OT - anyone here homeschool your kids?
She said she is going to look into the local homeschooling group.
I'm not sure how her school district is with kids that need special accommodations. It seems like that really varies from district to district. My teenage nephew lived with me for a while last year and he has very severe behavioral and emotional problems. I had to fight like crazy to get our local high school to make the tiniest accommodations for him.
Looking back on it now, it was really horrific. He would sometimes leave school (without permission) in the middle of the day. Usually when he left school early, he was going someplace to use drugs, which was pretty dangerous given the prescription meds he was on. But he also has a history of injuring himself. The school refused to call me to let me know if he did not show up for one of his classes. They did not have the time or the staff to make a phone call, they said.
For a little while, I walked him from one class to the next to make sure he got to class. The school refused to provide someone to make sure he got there. So I walked him to each class, then sat outside in my car reading a boo****il it was time to walk him to the next class.
Most of his teachers refused to let me know if he had homework and what that homework was, as well, unless I went to their classroom every day and asked. One teacher agreed to post each day's homework assignment on the school website that was designed for that purpose (apparently teachers were not required to use the website and most just chose not to) and another teacher would post assignments occasionally, maybe about half the time. Of course, my nephew could not be relied upon to let me know if he had homework or to do the homework without supervision.
Man, that was months ago and it still makes me mad! Thanks for letting me ramble.
I'm not sure how her school district is with kids that need special accommodations. It seems like that really varies from district to district. My teenage nephew lived with me for a while last year and he has very severe behavioral and emotional problems. I had to fight like crazy to get our local high school to make the tiniest accommodations for him.
Looking back on it now, it was really horrific. He would sometimes leave school (without permission) in the middle of the day. Usually when he left school early, he was going someplace to use drugs, which was pretty dangerous given the prescription meds he was on. But he also has a history of injuring himself. The school refused to call me to let me know if he did not show up for one of his classes. They did not have the time or the staff to make a phone call, they said.
For a little while, I walked him from one class to the next to make sure he got to class. The school refused to provide someone to make sure he got there. So I walked him to each class, then sat outside in my car reading a boo****il it was time to walk him to the next class.
Most of his teachers refused to let me know if he had homework and what that homework was, as well, unless I went to their classroom every day and asked. One teacher agreed to post each day's homework assignment on the school website that was designed for that purpose (apparently teachers were not required to use the website and most just chose not to) and another teacher would post assignments occasionally, maybe about half the time. Of course, my nephew could not be relied upon to let me know if he had homework or to do the homework without supervision.
Man, that was months ago and it still makes me mad! Thanks for letting me ramble.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
Kelly did he attend Kindergarten? Did he have these same problems then as well?
My Aiden has high anxiety and it does sometimes affect his school work but luckily we have a 504 in place. the teachers know how to handle him when he is getting upset. has your sister had him tested to see what is going on? My other son Brennen has no special needs but is VERY hard on himself when it comes to school. He himself has set his bar high. And can become upset if he does not reach it. Maybe this is what your nephew is doing.
Now those that homeschool good for them. But truly it isnt for everyone. My kids are in school to learn and that is what they do. But I do stay on top if the teachers and what is going on. I know what is being taught and how. That is my job. But I believe that kids need to learn/school away from home. So that when they come home it is a break from learning a safe place if you will. To complain about their day, scream cause they do not get it..etc...
My Aiden has high anxiety and it does sometimes affect his school work but luckily we have a 504 in place. the teachers know how to handle him when he is getting upset. has your sister had him tested to see what is going on? My other son Brennen has no special needs but is VERY hard on himself when it comes to school. He himself has set his bar high. And can become upset if he does not reach it. Maybe this is what your nephew is doing.
Now those that homeschool good for them. But truly it isnt for everyone. My kids are in school to learn and that is what they do. But I do stay on top if the teachers and what is going on. I know what is being taught and how. That is my job. But I believe that kids need to learn/school away from home. So that when they come home it is a break from learning a safe place if you will. To complain about their day, scream cause they do not get it..etc...
Come visit me on my blog: http://apeekintomytreehouse.com/
Start weight 282, Surgery weight 265, Current weight 131, Goal weight 140
Start weight 282, Surgery weight 265, Current weight 131, Goal weight 140
A woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. Eleanor Roosevelt
He did attend kindergarten and no, he did not have these problems then.
He has not been tested for anything and to be honest, I would be hesitant to have him tested at this point. I know the typical thing to do anytime a child does not fit into the public school setting is to get an evaluation and label them with something and usually prescribe prescription medication (which usually has NOT been proven either safe or effective in children). And I see nothing wrong with setting up a 504 or an IEP and given kids meds when they are truly necessary. My teenage nephew lived with me for part of last year and I advocated very strongly for him with our local high school and took him to a specialist and made sure he took his meds every day.
But with this child, I don't feel at all certain that there is something wrong with him. I think he is just anxious about school. And I think that anxiety could easily be relieved by homeschooling, at least for a while.
