Home Schooling?

[hannahsue01]

Our oldest daughter will be 5 in a week. She has always been a bright child but seems to be acting out at school. We have had a few problems at home and have seem some improvment in her attitude since going gluten free at home....she is not gluten free yet at school. If we kept her home I know we could control the gluten intake allot better in hopes for a more accurate diagnosis. She has not been officially diagnosed and my doctor said to just try her on the diet. Our house is gluten free as of this week so it won't be a big deal as I need to eat that way any ways. The bigger issue at school seems to be the teachers. She is in a program called head start....it's for families who can't afford pre-school. She keeps coming home saying the teachers are mean to her.....yell at her....punish her for not falling asleep. About a month ago she even claimed one of them had hit her in the eye because she wouldn't nap (her eye was red). My husband and I both have heard them yell at our kid as well as others when they did not see us there when we dropped her off late and picked her up early. It also seems they are "sleeping" for two hours....I donno about the rest of the kids but our daughter actually goes to be at 7 sleeping for 12 hrs.....she doesn't require a nap....especially a 2 hour nap....I don't know many 5 year olds that will willingly take one that long unless they are ill. She always used to look forward to school but now tells me she doesn't want to go because of what happens durring nap time. She also doesn't seem to be learning anything. She does bring home pages she has colored with crayon or markers....but nothing else creative like paint or glueing shapes or anything like that. I ask her about her day and they never seem to go over even the simple things like shapes, numbers, or the alphabet so she doesn't seem to be learning much. Two weeks ago she came home with a fantastic hair cut.....we called the school and they said they knew nothing about it but that that must have been what she was doing with the scissors she got out (by herself with no suprevision). My biggest concern pulling her out of school is that she won't be socializing with any other kids really at all besides her baby sister. We can't afford to put her in any activities and live in a very small town away from most anything. We also can't afford to put her in a good pre-school. I have always been told how important the social part of school is. Will it really hurt her. I would plan to have her go to kindergarten next fall.....I wouldn't want her singled out because she doesn't mingle with her peers or somthing. If we do decide to pull her out do any of you home school parents have any advice. She often has a short attention span. Also she pretends not to know answears she already knows so I often get frustrated working with her......I think she may have ADHD....she never sits still either....plus it runs in both her parents families. She knows shapes, colors, alphabet, some basic addition, spells some small words, spells and writes her name, is awsome and quick at patterns even long complicated ones, she wizes through all the pre-school work books we have gotten from WalMart. So what should I be doing with her....what workbooks or what not would you suggest? What should I be teaching her and how? Any advice would be helpful.

[MySuicidalTurtle]

Well, if your daughter is gluten-free at home but not at school then she is not gluten-free at all. A lot of children don't go to pre-school and if you're concerned with just this year and want her to be in school until she graduates I would say pull her out of that class. It doesn't seem like a good place to keep her. Good luck, HannahSue01!

[gf4life]

I do not home school my kids (grades 2, 5 and 7 this year), but I did not send them to pre-school. At that point we did not know that gluten was a problem for us, I suspected when my youngest was a toddler and we all went gluten free when she was almost 4. All of my children went right into Kindergarten with no social problems. They did not cry, were not clingy, did not have trouble playing with other children, did not have problems doing the work. Now I do have to admit that my older 2 were less than 2 years a part and always had each other to play with and I had a third child by the time my youngest started school, but I do not think that matters.

My suggestion is that you take her out of the hostile, abusive situation at the daycare (most 5 year olds do not nap anymore and certainly not for 2 hours and they cannot force her to sleep) and invest a few dollars into some pre-K/K work books, make flash cards of letters and numbers, let her watch PBS on TV and spend time reading to her each and every day. Make sure she can write her name, and as many of the numbers (at least 1-10) and letters as possible. As long as she can do these things and she knows her colors, shapes, etc. then she will do great in kindergarten next year. And let her do art with paints, playdough, clay, let her cut and paste and just have fun. It is more important that she spend time with you and be safe and secure in her surroundings than it is for her to go to daycare, especially one who is not going to teach her anything, and who are abusive in their attitude towards her.

