Homeschool

[alex11602]

I have a daughter who is supposed to start kindergarten in the fall and when we went to register her I spoke to the nurse and she knew what celiac was, but insisted that she will grow out of it if we kept on giving her gluten, she said that she did research. Also told me that they would not be able to take care of my younger daughter when it was time for her to go to school since she had so many intolerances. So I originally said that she was not allowed to have anything that I did not send in, but a few weeks ago I took my 16 month old back to the doctor again and her immune system is "severely compromised" among a host of other severe issues like her kidney's only functioning at 65% (doctor said its because she is not absorbing nutrients)and the pediatrician recommended homeschooling to keep the baby safe. Anyway, my question is has anyone else considered or started to homeschool because of the celiac and/or other food intolerances? My husband and I really want to, but alot of my family says that I will depriving my daughter of social interaction. If anyone has any advice I would love to hear it...Thank you.

[GlutenFreeManna]

Okay two issues I want to address here:

1. Food allergies and celiac disease is covered under the ADA in the US. Schools are REQUIRED to make reasonable accomodations for your kids based on a doctors note. In this case the reasonable accomodation would proabbly be that your kids are not allowed to eat anything except what you send and cc from other kids snacks, playdough, glue, etc needs to be prevented to keep your kids safe. If you choose to keep your kids in school you will have to educate the nurse and teachers, but you would probably do a good service for other kids with food allergies or celiac to come after you. BTW how old is this nurse? They USED to think that kids outgrow celiac, but it has been proven to no longer be the case. If she says she has research proving your child will outgrow it ask her for that research reference so you can read it for yourself and tell your dr. It's possible she is only recalling something she read ages ago when she was in nursing school. If she does not have any resources for you then you can (gently) show HER some recent articles or books on celiac and explain that we now know kids do not outgrow celiac.

2. That said I see nothing wrong with homeschooling either. Most of the homeschool parents I know have clubs that do social things together like sports, music, field trips to museums, etc. Homeschool kids have friends and get just as much social interation as kids in public school if they are part of a homeschool group. I have even known homeschoolers that pool their resources to teach in a "classroom style" the subject that not all parents are well versed in--so for example out of group of homeschools the parent with a degree in math would teach the advanced algerbra to all the kids, parents with art degrees would teach art, ect. So while it was a homeschool group it was not just the kids staying home all the time or learning only things from curriculums. You of course will have to look into the resources in your area and the laws in your city and state regarding homeschool.

[brendab]

We homeschool our children and for a variety of reasons, one being we have several food allergies with our children. It's rather easy, enjoyable and MANY, MANY, MANY homeschooling groups out there! OH my gosh, I wish people would STOP saying that we are not socialized! (gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!) I have found that my kids have MORE social opportunities at home than in public school and MORE opportunities to grow up and be a kid and not a machine! (no child left behind comes to mind here) Food allergies (we also have one that is either celiac or simply gluten sensitive) definitely are MUCH easier to manage when your child is under your care so there are no worries here from that. I don't think I will ever allow my children back in public schools simply because of food issues. One year our peanut allergic child was given a PB & J for lunch and she was new to the diagnosis so didn't think about it and ate it, nothing happened THANK GOODNESS but still the issue remained that nobody was paying attention!!!

WWW.HSLDA.ORG has LOTS of information to get you started on your path to schooling your children. They will have information on the laws in your state, they can give you sample letters you can use to send to school board members for various reasons, they give you advice, support and you can search for groups in your area.

[mommida]

Well our family has public, private, and cyber (at home, public school using the computer) school experience.

Public school experience was horrible. What is supposed to be, and what actually is happening were completely different in the public school district we live in.

Private school was small and very in tune for the food allergies.

My daughter was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitus and probable Celiac Disease. So her allergens to avoid list is more than just gluten. EE also causes it harder to sleep at night. She was way too tired some days, and was being hospitalized on average once a year. Home schooling was starting to look like the best option for her health. I heard about Public Charter, Cyber school. Homeschooling curriculum can be as expensive as you let it become. Public cyber school ~ virtualy free. School sent a computer, books, workbooks, art set, yoga video, jump rope (PE), a re-imbursement check or gift card for covering partial payment of the internet connection. There are organized field trips (you pay a school discounted rate) My kids talk to their teachers through e-mail, phone, snail mail, and if it is convenient in person study sessions at the local library.

