Parents POLL: What type of school does your gymnast attend?

[bigtiny]

I have seen that quite a few parents here homeschool their children. I know that it is very difficult to manage my daughters' public school schedules and homework with their (combined) 35 hours per week in the gym. I'd love to learn more about Chalk Bucket parents choices for their gymnasts education.

Feel free to elaborate in a post with the poll!

 

[gym mom]

My dd has been going to a montessori school since she was 3 years old she is now almost 9 and in 3rd grade I have absoulty loved it but it is very small and enrollments have dropped she will have to attend public school due to finicial reason which I dread her school now is preschool thru 8th grade and has around 200 kids the public elemantry kindy-5th 1000 and our public school are overcrowded .Homeschool is not possible I am a single mother.my dd is L4 soon to be L 5 and will be training 10hrs wk .

 

[MdGymMom01]

I am a single mom, so homeschooling is out of the question for me since I have to work. Thankfully, the county where I live has some of the best public schools in the country, so she is getting the best education for free (so to speak). I believe in a well-balanced lifestyle, so if it got to a point where she was in the gym more than 16 hours a week, we would need to reconsider aspects of the sport and switch to a less time committed schedule. Gymnastics is important to her, but it is not everything, IMO.

 

[MdGymMom01]

My dd has been going to a montessori school since she was 3 years old she is now almost 9 and in 3rd grade I have absoulty loved it but it is very small and enrollments have dropped she will have to attend public school due to finicial reason which I dread her school now is preschool thru 8th grade and has around 200 kids the public elemantry kindy-5th 1000 and our public school are overcrowded .Homeschool is not possible I am a single mother.my dd is L4 soon to be L 5 and will be training 10hrs wk .

My dd went to Montessori school from the age of 2 1/2 through Kindergarten also!!! She loved it--thrived in that environment!!! It really prepared her for 1st grade in public school. I switched to public school because of financial reasons, but feel that the years that she was in Montessori really gave her that boost and confidence that she needed to succeed in public school. She is now in the 4th grade and doing great!!

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

We live in a very good school district so I've never had to really struggle with the "private v. public" debate. Homeschooling is not a choice I would consider.
I AM concerned about her gymnastics when she goes to high school next year. Her day will begin at 9:00 and end at 4:00. Then practices begin at 5:00.... M, T, Th, F and Saturday. It will be a pivotal year. As I have said before, she is NOT on an elite track, not even L9 or 10, so we'll be checking very closely to make sure that the schooling is not negatively impacted by her increased hours and workload!

 

[snowbound]

My DD goes to a public charter cyber school. That means that although she learns at home, on the computer, she is still considered "public school" by the school district. She doesn't go to virtual classes, they sent us all the curriculum, and she logs on and does it at her own pace, and I facilitate.

Both of my DS are in a different cyber-school as well. (also public charter)

I have ADHD and I don't think I could do a traditional homeschool without someone putting a plan together for me, and this doesn't cost anything (they pay for our internet, and send us the PC and all the materials).

We live in a good district, but very rural. My DD would have to get on the bus at 7 AM, and not be home until 4 PM. Plus, gymnastics is 30 miles south and her school would be 10 more miles north.

The gym wasn't the only reason for homeschooling, we made this decision before she even started, but it has worked out remarkably well. My DD will either be graduating high school at 16, or graduating at 18, but with an AA degree and a diploma. If she sticks with the gymnastics, that would put her in a very good position for a scholarship.:brainiac:

She's way ahead of her grade level on all her subjects except music (if she liked music, she would be probably be ahead in that too)

My main issue with traditional public school, is that the class generally doesn't move any faster than the slowest kid in the class. Teachers don't have the option to move ahead for the gifted kids, and they really can't let kids skip work just because they know the child can do it. If my DD gets bored, she tunes out, then she ends up missing the good stuff.

I wouldn't mind sending my kids to private school, but as I said, we are in a rural community, so there just isn't one.

Snowbound

 

[bigtiny]

My DD goes to a public charter cyber school. That means that although she learns at home, on the computer, she is still considered "public school" by the school district. She doesn't go to virtual classes, they sent us all the curriculum, and she logs on and does it at her own pace, and I facilitate.

Both of my DS are in a different cyber-school as well. (also public charter)

I have ADHD and I don't think I could do a traditional homeschool without someone putting a plan together for me, and this doesn't cost anything (they pay for our internet, and send us the PC and all the materials).

We live in a good district, but very rural. My DD would have to get on the bus at 7 AM, and not be home until 4 PM. Plus, gymnastics is 30 miles south and her school would be 10 more miles north.