Also if you think she needs socialization, try starting a parents group with other parents. I did this and we had about 6 ladies and about 10 kids each week. We would meet at each others houses and if the weather was good we would go to the park, and sometimes to the McD's indoor play area if the weather was bad. We had a lot of fun hanging out and socializing and so did the kids!

[mamazoocrew]

I'm sorry for all the troubles your having. I home school my two children now grades 6 and 8. My son had quite a bit of trouble in school and was often labeled by teachers as a possible candidate for ADHD. It turned out, he was just gifted and bored to death in school. My daughter also had difficulties because she had the tummy troubles and a special diet often violated by well meaning teachers and other students wanting to share. My children are very well socialized and not sheltered as a result of the home school program. In fact, they socialize with people of all ages and play with neighbor kids daily. Do what you feel is best for your child and trust your instincts. It already sounds to me like you have some feelings about the way in which you feel your child is being mistreated. Home school for preschool is fine and it sounds like your daughter already knows what most kids do upon entering kindergarden.

Best of luck to you,

Kristy

[mart]

Sorry for the problem your little one is having.

We home school our children. We use the K12 curriculum, a quality, advanced, award-winning program. I love it, and so do they. They have plenty of friends they spend time with, so they are well socialized. And they get individual attention, so they are getting a first-rate education. Every lesson is planned out for them on line and they supply you with all the necessary materials. The parent is the teacher and received teacher manuals for every subject detailing how to teach each lesson. You should check it out at www.k12.com when you get a chance.

Good luck!

[Nic]

Have you spoken to the director of the program about the nap time situation? I believe head start is a state run program which means they need to be (should be anyway) following state guidelines for pre K education. I am a teacher and believe me, if anyone is threatening or mistreating your child over nap time it should be reported as that person needs to loose their job. There was a write up in a paper here in Jersey once about a private day care center that had employees who threatened the kids to sleep during nap time. They all lost their jobs so I would start there. As a kindergarten teacher I will also stress the importance of a pre K education these days as kindergarten is no longer playing and coloring. It has become highly academic. So if you pull her out and can't afford another school you can just go to any teaching store and get the materials to work with her at home. But talk to the director if you haven't already because they cannot force anyone to sleep, they can however enforce that they do something quietly while others sleep.

Out of curiostiy, who is working the nap time, is it the teachers or the aids?

Nicole

[Hayleesdad]

Our oldest daughter will be 5 in a week. She has always been a bright child but seems to be acting out at school. We have had a few problems at home and have seem some improvment in her attitude since going gluten free at home....she is not gluten free yet at school. If we kept her home I know we could control the gluten intake allot better in hopes for a more accurate diagnosis. She has not been officially diagnosed and my doctor said to just try her on the diet. Our house is gluten free as of this week so it won't be a big deal as I need to eat that way any ways. The bigger issue at school seems to be the teachers. She is in a program called head start....it's for families who can't afford pre-school. She keeps coming home saying the teachers are mean to her.....yell at her....punish her for not falling asleep. About a month ago she even claimed one of them had hit her in the eye because she wouldn't nap (her eye was red). My husband and I both have heard them yell at our kid as well as others when they did not see us there when we dropped her off late and picked her up early. It also seems they are "sleeping" for two hours....I donno about the rest of the kids but our daughter actually goes to be at 7 sleeping for 12 hrs.....she doesn't require a nap....especially a 2 hour nap....I don't know many 5 year olds that will willingly take one that long unless they are ill. She always used to look forward to school but now tells me she doesn't want to go because of what happens durring nap time. She also doesn't seem to be learning anything. She does bring home pages she has colored with crayon or markers....but nothing else creative like paint or glueing shapes or anything like that. I ask her about her day and they never seem to go over even the simple things like shapes, numbers, or the alphabet so she doesn't seem to be learning much. Two weeks ago she came home with a fantastic hair cut.....we called the school and they said they knew nothing about it but that that must have been what she was doing with the scissors she got out (by herself with no suprevision). My biggest concern pulling her out of school is that she won't be socializing with any other kids really at all besides her baby sister. We can't afford to put her in any activities and live in a very small town away from most anything. We also can't afford to put her in a good pre-school. I have always been told how important the social part of school is. Will it really hurt her. I would plan to have her go to kindergarten next fall.....I wouldn't want her singled out because she doesn't mingle with her peers or somthing. If we do decide to pull her out do any of you home school parents have any advice. She often has a short attention span. Also she pretends not to know answears she already knows so I often get frustrated working with her......I think she may have ADHD....she never sits still either....plus it runs in both her parents families. She knows shapes, colors, alphabet, some basic addition, spells some small words, spells and writes her name, is awsome and quick at patterns even long complicated ones, she wizes through all the pre-school work books we have gotten from WalMart. So what should I be doing with her....what workbooks or what not would you suggest? What should I be teaching her and how? Any advice would be helpful.