My daughter now has enough energy to be in a dance class and other organizations (4H). We also participate with local homeschoolers. They have plenty of socialization and oppurtunities to pursue private interests to further their education.

And honestly some of the kids I've met in our community are social PROBLEMS that can be avoided by education in the home.

[slee]

I can't give you any good feedback on this one- but just wanted to say that we are facing the same decision. My son is due to start kindergarten in the fall and I'm just pulling my hair out- unable to decide what to do. We are considering all choices, public, private and homeschool. So- although I can't offer advice, I just wanted to say I am with you on this, and I'll be back to read people's replies. Oh- we're also considering the online public school option- my brother works for one. So it's interesting to hear that too.

[domesticactivist]

We've been homeschooling all along for all sorts of reasons. The ease in dealing with food restrictions is just an added bonus for us.

I'll give you a taste of what it's been like for us (my kids are now 10.5 and 12 years old):

We live in a metro area that has community centers, private organizations that offer activities for kids, homeschool resource centers, and a thriving homeschooling community. Actually, I should say communities! Every style of homeschooling I can think of is represented. Also, many private dance/martial arts/gymnastics/music/etc studios are also happy to schedule homeschool sessions during off hours ar reduced prices.

We have had periods of time where we had fewer options than we would like for social time - but that is the same for kids who are in school. Just because they are around a bunch of kids doesn't mean they're getting good socialization.

When the kids were younger we did a homeschool a co-op a few days a week. We also attended park days and homeschool times at the skating rink. I also took them to those indoor play parks. When the kids got to be grade school age we signed them up for gym times and other classes at the local community centers. We went to museums and the zoo a lot back then, too. They've done competitive clubs, and I also started a Camp Fire USA Club - and here we are, 5 years later, with 12 kids still meeting weekly. (I just got back from a weekend at camp with all of them, actually!)

Now that they are older, we have joined a homeschool resource center, which is kind of like a private school with a menu of classes like in college. They go to that two days a week and take classes ranging from fashion design to physics (8 each), participate in events and field trips, and play with other kids between classes. They also are in a youth collective that broadcasts on the radio each month. My son does rock climbing, and both kids play piano, and do "extremely physical theater" at a class where they learn trapeze, tumbling, and improv acting. They've also done homeschool day camps and spring break camps throughout the school year in homesteading, tracking, and adventures. My daughter did a series at a local comic book shop where she created and developed characters and made a zine with some other kids.

We go to a family camp for a week every year at "Not Back To School" time. The kids go to camp in the summer - this year they'll be doing various camps in things like engineering, cycling, history of our city, and animation.

The amazing thing is the amount of down time the kids have. The kids get a good night's sleep, get up when they are rested. They invite friends over and go to friends' houses. They go to the park and climb trees. They do a bit of math, a little history, and work on their own projects. They spend hours putting legos together or journaling or sketching, all on their own.

It might sound like we're rich, but we're not - the kids' dad has them half the time and he has a pretty average salary, but honestly, my partner and I pay for most of this. I've been unemployed the past two years and am now about to graduate with an AA degree, she does odd jobs (housecleaning, tutoring) and is working towards her Master of Arts in Teaching. You don't have to have the kids in all these activities in order to homeschool them and get them adequate interaction with other people, either.

We've had periods where we're not signed up for anything, and we've had busy times like we do now. When it's too much we scale back, when we're bored, we add stuff in. The best part is the way we have time to really know each other and interact with each other as a family.

[nmlove]

For other reasons, I chose to homeschool my oldest this year and he's finishing up his kindergarten year. But it's helped tremendously with food prep and worries. Definitely a bonus of homeschooling. The nice thing if you do decide to homeschool is that you're starting fresh. Your child has nothing to compare to (or downtime to get through). And really, if you think about it, it won't be drastically different than your current lifestyle now. It's basically your life, what you do with a little bit extra thrown in. Kids in school aren't learning the entire time they're there so you can wrap up that bit of learning in an hour or less that public school kids take half a day to get through.