The gym wasn't the only reason for homeschooling, we made this decision before she even started, but it has worked out remarkably well. My DD will either be graduating high school at 16, or graduating at 18, but with an AA degree and a diploma. If she sticks with the gymnastics, that would put her in a very good position for a scholarship.:brainiac:

She's way ahead of her grade level on all her subjects except music (if she liked music, she would be probably be ahead in that too)

My main issue with traditional public school, is that the class generally doesn't move any faster than the slowest kid in the class. Teachers don't have the option to move ahead for the gifted kids, and they really can't let kids skip work just because they know the child can do it. If my DD gets bored, she tunes out, then she ends up missing the good stuff.

I wouldn't mind sending my kids to private school, but as I said, we are in a rural community, so there just isn't one.

Snowbound

What an interesting school model! I wish we had some choices like that here. My 1st grader is working at a 3rd/4th grade level and gets very bored - as you said they tend to work at the level of the kids who are the furthest behind. How nice that you have some choices in your school district!

 

[gymjourneymom]

My DD's both attended a Montessori school for preschool x2yrs & then kindergarten. Although we loved the Montessori school, we just could not afford to continue. The public schools here are great & my girls are both thriving academically. DD just won the science fair last month. School is our priority, but DD has still managed to make state champ twice(L5 & L6). We have opted out of meets, that meant she would miss too many days of school(some gym parents look at me like I'm crazy for this, but the coach understands). DD has gym friends who home school(so we know a lot about it & have discussed it), but it's not something my DD wants(plus, I work outside the home). She loves her school social envoronment & extra curricular activities. Maintaining her schedule does get overwhelming at times...and does up her stress level( & mine). I think this is being reflected in some of her fear issues at the gym. She sleeps as late as she can. Gets up @ 6:15a to catch the bus at 7am. She's home from school at 2:30p. Has gym 7-9:30p 4 nights/week(usually in bed by 11p, after snack & shower) & 4hrs on Sat. Right now she is 13ys old and in 8th grade at middle school & L7 at the gym. DD is very organized & usually has most of her homework done before she gets home from school. So she does get some "down time" to relax & sometimes nap. But next year she goes to highschool & will be taking all honors classes. I am nervous wondering how all of this will progress. There are many, in fact all of the level 9's & 10's at our gym, go to public (or Catholic)highschool & make it all work. DD has a few upper level girls, she really looks up to. They are in public highschool & did VERY well at regionals & nationals last year. So we just keep forging ahead, taking it one day at a time. Realizing we may need to explore gymnastics programs with less time committment, if she is too overwhelmed by it all in highschool.

 

[FlipsLeos]

My daughters are still at lower levels, but they attend public school and we have no plans to change that.

I am a former competitive swimmer. I was at the pool from 5am - 7am and 4:30pm - 7pm five days a week, plus 4 hr practices on Saturday. I always attended public school and it was never a problem - we became very disciplined about getting assigments done on time because the coaches ripped us a new one if we fell behind in school!!

 

[snowbound]

What an interesting school model! I wish we had some choices like that here. My 1st grader is working at a 3rd/4th grade level and gets very bored - as you said they tend to work at the level of the kids who are the furthest behind. How nice that you have some choices in your school district!

Try these links- they are for cyber charters in VA using K-12 curriculum. there are probably others using other curriculum, just google "cyber charter schools" and your state or county.
www.pcs.k12.va.us
www.bedford.k12.va.us
www.ccpsd.k12.va.us

The second one is free if you live in Bedford county, but I believe the last one doesn't matter what district you are in.

It's not for everyone, it's very academically challenging, but I know a lot of people who have had a good experience with it. K12 curriculum is mastery based, so as soon as you master a concept, you move on, but you don't have to move on if you don't understand it.

Snowbound

 

[momof2gymgirls]

Currently my daughter is in preschool, but when she goes to Kindergarten next year she will go to a public school. We are really lucky to be in one of the top public school districts in NY state so I never really considered a private school. Im worried about making sure that she has enough time to get all her homework done and fit gymnastics in there, by the time school starts she will be going 4 days a week. Our gym is really good at scheduling time so the kids can get everything done. They make sure that education is the top priority.

 

[gym law mom]

My gymmie is in a public middle school that uses the IB cirriculum. She attended an IB elementary school, so not much of a change going into middle school. Both dh and I need to work since we have older daughter heading off to college in the fall, so homeschooling would not work well for us.

I do worry about the long days. School starts at 7:55am, out at 2:50 and then straight to the gym on M/W/F plus long practice on Sat. am. Thankfully, she's a very bright kid(sometimes too smart for her own good!) and learned to work ahead when she was in 5th grade. 1 more year before we have to look at any flexible options on classes for high school.