My daughter just went glutenfree,I haven't even seen any results yet,but I met with the school nurse yesterday.She's been studying up on it to insure that everyone in the school is trained to fulfill her needs.

The school has an obligation to do that.They must know what this disease is and all of the symtoms.

Due to lack of nutrition my kid comes home from school and is famished,she gets real edgy and whines alot around 7 and is usually in bed by 730.The social part of school is very important,I wouldn't home school.

Trying to find a different school is an option.Most importantly though(educate the school)...

I hope this help ya

hayleesdad

[vampella]

Firstly I am so sorry you have had to see and hear about the horrible things happening to your daughter.

SECONDLY....You need to pull her right away and REPORT these people for child abuse. They have no right to yell, hit or belittle these children.

I would have grabbed my child the first time I saw something that wasn't right..and then...I would have had them shut down for good.

You need to protect your daughter and get her out of there.

If she know's everything you said in the above, she's ready for kindergarten.

I am sure she is a very social child and that is not an issue. They get socilized in many more places than at school. They play with children they know out side out school, she has a sister, she even socilizes with adults. I wouldn't worry about that, I would worry about the impact that these "trusted" adults are having on her mentally & physically

There are some great sites online to get PRE K & K work sheets. Print them off and your daughter can start working in a loving learning environment.

I am thinking of pulling my daughter almost 4 from pre school, not fo the reasons you are but because they can't seem to do anything right to keep her from getting gluten. long story, wont go into it.

I think that you should pull her, I hope you also report them for child abuse.

Good luck

Char

[Sarah8793]

Our oldest daughter will be 5 in a week. She has always been a bright child but seems to be acting out at school. We have had a few problems at home and have seem some improvment in her attitude since going gluten free at home....she is not gluten free yet at school. If we kept her home I know we could control the gluten intake allot better in hopes for a more accurate diagnosis. She has not been officially diagnosed and my doctor said to just try her on the diet. Our house is gluten free as of this week so it won't be a big deal as I need to eat that way any ways. The bigger issue at school seems to be the teachers. She is in a program called head start....it's for families who can't afford pre-school. She keeps coming home saying the teachers are mean to her.....yell at her....punish her for not falling asleep. About a month ago she even claimed one of them had hit her in the eye because she wouldn't nap (her eye was red). My husband and I both have heard them yell at our kid as well as others when they did not see us there when we dropped her off late and picked her up early. It also seems they are "sleeping" for two hours....I donno about the rest of the kids but our daughter actually goes to be at 7 sleeping for 12 hrs.....she doesn't require a nap....especially a 2 hour nap....I don't know many 5 year olds that will willingly take one that long unless they are ill. She always used to look forward to school but now tells me she doesn't want to go because of what happens durring nap time. She also doesn't seem to be learning anything. She does bring home pages she has colored with crayon or markers....but nothing else creative like paint or glueing shapes or anything like that. I ask her about her day and they never seem to go over even the simple things like shapes, numbers, or the alphabet so she doesn't seem to be learning much. Two weeks ago she came home with a fantastic hair cut.....we called the school and they said they knew nothing about it but that that must have been what she was doing with the scissors she got out (by herself with no suprevision). My biggest concern pulling her out of school is that she won't be socializing with any other kids really at all besides her baby sister. We can't afford to put her in any activities and live in a very small town away from most anything. We also can't afford to put her in a good pre-school. I have always been told how important the social part of school is. Will it really hurt her. I would plan to have her go to kindergarten next fall.....I wouldn't want her singled out because she doesn't mingle with her peers or somthing. If we do decide to pull her out do any of you home school parents have any advice. She often has a short attention span. Also she pretends not to know answears she already knows so I often get frustrated working with her......I think she may have ADHD....she never sits still either....plus it runs in both her parents families. She knows shapes, colors, alphabet, some basic addition, spells some small words, spells and writes her name, is awsome and quick at patterns even long complicated ones, she wizes through all the pre-school work books we have gotten from WalMart. So what should I be doing with her....what workbooks or what not would you suggest? What should I be teaching her and how? Any advice would be helpful.

