Time to get serious...is homeschooling necessary to be successful?

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jmad122

Proud Parent
DD is 6 and level3 at a rec. gym. I think it may be time to look into something more serious as she is asking for more time and I believe she'll continue beyond the level that rec. gym handles.

So, I'm overwhelmed. We live in an area with several good gyms (North TX) We will be visiting a few.
I have noticed that many gyms have homeschool programs. Is homeschooling necessary if our goal is to continue into the upper levels? Do I need to get her into that now for fear that we will miss out on the opportunity?

Our goal is not the Olympics. I just don't really know what I should be looking for in terms of a good program.
I sooo wish I could talk to someone that is unbiased.

I appreciate your time. I've learned a lot on the forums.
Thanks
 
I think you will end up with a HUGE variety of answers about this. However, my opionion is that I would keep my child in her normal school until you get to a level where it may be difficult to do both. I would assume that this would be YEARS down the road. There are some girls that go to the highest level of the sport and never leave public school. My daughter is in 5th grade and we would not consider homeschool at this point. She has straight A's and does 21 hours per week.
 
No. My oldest is training pre elite/Level 10 and only started a partial homeschooling program this year when she went pre-elite. She's training about 32 hours a week. Even then, she goes to her regular middle school for classes in the morning and is only homeschooled in the classes that she misses for practice. Until this last year, she was able to attend her regular school full time and practice at night.

Look for a program that supports your daughter's goals in positive ways. Go and watch practices at gyms you are considering. You'll quickly develop the ability to spot coaches whose training techniques may work well with your daughter. Don't hesitate to talk to the coaches about their programs, how they move the girls up, how far does the gym go (some gyms don't compete at the upper levels), how many girls are in your daughter's level and what are their ages (will she fit in?), what are the practice expectations, how much is tuition/meet fees/booster club fees.... If there is any hestitation answering any questions, you may want to investigate further.
 
No, homeschooling is not necessary for the upper levels. If the Olympics was a real and realistic goal, it would be easier to get there with homeschooling but not a requirement.

I have a dd who is L7 and we homeschool but it has nothing to do with gym. To my knowledge, she is the only one in the gym who is homeschooled .If you are comfortable with your school, then I would leave it alone. If she gets to the upper levels in 5+ yrs and you think homeschooling would be better, you can switch then.

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Yes, one step at a time. Find a gym that is a good fit for your family. Remember that, at the end of the day, it is more important that your daughter be happy, healthy, with her self-esteem intact, and that she continues to have fun with it. Becoming a great gymnast will mean nothing without that side of things. After you find a gym that you feel will nurture her as a person and not just as a gymnast, drop her off, pick her up, pay the bills, show up for meets, clap and cheer, take her out for ice cream after, and let it take its course. If she reaches a point where homeschooling makes sense, and you're able to do that, make that decision then.

Trust me, I'm a planner too...I think about what age DD will be a level 10 if she spends x number of years at the next level, wonder about how she'll manage to do high school and gym and sleep enough to stay healthy, etc. But she's not there yet (going into 6th grade). I know she's in a good gym with qualified coaches who care about her as a person and not just a gymnast. So while I may not be able to turn off the running "what if" dialog in my head, I am learning to just trust the process and take things as they come. You will too!

Good luck on the journey!
 
Thank you so much. Very good advice from all of you. I AM a planner as pp said. And, we are fortunate to live in an area with lots of opportunities. i just don't want to get 5 years down the road and realize I made a huge mistake by going to the wrong program. I'm glad to hear that we can take it a bit slower and still be successful. I'm still in the info gathering stage. I really don't know what questions I should be asking.

My end goal is just a happy kid, of course. It's just hard to get true word of mouth opinions from people. The people I talk to, mostly other parents, don't seem to give the most unbiased of opinions. :) Don't you just wish you could talk to someone that was on the insides sometimes? :)

Thanks, again for taking the time to help me. I'm taking your info to heart.
 
Another option you could check into is a montessori based education. It allows the child to learn at their own pace and is focused a lot on the child's growth in all areas (social, emotional, etc). Many schools do not have homework until middle school and at that point is is limited (the philosophy is that they should work hard in school and then have time to be kids after school).

It works and their test scores back it up. Could be a hybrid solution.
 
I'd say look at a blended solution that allows for a bit of "down time" once or twice a week, even if it's just 30 minutes that is her's to use as she wishes. It will help her re-charge and get her mind in the right place for the rest of the week.

The best schedule change we ever put into effect was one that had the kids out of school at 1pm after checking in with a mentor teacher for the class they were missing that day, and at the gym by 1:30, and done for the evening at 6:15. It gave them a chance to eat dinner, do their homework if they hadn't already done it, and have some family/free time.

This worked out really well. The girls had friends outside of the gym, spent time with their families, and maintained a minimum of a 3.5 G.P.A. in school
 
Yes, I don't know if this is nationwide, but at least in our state, Cyber Charter schools have really taken off, and now a lot of the school districts are jumping on the bandwagon and have their own. Some of the upper-level optionals (high school girls) are taking their "regular" classes (math, English, etc.) at school and then taking care of things like health and PE credits through cyber school. That either gives them a shortened school day or more study halls to get work done. Wow, a gym schedule that would be finished by 6:15 would be WONDERFUL! That's going to be my new fantasy. Maybe DD's gym will grow into something like that.
 
