Thursday, June 3, 2010

Homeschool it is.

The "ayes" have it. We have really concluded that I can't screw things up any worse than the school already is, and at least maybe he'll feel better about himself.

The positives:
  • He can pursue things that interest him.
  • He loves to read, but will have the autonomy to choose his own readings (with the caveat that he must represent several genres).
  • No more writing repetitive chapter summaries for 30 chapter books just for the teacher to check whether he has read. (this is gifted curriculum?!)
  • He will practice writing something, anything every day (this may be our major homeschool battle). But, perhaps he will learn not to fear the "blank page".
  • His psyche can only improve if no one is beating him down about his failure to achieve constantly.
  • He will get one-on-one playdates regularly (where he is comfortable, happy, and has good friends) and spend less time in large groups of kids where he is less comfortable and less accepted.
  • He feels strongly that he wants a good education, but he will be empowered to take some responsibility there.
  • No worksheets!!! (unless he chooses them)
  • We may recover the charming son that we have lost to stress and being overwhelmed by the system.

The negatives:

  • Will he lay on the floor all day, rolling around and playing with plastic people; or is that just how he "de-stresses" at the end of a hard day at elementary school. That is, sometimes that is fine - but, will he do it all of the time?
  • Can I keep him off of the computer/Wii/tv? (Screen time is really deleterious to him).
  • Lots of time with a child kicking around my office (I so hope that he won't be disruptive, distracting, or difficult - although these characteristics would be unusual for him).
  • Will he become too reclusive? Or, will it be refreshing for my little introvert to not be forced into large groups six hours a day?
  • Not too much room for homeschool networking - I work full-time.
  • Will he be able to adjust to "real" school when he returns? Will he even want to?

4 comments:

Brad said...

I have a full-time work-from-home job so I'm curious, when will you school him? What will your schedule look like? I would not have time.

K said...

I have a full-time work at work job.

Basically, it is my intent to guide him a bit on curriculum, but most school will be self-directed.

Given the 2-3 hours a night we'd been spending on homework - I figure I can't be much worse off, time-wise - and, maybe I can be kinder to and with him if I am not busy fitting a round peg in a square hole.

Henry Cate said...

"We have really concluded that I can't screw things up any worse than the school already is ..."

This really is a key point. There will probably be times when you want to pull your hair, but don't compare your worse days to the best days at a government school.

Once you start in the Fall, you might consider trying a new focus every week. Say a couple hours on art, then next week a couple hours on dinosaurs, and then maybe some wood, hammer and saw. ONce he finds something constructive that he enjoys, he might not push for the computer as much.

Good luck.

Stephanie said...

Congrats on your decision! Just be aware that starting to homeschool is often like bringing home your newborn...they have not read the books and it takes flexibility and on the job experience to get the hang of it. Most likely homeschooling in theory will look very different than homeschooling in practice. And that is ok.

That said, it is a heck of a ride. Especially with our creative right brained kids...