I agree that you need to remove her immediately from this preschool. Many children do not have preschool experiences before kindergarten and do just fine socially. Especially since your daughter is bright, she will be able to focus on the social learning in kindergarten without struggling academically. As for what you should be doing with her while she isn't in preschool, here are some suggestions. Take her to a library. Maybe your library has a weekly childrens story hour? This would provide interaction with children. Check out books that interest her and read, read, read with her. Reading will stimulate her curiousity and she will learn so much. ABC's and 123's and worksheets only go so far. If she likes to, have her make up her own stories and you write them down and make little books with her. She can illustrate them. For socialization, take her to playgrounds whenever you can. Good luck.

[hannahsue01]

Have you spoken to the director of the program about the nap time situation? I believe head start is a state run program which means they need to be (should be anyway) following state guidelines for pre K education. I am a teacher and believe me, if anyone is threatening or mistreating your child over nap time it should be reported as that person needs to loose their job. There was a write up in a paper here in Jersey once about a private day care center that had employees who threatened the kids to sleep during nap time. They all lost their jobs so I would start there. As a kindergarten teacher I will also stress the importance of a pre K education these days as kindergarten is no longer playing and coloring. It has become highly academic. So if you pull her out and can't afford another school you can just go to any teaching store and get the materials to work with her at home. But talk to the director if you haven't already because they cannot force anyone to sleep, they can however enforce that they do something quietly while others sleep.

Out of curiostiy, who is working the nap time, is it the teachers or the aids?

Nicole

Unfortionantly my husband could only speak to one of the teachers when he called. He asked that the director call him back but she hasn't (we called Thursday last week). I actually did home daycare before our preemie was born and was licensed through the state. We were taught that that children should have some down time but that they should not be required to sleep. They just needed to sit down or lay down quietly and read a book or play with a quiet toy for 20-30 mins.....not absolutly sleep for 2 hours. We have sent her with a stuffed animal and they have books there. They do not allow this and specificly told my husband when we picked her up on Thursday that she could not bring her stuffed animal back but I know that there are other kids that have theres at school. I think maybe we will call higher up because whether we take her out or not I don't think those teachers should be treated or singling out any kid in that manner. As a Kindergarten teacher.....what should our little girl know before she enters? Thanks for your input.

[CarlaB]

If you have seen them yell at your kids, take her out immediately. Report the incidents.

I home schooled for 10 years. My kids go to school now and adjusted just fine. I was a part of a home school group, which helps, but you can do it even without one. Home schoolers not getting socialization is a myth. What kind of socialization is your dauighter getting now? Socialization in home schooling may not be exclusively with peers her age, rather with people of all ages. She will be fine if you pull her out of the school and she will adjust fine to Kindergarten, especially if she is self-confident because she has had your support rather than teachers yelling at her.

[plantime]

Head Start programs in Kansas are regulated by the state. Yelling at kids, threatening them, hitting them, forcing them to do anything is not allowed. If you do not get to talk to the supervisor, call your state's child welfare department and turn them in. The state will investigate, and the matter will be taken care of.

As far as homeschooling your child, many kids don't go to preschool, and they do just fine. Children at that age learn by playing. If you have lots of little-kids story books around, and read them to her, and let her color pages that have alphabets on them, she will learn. Make learning a game, and she will love learning.

For socialization, you can go to the park, to the library, church, even the grocery store. socialization does not mean being only with people her own age, but with people, in general.

[vampella]

You could take her to a mommy and me play group if there are any near you. I take Emmah every tuesday from 9:30- 11:30 here where I live, if I wanted to I could go to one 4 times a week but, I'm good!! lol

I have to say though, for the safety of all the children in that program you need to report them. For the safety and well being of your daughter you NEED to get her out of there. they are going to cause her seriouse issues.

They are abusing those children, you can't possibly be thinking about leaving here in that place?

