Seriously thinking of Homeschooling my Daughter

[ChooksinChoppers]

If it were my child and a baby no less, I wouldnt have let her stay in such an environment even this long. I am sure that the OP would have mentioned continuing accidents at home and would have considered a UTI herself.
At the rate the school was addressing her concerns the child could well develop long term emotional issues from whatever was happening to her at that school. I say the OP did the right thing for HER child.

 

[ChickenAlgebra]

My concern is that OP's daughter might have an LD or physical problem that's not being treated now.

Honestly, what that class is expecting of 5 year olds? My 3 y/o, almost 4 y/o, knows most of that. She can actually count to 100, and count backwards from 100. Her only thing that she's behind on is printing in lower-case. Upper case is fine, lower case, if it's in her name, she can print it. She's working on that. She can count money somewhat reliably, she gets her dimes and nickels mixed up.

So if a 5 y/o is seriously behind on that, the issue becomes if she didn't learn that at home before, how is she going to learn it now?

First - exam by dr to rule out any physical problems. It may be as simple as she needs glasses, can't see the board that well, and because she is used to home, she's adapted to it. There may be a UTI, which some kids get when stressed.

Second - Get her tested to see if there is any LD or any area she's behind in. If she is, get the IEP set up. Get the help she may need NOW rather than do nothing for 13 years of school, only to have the problems show back up in college.

 

[MoonAngel12]

Sure, there could be some underlying problems, but that's not always the case. Not every child learns at the same rate... this is not a "my child is better than yours" thread. Some kids read at 4, some still struggle in HS. I went through 2 college levels of calc by the time I went to college, while some of my peers struggled in geometry or algebra. We are all different. We learn differently, we react differently. There might be some underlying issues, but give the kid a chance before testing her and potentially labeling her for life... She's only 5 years old! If she were pegged as having a LD this early in her school career it could destroy her future. Let her mom work with her. She sounds like a level headed woman who knows what she's doing. I am sure she will be on the look out for potential issues and will proceed as needed.

 

[mom'sfolly]

The ignorance word is direct reference to not knowing the cause of the child's difficulties.

I'm of the opinion that is easier to fix things if you know what is going on...operating from knowledge not ignorance.

Perhaps homeschooling makes all the issues go away, perhaps they won't. As the OP doesn't know exactly what is going on, she is only working from assumptions. They may even be good assumptions, but bottom line is she does not know.

I don't know what homeschooling in Maryland looks like, but in most states there are very clear criteria for grade level mastery. That is why kindergarten seems so accelerated to the OP. If she homeschools, she will probably have to at some point show that her child is making the grade.

Kindergarten mastery ie able to advance to first grade, looks like this in our school district:

http://www.roundrockisd.org/index.aspx?page=2565

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

I'm of the opinion that is easier to fix things if you know what is going on...operating from knowledge not ignorance.

really though it is not easier.....especially dealing with the school system. My son and his classmates got pulled out of the middle of a math class JUST so they could go sit and listen to Mr Happy teach them how to sell magazines to raise money for the school. I sure raised a stink and got nowhere!
My daughter was getting bullied and had sexual remarks made to her in the hallways....she told the principle who they were and ....you got it...nothing was done.
All the schools care about is their test scores as is evident by all the school billboards around here bragging of their rating.​

 

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:

Oh I'm so happy for you both!!! You are going to do a great job! Sounds like a great plan! I wish I had been homeschooled. The large school I attended was pretty rough for a shy kid like me and seemed to drive me further into my shell rather than out of it.

It all worked out though. I'm rarely shy these days.

 

[dainerra]

I'm with the crowd that says "find the source of the problems"

It could be that she is overwhelmed by the new environment. Taking her out and homeschooling her isn't going to make that problem go away, it's going to bury it until later.

It could be that she is having accidents because she is scared and confused by the new building and the new expectations. An easy reason she doesn't want to talk about it at home is that she feels upset with herself/is afraid her parents will be upset. Taking her out doesn't address the base issue of needing to learn to cope in the new environment. In a case like that, it could actually make it worse!

The things expected by the kindergarten teacher have been fairly standard for several years now (my youngest is in 6th grade). Shoot, ABCs and knowing to count to 100 were considered "pre-k" knowledge for my oldest child and she's 16!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/521959/what_is_expected_of_your_child_before.html?cat=4

spell and write their name (and obviously how to read it)
know the alphabet and recognize most of the letters
count to 100 by 1s, 5s, and 10s
basic shapes/colors
how to share
how to stay focused on their work

If she sees that all of the other kids in her class already know these things, she is very likely feeling overwhelmed. Not to mention the simple fact that kids can be cruel. If the teacher is (obviously) expecting her to know these basic skills, then the teacher is overwhelmed getting class started to work 1-1 with a child who is behind the curve. Not that that is an excuse, but the first couple weeks can be hectic for everyone! Being that it's only been a couple of days and you haven't made an attempt to have a face-to-face and say "how can we fix this" before saying "well, it's the school's fault"

It should be a partnership with you and the teacher. Instead, it's already turned into you vs them and they are the bad guy.

 

[WooingWyandotte]

Quote:
Congratulations!

I'm very happy for you.

 

[ChickenAlgebra]

Here's the reality for me, I've got 10 kids, ranging now from college freshman to pre-k with two newborns. The 8 in school all started kindergarten with at least the alphabet and printing upper case down, they could count forward and backwards to 100 (100 because that's the money used, 100 pennies in 1 dollar), count money, know their shapes and colors, etc. The oldest was the "slowest" and I did almost NOTHING to teach him other than just day to day life. The younger kids picked up because siblings were doing something, so I just let them pick things up at their own pace.

In their classes, they've all started kindergarten more or less average in their class, with the younger 2 being a bit ahead because they have older siblings who are doing things and they want to "play" homework to be like siblings.

That's why I'm suggesting a trip to the doctor to make sure OP's daughter is healthy and can see properly - because we didn't catch that Grant needed glasses until he couldn't read the board in school, then testing to make sure there isn't an LD. You want to catch LDs EARLY, not late. Catch them late, they are harder to figure out because kids learn how to adapt to them.

The first week/month of school is always hard on a kid who hasn't had to go to pre-k or daycare, and it's almost harder on Mom who is giving up their baby to becoming an independent person. I think the class may have not been the best fit, but there are other classes and other teachers who might be more suitable. Not giving up on school because emotions overruled logic.

 

[dainerra]

to address some of the things the OP has stated in followup posts:

note sent home saying daughter had an accident - typical thing is the child is sent to the nurses office to be given a change of clothes. The nurse will bag them up and the child takes them back and puts them in her cubby to take home. Other schools, the clothes are left in the office for hygene reasons and the child is expected to remember to go pick them up.

expecting to "cram" in all of that work in the first month. No, the first month should be a REVIEW of the things you have listed. That is why it is only expected to take a month. Those things have been considered the baseline for children in K for at least 8 years. We've moved around a lot (3 states and at least 4 school districts) and that has been a pretty universal requirement. Some places require more!

Coupling those things together, it's no wonder your daughter is feeling overwhelmed and anxious about school. I do agree that homeschool might be the best option right now, since she is so far behind. Let her get caught up with where she should be academically and then let her try public school again. I wouldn't let her tough it out, since that would spoil learning for her.