Parents Homeschool question

[l.c.o]

Hello!

Proud mama here if a current sixth-grader. She's new to middle school this year, and she has been struggling a bit with the adjustment. While of course we're allowing for an adjustment period thus year, she's been becoming more and more vocal about wanting to either pursue online school or homeschool.

This is not a completely new idea. As we currently open enroll her into another district for a charter school anyway, we have done quite a bit of research on options within our state.

She has several past diagnoses that were working with (anxiety disorder, selective mutism, and sensory processing disorder). She's also likely dealing with some degree of dyslexia, which we're hoping to finally determine this year... her former school allowed for a high degree of differentiation and flexibility, so until now, she'd been dealing much more easily.

This year has been a rough one so far.... Continued, as once again, I accidentally hit post...

 

[l.c.o]

Anyway.

I'm looking to get BTDT input from others. DD LOVES gymnastics. Her current career goals center around this sport (trainer, coach, etc... granted she's just 11).

She's probably not college-prep class eligible in her current or home districts. It's unlikely she'd qualify for AP or honors level courses.

She's not even 100% sure she wants to attend college. Large groups of people REALLY stress her out and while she can deal with it sometimes, dealing with it daily will likely be a stretch. Currently she's having trouble with the busy-ness of the hallways between classes at her middle school with 300-400 students. She's getting headaches, not eating...

Academics also stress her out as she's a perfectionist with real trouble performing well in a classroom.

She's most comfortable in a gym. Any gym. I suspect she'll likely only do college if she has an opportunity to do college gym, which likely will be a stretch both physically and academically. (Thankfully, there are several DIII schools relatively near, probably that'd be best-case). But anyway, I'm not even 100% sure that she'd do college in even that instance. Currently, we're looking at her, at best, being a 7th grade first year level 7 with some level 8 skill ability, anyway.

For anyone who has tried, how difficult is it to transition from home school to high school? Is it catastrophic to consider home schooling or online schooling high school? Some of high school? Would it affect the .05% chance she has of competing in college, if she even chose to?

We'll probably consult with an outside therapist to cover all of the bases, especially as her diagnoses are several years old, but thought I'd try to get some input here, too.

FWIW, she's also most social with gym friends. Doesn't socialize with school friends all that much. Gym is where she's happy.

But another worry is... What if those gym friends leave the sport, then DD leaves, and boom... no socialization? Also, no local homeschool gym training groups, so that's no potential benefit.

Sorry for any typos, on my iPad today and I'm awful at typing on it.

 

[MILgymFAM]

My girls are homeschooling for the first time this year. We use an online private school. My ODD is academically gifted and the whole reason homeschool was suggested for her for hs was so she could take more challenging courses and really branch out. It's working really well for us overall and my girls are both very happy and doing great. My ODD has every intention of going to a top tier college and I find no indication that homeschooling will hinder that in any way.

 

[auswi]

Have experience of the issues you are dealing with.

Initially I would seek a new diagnosis -some levels of anxiety need medication as the anxiety becomes so overwhelming that the sufferer is unable to focus on other methods of staying calm.

Sensory processing issues are not necessarily going to be resolved by continual exposure, especially as its exaberating her anxiety.

It seems you've found a platform of success for your Dd. ( By this I mean an arena that she feels she achieves well at.)

This is SO important -for our dearly loved adopted D it was basketball.

Personally I would go with the scenario that will give her success academically now, as it seems she is struggling in her current school situation.

As her anxiety decreases, her academics will improve, which after several years in MHO would be the time -if deemed necessary -for her to reintegrate into mainstream school.

I wouldn't stress too much about the socialisation thing -her friendship group will change over time at gym but this will also change over time at school.

Good luck☺

 

[gymgal]

We had homeschooled for all but 1 year the past 10 years. This year, we transitioned ours into an online charter school for high school and while we have had ups/downs, it has been a good transition. It gives them more flexibility in their schedules and lessons while still providing structure and the necessary coursework needed for college. There are many families who homeschool through high school and that was my original intent but I didn't feel that I would have the time and energy to plan it correctly while working fulltime+ hours.

I would not worry about homeschooling and college. This is becoming increasingly more common and homeschooling can be a great way to help kids - particularly those who struggle in school for various reasons - to reach their full potential. Your priority is to help her be successful now and not worry so much about 6+ years from now, so if you think teaching her at home would help her learn better, give it a try.

 

[Anna's_Mom]

I don't have any experience with home schooling, but i do have experience with middle school challenges for a child. three years ago i would have said there was little chance our son would be able to go to a 4 year college. depression, anxiety, social anxiety, add were all taking a real toll. in fact he spent many weeks either hospitalized or in intensive out-patient programs. needless to say, his grades were also terrible. fast forward to today -- just this morning we dismantled his 504 plan because there have been no issues for more than a year and he is a straight a student. the right diagnosis, the right meds, the right therapist and time have worked absolute miracles. which i tell you to illustrate the point that you shouldn't look too far into the future. make decisions that work for you and your family now. you might be completely surprised at what comes next or the changes you might see in the next few years.

apologies for no caps -- my left pinky is in a splint and the shift key is really hard to manage.