I know that may sound harsh but they are mentally and physical ABUSING your daughter!.!.! that will have impact not only on her daily life but on her school work.

those people need to be shut down and the people doing the abuse need to be punished, if you don't report them they could do major damage to a child. These people should not be working with children at ALL!!!!!!!.

Char

[hannahsue01]

Well after hearing many of your replies and talking with my husband and a couple of family members we have decided to take her out of this pre-school. We do plan to persue an investagation into this as I don't want any other children going through this. I was talking to my step-mother who is a elemantry teacher about what carriculim to be using with her and she says not to. This concerns me. I guess I thought I should let our daughter get to her full potental not hold her back to be were her peers are academicly. Her reasoning for this is that she will be bored in school because she will already know the answears to what they are teaching. I do understand were she is coming from as I had the same problem in school myself. Actually they put me in special ed for a few years beacuase I refused to do the work (but I really knew how to do the work). Then by the 4th grade they had me in the talented and gifted program. She is a very bright student and whips through all these pre-k work books sold at walmart. She goes through the small books in less than 10 mins. She was ready for kindergarted here in Iowa before she was 3 but there are age requirements. She does seem to prefer playing with older kids rather than ones her age. I guess I feel quilty not letting her learn what she can. Is it right or even ok to keep her at an "average level"? I did like what I saw with the k12 curriculim someone talked about above....maybe one of her granparents could get it for a x-mas gift but maybe we shouldn't. I don't think that I want to home school here all through school. For one we at this point couldn't afford to do that every year. What do you guys recamend with teaching or not teaching her? Thanks.

[vampella]

I am so glad you decided to pull her!! thats great!!

[gf4life]

If she already whips right through the work books and knows what she needs to start kindergarten, then just work on teaching her to read. Just read to her as much as possible and get some early reader books that she can start reading herself. If you taught daycare, then you probably already have a good supply of books, but libraries are wonderful places to get more variety. Most will even give the child their own card! She will not be bored if she knows how to read when she gets to kindergarten. Any good teacher would allow her to get her work done and then they would give her free time to read, or play or whatever. She would not have to sit all day being bored.

I am glad you decided to take her out of the daycare. Please pursue action against them, they should not be aloowed to get away with treating any child like that, and you could help prevent them from mistreating other children. Now you will be able to get your daughter 100% gluten free and this will be better for everyone.

[lonewolf]

I think you made the right decision to pull her out. My 3 older children never went to preschool and had no problems with socialization. (My youngest is adopted and came from an orphanage with 55 other kids - he was negatively over-socialized.) I did make it a point to take them to Sunday School and get together with friends so they could play with other kids regularly.

You might try to "broaden" what she knows rather than try to go further up into Kindergarten or 1st grade work. Helping her learn to read is a great idea. Read to her and let her read to you a lot. Then pick a few subjects that she enjoys and learn a lot about them. An example: my daughters loved Little House on the Prairie books, so we read through all the books, more than onece. I did lots of fun cooking projects and craft projects like sewing quilt patches with them even before they went to kindergarten. This lasted well into elementary school. They learned about history as well as some useful skills, without sabatoging their school curriculum.

I agree that a good teacher will be able to challenge a bright student.

Homeschooling works well for many families, but is a very tough, personal decision. The key to any child's success in education is parent involement - whether it's in homeschool, private school or public school. If you show your kids that you care about them and their education, keep on top of what they are learning and keep good communication with teachers, you can make your choice work for your family.

[Nic]

Unfortionantly my husband could only speak to one of the teachers when he called. He asked that the director call him back but she hasn't (we called Thursday last week). I actually did home daycare before our preemie was born and was licensed through the state. We were taught that that children should have some down time but that they should not be required to sleep. They just needed to sit down or lay down quietly and read a book or play with a quiet toy for 20-30 mins.....not absolutly sleep for 2 hours. We have sent her with a stuffed animal and they have books there. They do not allow this and specificly told my husband when we picked her up on Thursday that she could not bring her stuffed animal back but I know that there are other kids that have theres at school. I think maybe we will call higher up because whether we take her out or not I don't think those teachers should be treated or singling out any kid in that manner. As a Kindergarten teacher.....what should our little girl know before she enters? Thanks for your input.