The desicion to homeschool needs to be about more than just gymnastics. Home schooling will mean a huge commitment from you to be her full time teacher. That will affect your ability to work and mean that you will take on a very different role in life. I am a firm supporter of well organized home schooling. Many hours are wasted at school and in home school parent and child often develop a very special relationship, it means you can direct her own curriculum and make it relevant and meaningful to her. It means one on one attention for your child.

But it will also mean full time commitment from you, it can be a strain on the relationship, it will mean many hours on your part searching out curriculum and learning materials, it will mean deliberate effort to ensure she is exposed to different ideas and social settings.
 
Remember, this is YOUR decision, and this is my opinion...
I think that she's only 6, and only level 3. Since all of my and many other gymnasts' "free time" is gymnastics. For me, school is where I can be somewhat normal, and nobody has to know, so I can be a normal kid.
Also, even if she becomes elite, I wouldn't want to be home schooled, first of all, school is ultimately more important than gymnastics, if you want her to go to college, school is important, and second of all, it's where she can be normal, and not pushed to her limit. Third, Samantha Peszek went to the Olympics and she didn't miss any school. So, if she can do it, I think there's no reason why others can't.
 
My DD once saw a news report about a local gym that has a HS program, and she thought it would be so cool to spend those extra hours in the gym. But after thinking about it, she realized she would miss her school friends, etc. (I never considered it for a minute). She is currently training L9, just finished 6th grade as a straight A student, trains 20 hours. DD's teammates who are L10 also train 20 hours, that was enough to get most of our seniors scholarships to Division 1 schools. So my short answer is "no", not necessary.
 
DD is 6 and level3 at a rec. gym. I think it may be time to look into something more serious as she is asking for more time and I believe she'll continue beyond the level that rec. gym handles.

So, I'm overwhelmed. We live in an area with several good gyms (North TX) We will be visiting a few.
I have noticed that many gyms have homeschool programs. Is homeschooling necessary if our goal is to continue into the upper levels? Do I need to get her into that now for fear that we will miss out on the opportunity?

Our goal is not the Olympics. I just don't really know what I should be looking for in terms of a good program.
I sooo wish I could talk to someone that is unbiased.

I appreciate your time. I've learned a lot on the forums.
Thanks

no..^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
I'll second whoever mentioned Montessori. I'm a very biased dyed in the wool Montessorian anyhow, but it is true the Montessori school day does tend to be more flexible and they're not big on homework, which could be conducive to gymnastics.

This definitely isn't a decision you need to make for your six year old. If you're checking out those big Texas gyms with homeschooling programs (I think Texas Dreams advertises this rightthere on their website, right? With spiffy looking homeschool rooms and everything? Or am I thinking of someplace else?), those are mostly by invitation I think. Your daughter's coaches will definitely guide you and let you know if there is a need to pull your daughter out of school for more intense training. Even for Olympians, that point doesn't usually come until much later (unless the family was homeschooling already for their own reasons), if it even comes at all. Like the others said, even some elites still go to public/private school, especially if they live in districts that are accomodating about sports. Texas tends to be a fairly accomodating state (I'm a semi-Texan myself, went to high school and college there) since we do love our athletics in Texas!
 
It's not necessary, and not something you need to think about at age 6. Get her in a good program, with gymnasts at the upper levels you aspire to, and be guided by her coaches. They will tell you when and if homeschooling might benefit your dd's gymnastics.

Here in the uk homeschooling purely for athletic purposes just isn't done. Some carry on in state school, or some go to specialist schools which allow time tabling around their sport. Dd (age 7) is in an elite program for another sport (not gymnastics), and they go to school as normal. If they are looking at national team potential at 11/12 they work with the existing school to arrange a 4 day week so they can train in the day one day a week. Even the royal ballet school doesn't take dancers before age 10 (I think!).


Good luck!
 
I'm very impressed with the respect and calm informative answers given to the original poster.

I really believed that the OP was going to be blasted with:"Get some perspective ,she's only 6!Its her sport,don't project your personal ambitions onto your kid.Let her enjoy it,you'll ruin it for her" I was getting the popcorn ready for the drama....instead I just found a bunch of mature responsible tolerant folks exchanging ideas....

What am I going to do with my popcorn now?....I know,lets discuss Obamacare............................................J/K
 
No, you do not have to HS to reach higher levels of gymnastics, but I think the most gyms that I've seen HS are in the state of TX, so I guess that is why it seems so common when you look at gyms there. I live in the northeast part of the country and in our state there are only a couple, no more than a handful, of gyms that HS and that does not necessary equal success. My dd's gym does not have a HS program, with the exception of 1 girl, they all attend brick and mortar schools and have great success individually and team-wise. I think if you were in any other state besides TX, you wouldn't see as many HS programs.
 
A lot of girls at my DD's gym home school, but it doesn't have anything to do with gymnastics. I've thought about HS'ing my little one, but I'm going to wait until she's a little older and learns some of the "school skills" she'll need in life. ;-) As for your little one, if gymnastics is the only reason you would HS her I think you have plenty of time to decide. My little one trains 6 hrs a week on pre-team, she's 5 yrs old, and will move up to L3 probably towards the end of the year. I know our gym works around school schedules as much as possible, and I think most gyms try to do that. And I don't know of any gyms around here that offer HS'ing at the gym. Sounds kind of interesting though.....would you have to have separate certifications to run a school out of a gym??
 
From my DD's experience, I agree with those who say it is not time to worry about home school. DD went to regular school for all 12 years while doing gymnastics, and while gym did take up a lot of her free time, she was able to have a social life with her classmates. She was a L10 by her Jr. year in h.s. and has been invited to walk on at a D1 college. Good luck to your dd.
 

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