 

[emorymom]

I answered, home schooling for other reasons, but I think that one of the reasons my daughter is in gymnastics is that home schooling gives her so much time and energy to explore her interests. I think if we were not home schooling for preschool and K, and were doing what is typical around here (preschool 3-4 days a week and then full time K), we would not have the energy or tuition for gymnastics. One reason I am home schooling is that we can get the academics mastered in such a concise amount of time that my children really can explore their interests and increase their skills. My daughter also wants to be a singer and spends a lot of time singing here and there as she's moved to do. Now when you are in school if you suddenly break out into song, that's generally frowned on, or another kid will make fun of you if it's during recess. But, I don't see any social differences between my kids and the schooled kids. I don't think you can really tell, if they are at a party or a playdate that they are not in full day school. So I want her to be able to sing. And I want her to be able to spend as much time as she wants in the gym, and still have down time.

We have a neighbor across the street whose 2nd grade daughter has 2 hours of homework a night after almost every day of full day private school. I don't understand that.

I think we may eventually do a virtual school or I would start a hybrid school around here.

 

[Blackie6]

Public school here

We have 3 kids and my DH is a fireman with weird hours and I also work PT. I could never homeschool all three even if I was home. All 3 are just so different from each other and my 7th grader is smarter in Math and Science than I am. As it now I have him helping my 5th grader, LOL. Plus, my gymmie gets Speech therapy at school.

I do think the *cyber* school sounds awesome though!!!!!

 

[Panda-girl's Mom]

Daughter is in third grade and goes to gym 3nights a week and Saturday and does dance on Tuesday. Right now she is able to fit everything in she often does homework in the car but she attends a catholic school and I do not think it is very challeging. I do not feel I would be equiped to handle home schooling but I worry as she gets older it will be come harder. I also worry with the gymnastics that I am limiting her choices to partcipate in school sports these usually start in the older grades what if she wants to join track or cheerleading or the drama club it would be hard to do ecspecailly at the upper levels of gymnastics. I feel like I am isolating her she loves her gym team but there is something about being a part of a high school teams that I am sure she will eventually feel left out. I quess that is a positive about home schooling they have only their gym buddies and don't feel like they are missing out on their school friends.

 

[ellabella]

My DD isn't in school and won't be until 2011, but I just find this thread interesting. I'm a school teacher so DD will likely go to the public school I teach at. I'm open to homeschooling at some point if that's what she ever wanted because I know as a kid I always wanted to be homeschooled. I hated all of the "nothing" that we did at school. I just wanted to get my work done and go home. I wasn't a particularly social person. I had close friends at school, but I didn't care to go to school events or really be a part of clubs.
I was in the gifted program, but was still bored. I don't feel like I was ever pushed. I would have loved to work independently.

My personality would have been perfect for homeschooling so if DD feels the same way I'd homeschool her.

 

[kristilyn73]

My Gymmie is 13 and 7th grade at a public school. BUT.. we have communicated with the school and she has quite the deal worked out.

She does full days of school on (7:30 to 2:30) M, W & F. She goes to practice on M & F at 4:00. She has about 45 minutes to do homework before practice.

On Tuesday and Thursdays she leaves school at 11:30 and goes to practice from 12:00 to 5:00. This gives her all evening to be with the family, do homework, eat dinner etc.

The school has worked with us and put all her core classes in the morning, she misses part of her electives (right now computers), band and geography. The school gives her credit for phy ed and she does independent study for health.

The #1 requirement of this deal is that she keeps her grades up.. I can't complain she has been on the A honor roll both quarters (and All year last year )

It is a nice compromise since I couldnt do home school and Beetle doesnt really want to home school. We thought about the cyber school there is an option in MN through the Minneapolis public school system, but Beetle really wants to stay in public school.. and I am not going to take that away from her.

Unfortunetly, this is the last year we will be doing this schedule. Our gym is not going to be doing 'day practice' any longer.

 

[Mom2Brats]

Wow, thank you for this post. It is very good to hear that there are other options besides all-out homeschooling or all-out public school. DD is in public school right now, which is working fine for us at the moment but I have wondered about the future, particularly if she stays in gymnastics for long. Right now I already feel like I don't see a whole lot of her. On the other hand, they just had a four day weekend from school and I'm loosing my mind trying to keep her occupied.... she just has to be going all the time (and has been that way from birth) I love the sound of the cyber charter schools, though and at some point we may look into that.

It really is great to hear how everyone deals with this issue!

 

[coveredinchalk]

Well, we homeschool for differnt reasons with each kid (5). The boys will not always be homeschooled, they have plans to attend high school and participate in high school sports.

If gymmie decides to continue with gymnastics at her rate, she almost needs to always be homeschooled or we would never see her!

Crazy hours and kuddos to the gymmies who juggle school/homework/family/friends - it is a lot.

 

[cathiann]

Beth goes to a Catholic school, but is moving to a public middle school next year. She enjoys gym, but doesn't practice so many hours that I would need to homeschool her. As a level 7, she goes 16 hrs a week (4 days). Next she as an 8, she'll go 5 days during the summer, but I think still 4 days during the school year (that's what the 8s this year do). At our gym, you'd only have an issue if you were going for elite (and we don't have any of those currentlY).