Hi, make sure you speak to that director, don't give her/him the option to get back to you. I worked daycare before I became a public school teacher and if the child didn't sleep after 30 minutes of quite time we would have them sit quietly with books or puzzles while the others napped. Believe it or not some of these kids do sleep, who know when bed time is at home. As far as kindergarten readiness, there is a wide range of the ability we see walking into school in September. Your child should be able to write her first name, recognize some letters and numbers (not necessarily all), count objects at least up to 10. It really is not that important for them to be able to read and write prior to kindergarten because that his what we are teaching but they should have a basic understanding of letters and numbers. The socialization is important because most school districts now have programs in which the children spend much of the day working together in groups so therefore taking turns and being comfortable in a group setting is important. When I said kindergarten is not what it used to be , it certainly is not. In my district they are learning reading, math, social studies, science, and language arts. Not to mention gym, art, music , and spanish. So it has changed but the ability level coming in is so varied. It raises a red flag only when the child seems to have no previous knowledge at all. I am sure your daughter will be fine, just keep her up on letter/number recogition, recogizing her name, writing her name and letters, things like that. Good luck!

Nicole

[mommida]

Don't get me started on the "No Child Left Behind" and what I think about it.

I think it is a very good thing that you are pulling her from the program and voicing your concerns.

MOPS.org may be a good place to start. Find a group in your area.

homeschooler's defense fund is highly reccomended by everyone in the homeschooling community.

If you find a "masters" program that would be a considerable bonus. Family members trade of areas of specialty(i.e. dancing class, music lessons, hire tutors)

It is a family decision, your spouse must be supportive!

L.

[mamazoocrew]

As far as the issuse of being able to afford to home school... Is it because you work or are you afraid of the cost? If your concers are cost related there are many charter schools and programs out there that provide the necessary cirriculum for you at no cost. My children are homeschooled but are actually registered in the public school system and recieve their books for free as well as access to experienced teachers who keep our records and administer the state tests etc. There are so many options out there. As I said above, my son is gifted and I have found it easier to teach him myself at his own pace than to fight him tooth and nail to conform to school standards and be bored out of his mind. You need to decide for yourself what is best for your daughter, don't let the cost scare you because there are other options if you choose to homeschool!

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Hi, Hannahsue, I only just saw this thread. I'm so glad you decided to pull her, I agree with everybody else, sounds totally abusive.

Is there a Suzuki violin program in your area? Most of them have some kind of scholarship available. It would probably involve a 15-30 minute lesson plus a 30 minute group class each week. She would be intellectually and physically challenged, she would be learning eye-hand coordination, math skills, language skills, reading skills, listening skills, and social skills. Plus she would be learning how to make beautiful music!

My mother started me on violin lessons for exactly what you are describing--I knew how to read chapter books in kindergarten and was bored in school, but was already the youngest in the class. Now I am a professional violinist, so I'd say it paid off!

[Susan Kelby]

I started homeschooling my daughter last year when she started 3rd Grade. She wasn't acting out in school, but said she was bored, and when we had her tested, we could see why. The school is small, and our best choice seemed to be homeschooling - actually, it was my daughter's choice. We are very lucky here in Ohio - we get the awesome K12 curriculum for FREE through Ohio Virtual Academy. I wish this was available for everyone in every state.

As far as the socialization thing goes, I'd say it would be a good thing if more children were "socialized" a whole lot less. How in the world does bullying, name-calling, and the daily Britney Spears look-alike contests help a child grow to be healthy and happy ?? Whenever anyone brings up the "socialization" boogeyman, I always say, "Oh yes - we follow the public school model for socialization. On Mondays and Wednesdays I make fun of her clothes and hair, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I knock her down and take her lunch money, and on Fridays I call her fat. We have socialization covered."

"Socialization" is the process of a child learning to function in society. I think it's much better for a child to learn from involved parents than from a bunch of barbarian 8-year-olds. We left the public school system for academic reasons, but now that we're out, it's such a relief not to have to deal with so many things. And when you have diet and health concerns, it's really a blessing not to have to trust other people.

