up any of these issues to set anyone on fire so to speak. As an educator they are questions that I have wondered about on why someone makes the choice to homeschool.
John

 

[Momagain1]

John...those are good points and mainly the points that MOST educators bring up.

However, let me just point out some of the things we do to socialize my son: (hijacking OP..but I just want to show you some ideas)

1. Honestly, take a look around you (and not just you..us too..myself included), how many of your co-workers are your same exact age?
probably not many. School settings are a false setting as the world where you will end up in; college, work etc you are not going to be
with the same exact age of ppl..(I am much better at communicating in person..not on the 'net' so I hope this is coming across like I want it to!)

Most of the people my son is around are a few, very few his age and yes he does have issues w/them socializing; but mainly due to HIS OWN
issues (self esteem and a lot has to do with he has a huge, hard defense wall put up due to him being beat up by same age kids in school AND
one teacher telling him (and me) he is nothing but a waste of air/space in her classroom (he had an IEP/504 plan..the school didnt follow..and YES i know
its illegal for them not to..but they didnt anyway..)..so he is very INTOLERANT of kids his own age.

He gets along GREAT with older kids; such as the 16+ yr olds.

2. You have to make time and make it a priority for your child to BE socialized. Our son is in taekwondo where he has ZERO problems and is socializing
with younger children, some about his age and older teens as well as adults.

He is also in a Prayer group (mostly older teens), he is also in our Church drama club (he is the youngest again), and youth group -- where he does
hang out w/the older kids..but in small groups where it IS his age children..that is where the issues lie..we are working on it..

3. Taking the child out in everyday life, letting them do free museum activities w/other kids etc...

its really NOT hard to socialize your children.

Albeit; playing devils advocate here; I do have a sister in law; her children are NOT socialized in ANY way..they are very backward and are
very "unschooled" homeschooled....and i DO mean that in the TRUE sense of the what ppl think when the word UN-schooled is stated..they are the belief that they will
ask to learn when they WANT to learn..so for now..the 8 yr old can count to 10, write her first name and thats about it..(I wont even go into
it all lol)...
It just depends on how the parent goes about it..true, some will fall through the cracks and have issues..but others, like myself really
make sure that the child gets social time...they HAVE to have that in order to learn how to deal with others as they get older..

and you are SURELY on the nose w/that there are good and bad school districts!!! As well as good/bad teachers..and going a step further..
of course good/bad students!!

 

[Me & My Peeps]

Thanks everyone for their input and I really appreciate the links. I have collected so much info on my own before this happened, I reached my saturation point. Its great that you provided some links for me to keep me focused instead of just spending hours "harvesting info".

I am trying to let him finish out the year, but it's not looking good. My son is 8. Long story short, my son gets picked on at school - to the point that he reacts to it, then he gets in trouble for it. We drive him to/from school now because the bus driver wouldn't do anything about it, but would suddenly have moments of clarity when my son defended himself. Other kids have had similar problems but the issue is never resolved. Im not defending my son, just because he's my son. Trust me, nobody is harder on him than me.......but I simply wont tolerate him being bullied, especially in today's society with the history of that.

Last week a kid was poking my son while he was at his locker. He asked the kid to stop, he didnt. My son started walking away and the kid followed him and kept poking him. He started yelling at the kid to stop, which got a teachers attention, but just as the teacher came into view, my son turned around and laid the kid out with a shot to the head. There has been problems with this other kid in the past - for the same thing - taunting. But she was obligated to send both kids to the office, thats fine. The principle suspended my son for hitting the student and nothing happened to the other kid for taunting him. I snapped.....

I realize that violence does not solve anything, but I will not allow or TEACH my son to become a victim. He tried twice to walk away and the kid wouldnt stop. The admin really disagrees with me. So I have fought my last battle with the school. Despite someone defending my son, they still suspended him. I let them know that I will be holding the principle personally responsible if my son is harassed again. Meanwhile, I am getting the required papers together to pull him out. If I get them soon enough, he's out!!

Sorry for the rant.

edited; removed certain statements, in case this goes to the next level.