Thinking about dipping my toe into homeschooling....

[Woodland Woman]

Hi Okiemommy. The diet is called the Feingold Program. www.feingold.org
They have a terrific support system and message board if you join.
They also give you a book that lists products by brand name that are free of artificials
a restaurant guide , recipes, supplement guide, and a monthly news letter with updates.
Following this diet is one of the best decisions I have made in my life!

 

[Okiemommy]

oh wow! This is a really thorough plan! Thanks so much!!

 

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

Hi Okie! Just wanted to say that I think you will do great homeschooling! I hope it goes well over the summer. I homeschool as you know and think it is great but you know what is best for your kids and I think you are wise to ask questions before you jump in to it.

What works for some may not work for others. I have the link I told you about
..
http://www.aophomeschooling.com/

The Switched on Schoolhouse was the one I was telling you about for your son. You can also call Alpha Omega and they will help you choose a cirriculum and anwser any and all questions about it. They have been great in helping me decide the right cirrculum for each of my kids.

They also have a sale every April for 20% off. I wish you the best of luck and if you have any questions about AO let me know.

 

[punkin]

Hey, OkieM.

I have been homeschooling my son and his two best friends for about 3 months now. For 2 of them, it's their last year. The third is a sophomore and will go back to private Christian school next year.

It's something I thought I would never do and never wanted to do. However, I wished I would have had the forsight to start him out in kindergarten.

I don't think you will regret your decision to homeschool. I regret not homeschooling.

 

[Okiemommy]

Thanks for the advice Patch and Punkin! The more I think about it, and weigh it, the more I feel like my kids need more of my guidance in schooling. Especially my oldest DS who has ADHD.

We recently had a meeting with the school because I found out that I had to be the one to "officially" request interventions for my son in order to get the red tape ball rolling, and that the teacher could have requested a meeting but didn't. She had been doing interventions all along, but I wasn't aware that I had to be the one to officially state that we needed to start interventions and a formal process!!! I thought we were already doing that! So now that they process has finally been started, we will be playing the waiting game b/c there is a mandatory waiting period for 6 weeks of each phase of trying to get a 504 plan started for him.

 

[Wildsky]

Good luck Okie, I was going to homeschool and changed my mind, but I do work with the kids over the summer and on weekend etc.. My 5 year old is going into kindergarten this August, and I've already taught her to read and write etc... I'm working on math with her now, and she's pretty darn smart! She might just knock her teachers socks off..

My son is going into 5th grade, he's 9 right now, and gets straight A's.

I like the school here in the small town, there were only 8 kids in my son's 4th grade class, and probably will be around the same for 5th grade. The teachers have 2 grades, so last year my son was with the 3rd grade (only one student) and next year he'll be in with the 6th graders.

I take my hat off to all of you who homeschool, its a fantastic thing you're doing!

 

[ldburton]

I had to read this from the beginning, not sure if I read it last year or not but will offer my 2 cents worth now.
I homesclooled for 18 years, starting when my kids were 12, 9, 6, and a new born.
I went from the attitude that "I could never do that" because I saw it as "sit at a desk for 6 hours, etc," to SO glad I started when I did. If I had the chance to do it over, I would homeschool from the beginning.
Social skills are definitely a consideration, but also something you can teach and set your children up for success with situations you can control while they are developing their self confidence and personal standards.
My children learned to get along with each other, their parents and grandparents and are still best friends with us and each other as young adults. They have their own lives but often call for us all to get together for something fun.
Wishing you the best with your choices.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Thanks for resurrecting this thread. I just reread the whole thing, and now, a year later, what I said about my son is now not true. He was new at this school last year, which may have attirbuted to his popularity. Well, all that recently fell in the proverbial toilet. This last term, his grades have dropped considerably,to the point where he needs to go to summerschool, he has no friends left, andhe is being threatened and bullied at school--so bad that his grades have slipped.

The school has been called numerous times, with only a handful of phonecalls being returned. when I did talk to the LST,she said he has been depressed in class, angry and defiant. She was well aware that he was being bullied at school. thing is--she knew about it before I did. My son wouldn't tell me b/c he was afraid when I called the school and certain actions were taken, he would have to suffer the repercussions. my duaghter finally ended up telling me--then it all came pouring out of my son.

Back to the part about her knowing about it before I did------SHE AND THE SCHOOL KNEW----but did not do anything about it until WE called them and made an issue of it. they had been aware for about three months--I have known the full extent of it for the last two weeks. We have also called the police-since the main bully-boy is 14, he can be charged with uttering threats, etc. We will press charges if this behaviour does not stop immediately.

So now, I am contemplating homeschooling again. My heart aches for my son. I need to do what is best for him.

 

[big brown horse]

Sorry to hear about your son. Believe me I have thought about doing the same thing at times. My 12 year old daughter has auditory perception disorder, and is getting teased more and more. Her language (lacks verbage) skills are not up to par with her peers. And she has a hard time hearing and remembering the teacher's directions. The teacher is wonderful, she has moved her to the best local in the room and writes down the directions for her. It is the other kids that are being so mean.

 

[OkieAnnie]

quote:

- those of you who homeschool, if you had it to do over again, would you start right from kindergarten that way, or do you think it is useful to the child (or the parents ) to send them to school for a year or couple years first?

- do you think the answer to that would be any different if we are talking about a somewhat socially backward/awkward kid (well, at 4 anyhow - who knows what he'll be like in a year or two but probably not radically different) living in a rural area with no neighbor kids to play with? We could certainly enroll him in a couple classes or clubs or that sort of thing, up to a point, but it would not be nearly as much quantity of time interacting with people as he'd get in school.


**I wanted to HS from the start, my son was so painfully shy that he would wet his pants rather than ask someone where the bathroom was! We decided to send him to school. I regret that and wish we had homeschooled from the start. I have 3 children and have been homeschooling 6 years. My children are all very well adjusted and have excellent manners and social skills. Now that they have been at home and exposed to so many different situations socially they adapt very well. They actually regressed when they went to school. I don't know if this would be true for every child, but when schooling you can notice your childs weeknesses and strenghts and work on what needs to be worked on. You know them better than anyone else,****

When we started my oldest was 9 and starting 4th grade, my younger son was 6 and starting 1st grade and my youngest was a newborn. She has picked up Latin, Greek, Spanish and German while we schooled. She understood that letters worked together to make words because she would sit in on spelling tests. It has amazed me what she has learned just being around her brothers schooling. She surprised me and answered the phone when I called the house today. We have not taught her phone etiquette yet, but I have taught her brothers. She answered the phone so perfectly and spoke so well on the phone. My sons have excelled and it has been very tough at times and there have been times I have wondered if I was doing the right thing but I know they are doing very well and when we spend time around other children their ages I am amazed at how well they are doing. They test well above grade level in everything. If I had it to do all over again, I would HS from the start.


OkieMommie . . I am in Edmond, if you are not too far from their, send me an email. We might be able to get together or atleast talk on the phone. I am OkieJonesClan . . could not get my password straight since March so I just created a new account.