If a child is outgoing and mixes well with other kids, then that child is socialized. Period. It's done and you don't need to worry any more about it. If a child is shy or is a bully or has some other difficulty in dealing with people, then that child still has some socialization needed. But just throwing that child into the public school ocean is not necessarily going to do the trick. Based on how the child is treated by both other kids and adults, the child's problems could just get worse ! The best way to socialize is for the child to be in a loving, safe environment where everyone is respected and valued, and children are guided in how to treat others. Hmm, doesn't sound much like most public schools, does it ?

Another plus of homeschooling is that your child can have the education she needs, not just what works for the herd. I see nothing wrong with a child learning at her own pace - why should you hold her back ? My daughter is about a 1/2 year ahead in the math curriculum - so what ? (With K12, if you finish 3rd grade Math, they just automatically send you 4th grade Math and on you go.) If we ever go back to public school, we'll decide then how to handle it. In the meantime, let her go ! That's what learning is all about !

It is sometimes difficult for parents to teach their own children. My daughter and I have had our ups and downs. We're down right now, and I started her on a gluten-free, casein-free, soy-free, egg-free, yeast-free diet last week in the hope of improving her behavior. (Those are all my intolerances, so until we have some testing done, it's a starting point.) I'm so glad we can do this at home.

Making these kinds of decisions is really hard. I'm glad we have this place to talk about things, and get everyone's advice. I know it's really helped me.

Susan

[Nic]

As far as the socialization thing goes, I'd say it would be a good thing if more children were "socialized" a whole lot less. How in the world does bullying, name-calling, and the daily Britney Spears look-alike contests help a child grow to be healthy and happy ?? Whenever anyone brings up the "socialization" boogeyman, I always say, "Oh yes - we follow the public school model for socialization. On Mondays and Wednesdays I make fun of her clothes and hair, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I knock her down and take her lunch money, and on Fridays I call her fat. We have socialization covered."

"Socialization" is the process of a child learning to function in society. I think it's much better for a child to learn from involved parents than from a bunch of barbarian 8-year-olds.

Wow, that is a very interesting description of the children in the public school system. I don't believe my own children behave this way at all and are well socialized in school. Not to mention, I teach in an inner city low income community. I work in the projects. My "kids" don't fit this description either. While every school has there handful of bullys the majority of them are wonderful. The question was not what is better, public school or home schooling. Everyone feels differently on that subject. But in all of my experience with kids (over 9 years now) I have yet to meet a barbarian .What is most important is that each child not only is safe but feels safe in her environment whether it be at home or in a school. And, if the child is working above (or below) grade level, we trained teachers know how to meet those needs as well, it is called differentiated instruction.

Nicole

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Wow, that is a very interesting description of the children in the public school system. I don't believe my own children behave this way at all and are well socialized in school. Not to mention, I teach in an inner city low income community. I work in the projects. My "kids" don't fit this description either. While every school has there handful of bullys the majority of them are wonderful. The question was not what is better, public school or home schooling. Everyone feels differently on that subject. But in all of my experience with kids (over 9 years now) I have yet to meet a barbarian .What is most important is that each child not only is safe but feels safe in her environment whether it be at home or in a school. And, if the child is working above (or below) grade level, we trained teachers know how to meet those needs as well, it is called differentiated instruction.

Nicole

I wonder if the barbarian children are far more prevalent in the suburbs? I grew up with many suburban barbarians, and I have observed much emotional and some physical cruelty amongst my children's peers.

For that matter, I see all kinds of behaviors in the workplace that I would never have dreamed that I'd see past junior high.

[hannahsue01]

I do appreciate EVERYONES comments. I am greatful to this sight to be able to get help and opinions from other parents. I think everyone has different experiences at school. I think teachers don't see or know all that goes on during the school day as children try to avoid getting caught doing things to other children and the children being victamized often are to scared or imbaresed to tell anyone about it. From what I remember in school kids are cruel. In an elmenatry class of 25 about 22 of those children were bullies at some point in time. Many of there parents never believed that there children would do theses things. There were the few who started it and most tended to join in. Unfortionantly this seems to be a part of school.....even though it shouldn't be. I looked at this k12 stuff and like what I see.....for those of you who got this or any other curriculum for free how did you do so? I personally don't think I should have to hold her back with the crowd but the public school system seems to frown upon not doing so. Thank you guys for your help....I do appreciate it.