Am I nuts?

Aug 23, 2006 13:41

I am actually considering homeschool Ashleigh. The problem? It may be bad on her socially... The good part? It may be great on her academically...

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Comments 15

marshmelococoa August 23 2006, 18:43:55 UTC
I don't think you're nuts, but you may want to look into it because if I remember right, it's not so easy to be able to homeschool in ND.

Did something happen?

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mrs_g August 23 2006, 19:02:22 UTC
I am looking into it. The advantage that we DO have is that Shannon's teaching certificate is for ND. Mine is for California, so it wouldn't matter.
I was just reminded last night what a struggle it is to get Ashleigh the education she is really in need of. She is way ahead of her grade.. if given the opportunity, she could go a lot further.
She was tested in Vegas and was in the 99th percentile on all tests.
Here, they test those that are selected (which her teacher said he would recommend her since she was in the program before. Only the top percent of the students get into the gifted class. So, if she is having an off day, or whatever, she won't. But, it was more than that. I don't really doubt that she would get in. Even the gifted classes, I have found, were somewhat of a joke. Maybe it is different here in Fargo.
I asked her last night what she would like. I said, "What would you like to do? Homeschool or go to school?".....her response, "Homeschool, because then I could go at my own pace."
It's just a thought at this point...

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marshmelococoa August 23 2006, 19:18:13 UTC
Hannah tested into gifted 2 years ago and she really enjoyed it. they worked on accelerated math and science. Hannah was an early reader [4years] and still reads at a higher level but she does that on her own, not so much in school. I considered testing her into kindergarten early at the time but then decided against it because I thought it was more important to have her with her peers and be accelerated than to move ahead with kids whose maturity might be at a totally different level and to maybe have her fall back to a more normal level later and be stuck. I chose to put her in kindergarten at her regular time [she was almost 6 when she started] and I've always made sure she gets the extra learning at home and to keep her from getting too bored. She does well. She scores excellent in everything and she learns so much on her own outside of school. She's a good self-starter and when she has an interest in something, she goes full force. She gets online or gets out the encyclopedias and does some research and learns so much. Best of ( ... )

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mrs_g August 24 2006, 13:16:47 UTC
Ashleigh doesn't like to do more than she 'has' to do. That is part of her problem. She isn't a motivated learner. So, she would just as well do the same things she has done over and over again if the teacher lets her. However, she does get excited over learning new things.

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mimsmom August 23 2006, 19:10:23 UTC
While I think under the right circumstances, home schooling is wonderful, I think that, socially, it can be harmful. I guess the biggest thing would be her making friends. It would be one thing if you were sitting for other kids her age, or had some in the neighborhood, but if that's not an option, then what? You are one smart cookie. I'm sure you're thinking things through and will do what is right for your family. Everyone is different. I don't think Amanda could "socially" handle it. She's SO shy as it is. I have her do extra things like cheerleading just so that she has the opportunity to interact with new kids.

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mrs_g August 24 2006, 13:21:54 UTC
Ashleigh is really shy, too. I have been trying to make more of an effort on my part to get her involved with other kids and trying to tell her how to interact. haha

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b1ff August 23 2006, 19:59:40 UTC
It's always amusing to me to hear this particular objection. It's a common saying among homeschoolers here, basically, "Worry about socialization? Yes we worry about it, in that we try to keep it from interfering with schoolwork."

Yes, parents who are supposedly homeschooling can keep their children locked in the house and never see the light of daylight or of fellowship. But let's stop right there, are Christians ever supposed to be lone rangers? No. That is why community is so important. That is why covenanting to join a local church is so important.

So let's talk about socialization. Let's hear from Heinz Kohler, a local education official in Germany. In declaring why homeschooling is illegal in Germany, he explained to parents that "you and your children are not living in isolation on some island but rather in an environment posing intra- and extracurricular situations where you'll have to accept that your world view will be curtailed." Mr. Kohler further explained that homeschooling could not be allowed as "children ( ... )

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radiantlove October 11 2006, 22:11:53 UTC
I don't remember how I ended up here. I think it was a quick procrastinatory "friends' friends" perusal :-)

I wasn't going to leave any comments, but then I happened across this post & was thrilled at how clearly you addressed this concern.

It's an issue I guess I'm a little more touchy on because hey, I've heard just about all of the objects over the years. Anyway, good advice :-)
That is all- the end.

Your linkage to the family integrated church made me wonder- is that the sort of church you attend? I was amused to see the names of some friends on the list for IA :) Since they posted looking for a church, several of them got together & formed a church, which now has about 12 families attending, I believe. Pretty neat to see those sorts of changes...

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countrymoongazr August 23 2006, 20:18:48 UTC
That is a big concern for a lot of people who homeschool their kids. Aus has never gone to school and I worry it about, but our house is still the house in the neighborhood where all the kids hang out. His friends range in age from 2 to 14 and he is able to inneract with all of them easily. A good resource is your local homeschool groups, because they usually have monthly meetings with activities planned several times a week to several times a month depending on how active the group is. It is mostly trial and error to find the group you are most confortable with. And with Aus our big social groups for him are sports. he has been in gymnastics for years and he recently started swimming lessons. After J gets a job i am going to look into a form of martial arts for him, since it is something he has become interested in. It really depends on what Ashleigh is interested in. If you decide to do it I have a couple of really great websites to print curriculum ideas and worksheets or theme units from. It is a lot cheaper than ( ... )

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b1ff August 24 2006, 07:31:39 UTC
I think being able to interact with different age groups - not just with your grade - is one of the big benefits to homeschool interaction. I remember my public school years - each grade had like a chasm between it and the others. The prior years were babies, the next years hopelessly aged. For me, by junior high and highschool age I was doing technical consulting and other work. Homeschooled children have the opportunity to learn to be at ease with many different situations, such as with people much older or younger than themselves, in formal situations, etc. It's certainly no magic bullet or formula or factory to churn out a certain type of person. But it gives parents the opportunity to take their God-given responsibility directly and aim those arrows straight and true.

When we first started homeschooling I thought it was a great thing, and I'd probably think about doing it myself when I got older. Years after finishing homeschool, I have come to realize that for me it is absolutely mandatory.

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mrs_g August 24 2006, 13:19:16 UTC
Did you homeschool from the beginning? If not, was it a bit of a transition for you at first?

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b1ff August 24 2006, 14:22:01 UTC
No, from 6-12. ( K-5 was mostly public, 2nd grade was a church school in a different state) My parents in fact just decided to pull me/us out of school after 5th grade *before* they had heard of homeschooling. (they had had enough!) and in God's providence it had just become explicitly legal in our state.. so all these people who were underground 'popped up' and said yeah we have done this for years, here's how.

It was a bit of a transition. Though we lived in the countryside my parents drove us into town/etc enough that socialization was not a problem.

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