The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
I am in a place and i do not know how to deal with it. For those of you that know me you know all i did last year with court and mothers death, and bullying with school, bullying has continued on into this year with more extreme abuse. Including sexual with my daughters friend telling her how to sexually abuse in detail. I did speak to principal of this school as daughter was in another school last year with the same kids. They merged this year with another school so its a new school principal ect... I did all last year even went in with social workers and the principal didnt really do much about it. So this year when this happened i decided to pull them from school and homeschool. The principal said she didnt really have much chance to solve the problem i told her it was not a reflection on her it is a reflection of what didnt get done last year and i truly feel this is the best thing for my children at this time. She had a little more to say however. ACtually said she would give my child all the books for the rest of the year and i can talk to my daughters teachers in a meeting to help me with what she will learn(WOW)! They are officially withdrawn from school. Even though the school isnt to happy.
My problem or dilema or im not even sure what it is maybe im just crazy. Everything i tryed last year didnt get accomplished, i lost court, i lost youth protection for emotional abuse on my kids from my exes side. The bullying didnt get solved. Everything i tryed to do to protect them and thier emotional well being failed last year. Homeschooling is a last resort trust me however i never really wanted to send them to school i always did want to homeschool. Everyone else told me i was stupid and not to do that to my kids so i didnt. IT seems to good to be true? It was so easy to pull them from school i was expecting basically another battle. ITs done now except for a few more details. I keep waiting for a bomb to drop. Like it cant be this easy, I am not sure if you understand what i mean. I am really having trouble trusting that this is the ok thing to do and it is a safe thing to do without anything bad happening. I dont want anything more bad to happen to my children. I want to enjoy life now that things are settling down from last year. There was no fight, no trying again, just sign something and pulled them???? I am stuck in the what ifs trying to figure out all the things that could happen. I am not used to not knowing very unfamiliar territory. Then someone shared how a mother lost custody of her child cause of homeschooling and i got more afraid. I know i can do this. Im just having trouble trusting my ability to do it and i hope i didnt make a wrong move. Last year i did everything that i was told to me even if i did not agree i did it all. I wasnt true to myself, and i am having trouble believing thats all it takes is to be true to yourself and good things come easy???? I feel confused. Sorry this is all over the place. I wish for once i got some real assurance that yes it is ok to do lol , I trust my decisions however i question them alot although i still try to make the ones i want to do. EVeryone told me i am not capable. I guess im starting to feel it today the old tapes of what i am told and was told everyday. Thanks for listening
kerry
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Life can only be understood backwards, But it must be lived forwards
Shut that tape off and and flip it over to the new side!! There is absolutely no doubt in my mind you can do this and the way it sounds it's the best thing. Most homeschooled children I know are well advanced in their grades from students going to public school. They learn more in half the time without the BS. Maybe you don't see it, but the "old kerry" would have never had the fortitude to take this on. You've come a long way baby!! YOU GO GIRL!!!!
love ya Cjo
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If we think that miracles are normal, we will expect them. And expecting a miracle is the surest way to get one.
There are lots of online sites to help with homeschooling. There is a huge homeschool community that you'll be able to draw resources and guidance from. You can do it! Schools don't like it when students are withdrawn simply because they lose state funding, so don't let that worry you. Remember that your children are in a safe learning environment now.
Trust yourself Kerry , there is probably a group if u ask when registering where u can meet others who home school children who will share with you what works for them . Someone to bounce ideas off of . There are also guidlines for you to follow when home schooling the hardest part is going to disipline yourelf and kids to work for a few hrs and then play once u get that down to a working schedule u will be off and running .
Trust your gut kerry One Day at aTime You can do this. Love Louise
I have too contimplated doing the homeschool. But I am honest w/myself. I know that I am not organized enough to do it. I get side tracked too much. And it would not be a good fit.
If you have started the process, GO FOR IT!!! What is the ABSOLUTE worse thing that can happen, it doesn't work out and you re-enroll them. Keep the faith. You are doing this for a reason. If you know this is what you want and what you feel is best for the kids, don't let the "old tapes" come into play. It is a new year. Throw that old tape away and start a new one. The title "I CAN DO THIS!"
Keep the faith, we are behind you!
Love and prayers (and a touch of sanity for the harder times)
Homeschooling is very difficult and a VERY big decision, but like everything else in life if you are motivated enough you can do it!
As both a former homeschooler and a state board of education evaluator of homeschoolers I can warn you about some pitfalls of homeschooling so you can try to avoid them.
The WORSE problem I saw as an evaluator was that overwhelmed parents with children in more than one grade tried to take a "middle of the road" approach. In other words, slightly below the level of the oldest child and slightly above the level of the youngest child. I can't tell you how common this is...
The results are not good, the oldest child was performing BELOW grade level in like 90% of the families I evaluated, they were always short changed. And the youngest was always performing at above grade level...sigh. This is NOT good. Each child deserves to be taught at their age level.
Make sure that you divide your homeschool time equally between the two students especially for hard core acedemics in SEPARATE sessions geared towards their age group. Group activities are fine for things like art and such as long as there is not a huge age difference, but math, reading, and science really need to be geared specifically towards grade level separately.
The biggest problem I had as a homeschooler myself was sticking to a schedule. I even bought uniforms for my daughter, to help her transition from "me and mom at home" time to formal homeschool time. I made a strict schedule that allowed for meals, showering, sleeping, and homeschool time. It was hard to stick to I will admit, since I wanted time for myself too and that was HARD to come by since I worked in the evenings.
It was exhausting, challenging, and a continual battle to do things properly and still find time for myself. I was never happier than when she went back to school in high school, LOL. I homeschooled a total of 5 years.
Homeschooling gets harder the older they get. Middle school and high school teachers are really experts in their respective fields and it is really hard for one mom to be expert enough to teach required knowledge in nearly evey subject, especially like chemistry and high school math.
However, in the lower grades I felt plenty competent and it was a LOT of fun! I learned tons myself as I had to review so much stuff I had forgotten to be able to teach her.
I had lots and lots and lots of fun on field trips and craft projects (related to education like making your own ink from berries like in colonial times) and cooking for math and science.
I never regretted it, and I know you won't either. It was one of the best things I have ever done and the most fun and challenging.
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