 

[munchkin3]

I have three kids. Oldest is ADHD and on Meds and has done pretty well. He's in 10th grade and was a gymnast from 1st grade until the very beginning of 10th grade. He always needs help organizing, and managing time.

Second son does OK in school.....he does not enjoy it very much.....is not a gymnast, but more of an artistic type....I've always said that school is really not meant for all kids, especially my boys. I wanted to homeschool them, but that would have been a full time job and I'm the bread winner, so that would not have worked.

My youngest is a straight A student, and I rarely help her with school work. She has impeccable planning, and is always on her game.......if I could have it my way, I would homeschool her anyway with an online program because I HATE MIDDLE SCHOOL.....it's the most god awful, wretched time in kids lives......
I would like nothing more than to have my DD complete school in 2-3 hours, and arrive at gym well rested, and prepared.....
But that ain't happening here......

By high school, they are a bit more human like. If I could, I would definitely homeschool if you can swing it. I have a friend that did this, and her DD had a few months of difficulty re integrating into high school, but she's fine now.

 

[l.c.o]

Oh wow, thank you all so much so far! This is awesome.

Have experience of the issues you are dealing with.

Initially I would seek a new diagnosis -some levels of anxiety need medication as the anxiety becomes so overwhelming that the sufferer is unable to focus on other methods of staying calm.

Sensory processing issues are not necessarily going to be resolved by continual exposure, especially as its exaberating her anxiety.

It seems you've found a platform of success for your Dd. ( By this I mean an arena that she feels she achieves well at.)

This is SO important -for our dearly loved adopted D it was basketball.

Personally I would go with the scenario that will give her success academically now, as it seems she is struggling in her current school situation.

As her anxiety decreases, her academics will improve, which after several years in MHO would be the time -if deemed necessary -for her to reintegrate into mainstream school.

I wouldn't stress too much about the socialisation thing -her friendship group will change over time at gym but this will also change over time at school.

Good luck☺

Thank you. My first thought was to have her re-evaluated across the board. We need to have her officially assessed for dyslexia, anyway, especially as she's seemingly lost her built-in supports with the grade/school change. In the past we made a long-thought-out decision not to medicate for her anxiety, especially as she had such marked improvement in her last school (3rd-5th grades). She has developed some coping mechanisms over time, but things have quickly escalated this year (probably even affecting gymnastics, as she started the school year, she quickly and progressively lost her level 7+ beam), so at least reconsidering medicating probably isn't a bad idea.

I actually happen to be working on a master's degree in teaching, with the full intent to start teaching in fall '18. So, homeschooling would definitely affect those plans, but I'm nothing if not flexible. I've learned to adapt - I can figure something out.

I don't have any experience with home schooling, but i do have experience with middle school challenges for a child. three years ago i would have said there was little chance our son would be able to go to a 4 year college. depression, anxiety, social anxiety, add were all taking a real toll. in fact he spent many weeks either hospitalized or in intensive out-patient programs. needless to say, his grades were also terrible. fast forward to today -- just this morning we dismantled his 504 plan because there have been no issues for more than a year and he is a straight a student. the right diagnosis, the right meds, the right therapist and time have worked absolute miracles. which i tell you to illustrate the point that you shouldn't look too far into the future. make decisions that work for you and your family now. you might be completely surprised at what comes next or the changes you might see in the next few years.

apologies for no caps -- my left pinky is in a splint and the shift key is really hard to manage.

First Anna's Mom, thanks for replying despite the splint. This is encouraging to hear. DD has definitely made improvements over time. I'm trying to keep my expectations of her realistic, though of course I always hope she'll blow those out of the water. DD has come from zero reading ability 3 months into first grade to currently earning a B/B+ in reading/communication. Her effort is totally solid, she just still seems to have difficulty pulling it all together (spelling, grammar, word retrieval are all difficult for her, and she reads rather slowly).

Thanks again, everyone. I'll keep this all in mind. There's a really decent sort of online/homeschool blended program out of a local district that several friends/acquaintances are using. I'm looking into all available options, though that is currently at the top of the list, as if you continue through high school, your child may still attend a few classes on-campus (science/labs, etc), and we know of a few successful families.

DD ended up home sick from school Monday and Tuesday. We can access assignments, etc, through Google Classroom. I was a bit encouraged at how well it went working through all of the coursework with her. While it was only two days, it was quite positive (which led DD to beg even more for homeschooling!).