I love the flexibility of homeschooling. As far as socialization, you'll come to find many others homeschooling and your child will socialize with all ages, not just other 5 year olds. My oldest is pretty reserved so we did a few things over the year but until recently he was content playing with his 4 year old brother.

[sreese68]

I have 4 kids (ages 4 - 12), and we've homeschooled from the beginning. The whole socialization argument is really a non-issue. Public schools may help kids learn to socialize with kids their own age, but it doesn't help with interacting with others outside that sphere. (And as adults, we certainly don't only hang out with other 42yo's!)

What I love about homeschool kids is that they tend to not fall into suffering from age-ism. I remember how as a child, I wouldn't play with other kids who weren't very similar in age to me because that's who I was around all the time. HS'ed kids tend to play with a HUGE variety of ages. I even see teenage boys interacting with the younger kids at our HS get togethers. HS kids also tend to interact with adults much more than public school kids.

Our kids certainly don't lack in the socializing area. My kids take classes for HS'ers in swimming, art, and gymnastics. The classes are scheduled when public school is running, and the age range tends to be bigger. We're in a large HS group in our area. We do PE on Fridays with our group. This Wednesday is our annual art fair. I helped run our science fair last fall. My daughter won the spelling bee and went to regional. Next week we have library day with our group, and the week after that, we're going to the ballet. I have to pass up on other opportunities because our schedule just can't accommodate everything!

Anyway, there are a TON of homeschoolers out there, so you should be able to find a group near you unless you live in a remote area.

Here's a link to HSLDA's socialization info: Open Original Shared Link (Hope that works. Haven't tried linking from here to anywhere.)

Good luck with your decision!

[alex11602]

Thank you so much for your input everyone...We have decided to homeschool both our girls Especially after hearing stories of your experiences I feel more at peace with this decision then I have felt about any other decision I have made. Again, thank you so much.

[alex11602]

BTW how old is this nurse? They USED to think that kids outgrow celiac, but it has been proven to no longer be the case. If she says she has research proving your child will outgrow it ask her for that research reference so you can read it for yourself and tell your dr. It's possible she is only recalling something she read ages ago when she was in nursing school. If she does not have any resources for you then you can (gently) show HER some recent articles or books on celiac and explain that we now know kids do not outgrow celiac.

The nurse is late 30s, early 40s. A big problem I had was that she did not seem receptive to any information that I tried to give her about my daughter.

[Roda]

We don't home school and my children attend public school. My youngest is gluten free and the school has been great. They made my son's classroom (kindergarden) gluten free for him. They have been very accomidating and when there were questions of possible cc they actually thought of a few I hadn't. It's a very individual decision to homeschool, do private school or public school. For us, homeschooling is not something we want to do. I would love to put my kids in private school, but I'm liking the finacial freedom of not paying daycare/preschool and don't want the added expense of tuition. We attend one of the better school districts in the area, and my oldest who is 10 is one of the top in his class. Good luck in homeschooling.. I know a few people that do and they love it!

[kareng]

I don't homeschool but know kids that have been. The public schools have to allow the HS kids to participate in the school activities (more important for middle & high school)like drama or football. In high school, home school kids attend our CAPS center which is for advanced studies in things like engineering, medicine, business. Some go to the high school just for physics and chemistry.

We also have on-line classes for kids that can't go to school.

[domesticactivist]

Congratulations on your decision!

[Debbie B in MD]

We are just about to finish our 9th year of homeschooling. There are many great reasons to homeschool. We are brand new to celiac. My 10th grade daughter is in the middle of being diagnosed. So this is more than just a great new reason to be homeschooling. One of the first things she was concerned about was college. I called her first choice and talked to the head dietician. She was wonderful and the school has options/programs in place to handle it. What a relief. Congratulations on your decision to homeschool.

[AgainstTheGrainIdaho]

My kids have Gluten issues but I was already Homeschooling them when we found out. It does make it easier for them and for me but schools are required to abide by what the children's needs are especially if they have a doctor's note telling them. Here's a link to a great site that has really in depth conversations about homeschooling and Q&A's from other teachers and homschool parents about it. It's a great resource for helping you decide if that's the raod you want to take. I for one LOVE it!!

Open Original Shared Link