I'm not suggesting that you should be homeschooling if you feel public school is better for your kids. But why do they need a break from learning when they are at home? My nephew currently learns a lot at home even though he attends public school. For instance, over the summer he found a cocoon and my sister helped him look up information online to figure out what kind of butterfly it was and how to keep the cocoon safe until the butterfly emerged. More recently, he discovered some frogs living behind his house. My sister helped him look them up online and determine what kind of frogs they were and what they eat and all that good stuff. For his birthday last month, he got a pet guinea pig so he is learning all about how to feed it and care for it. So he learns things at home all the time.
I don't see why homeschooling would prevent home from being a safe place, either, or why he could not complain about his day if he was homeschooled. He's allowed to express his feelings, whatever they are.
He has not been tested for anything and to be honest, I would be hesitant to have him tested at this point. I know the typical thing to do anytime a child does not fit into the public school setting is to get an evaluation and label them with something and usually prescribe prescription medication (which usually has NOT been proven either safe or effective in children). And I see nothing wrong with setting up a 504 or an IEP and given kids meds when they are truly necessary. My teenage nephew lived with me for part of last year and I advocated very strongly for him with our local high school and took him to a specialist and made sure he took his meds every day.
But with this child, I don't feel at all certain that there is something wrong with him. I think he is just anxious about school. And I think that anxiety could easily be relieved by homeschooling, at least for a while.
I'm not suggesting that you should be homeschooling if you feel public school is better for your kids. But why do they need a break from learning when they are at home? My nephew currently learns a lot at home even though he attends public school. For instance, over the summer he found a cocoon and my sister helped him look up information online to figure out what kind of butterfly it was and how to keep the cocoon safe until the butterfly emerged. More recently, he discovered some frogs living behind his house. My sister helped him look them up online and determine what kind of frogs they were and what they eat and all that good stuff. For his birthday last month, he got a pet guinea pig so he is learning all about how to feed it and care for it. So he learns things at home all the time.
I don't see why homeschooling would prevent home from being a safe place, either, or why he could not complain about his day if he was homeschooled. He's allowed to express his feelings, whatever they are.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
CarolineM
on 10/20/11 1:58 am
on 10/20/11 1:58 am
Homeschooling sounds like it's worth a try, but I'd also try to figure out why he didn't have anxiety problems in kindergarten and does now. Maybe his first grade teacher is part of the problem, or the school day is too long for him (assuming he had half-day kindergarten).
HW 400 SW 355 CW 178 GW 180 
5'10"
5'10" He did go to kindergarten half days and he actually says that he does not like first grade because it's too long. He enjoyed kindergarten. The teacher could also be part of the problem, but I think the longer day is part of the issue. Really, I think expecting six year olds to sit at desks for six or seven hours a day is a bit much. At that age, kids are really supposed to be much more active.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
Just my opinion but, I think the better path would be to find the source of the anxiety before jumping into home schooling. This may mean taking the child to a counselor.
Home schoolers miss alot (good and bad) and we all, at some point in time, must learn to deal with our peers and pressure situations.
Home schoolers miss alot (good and bad) and we all, at some point in time, must learn to deal with our peers and pressure situations.
Homeschoolers do miss some things but so do students that attend public schools. I agree that we all need to learn to deal with our peers, and he actually does deal with his peers in many places other than school. He deals with peers at Sunday school each week, at swimming lessons at the YMCA, when playing outside with the neighbor kids, etc.
I know we also have to learn to deal with pressure, but do we have to learn that when we are six years old? Is it somehow better to learn to deal with pressure at age six than at, say, age seven or eight or ten?
I know we also have to learn to deal with pressure, but do we have to learn that when we are six years old? Is it somehow better to learn to deal with pressure at age six than at, say, age seven or eight or ten?
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
Hi Kelly, We've sent our kids to public school, private school and we've homeschooled. So I'm pretty open minded about it. I really think it depends on the child what is the best choice. There are lots of opportunity for homeschooled kids to spend time with other kids, you only have to look for them, so the socialization thing doesn't bother me. The younger grades aren't difficult to teach and there's lots of great materials. Regarding his anxiety, I think it could go either way with the homeschooling. This may improve over time if he's home or it may make him more anxious about new things.
My youngest is in 10th grade and a bit awkward socially. He would love to be homeschooled, only because he would like to avoid the things that make him uncomfortable. There is no way I would bring him home now because I think it would make his social development more difficult in the future, he would become a hermit. Plus he's way too smart for me to be able to teach him : ) His older brother had a hard time moving to public school from homeschool, it was hard to watch him struggle with the adjustment, but within a few weeks he was fine. This was in 3rd grade, it wasn't the material, it was the setting. Next oldest just did better in school than home, he is a social butterfly and tended to get very distracted at home, our oldest thrived regardless of the setting.
My youngest is in 10th grade and a bit awkward socially. He would love to be homeschooled, only because he would like to avoid the things that make him uncomfortable. There is no way I would bring him home now because I think it would make his social development more difficult in the future, he would become a hermit. Plus he's way too smart for me to be able to teach him : ) His older brother had a hard time moving to public school from homeschool, it was hard to watch him struggle with the adjustment, but within a few weeks he was fine. This was in 3rd grade, it wasn't the material, it was the setting. Next oldest just did better in school than home, he is a social butterfly and tended to get very distracted at home, our oldest thrived regardless of the setting.
I think you're right that it would vary from child to child. And I think each child's needs could change over time, too.
It makes sense to me that you want your 10th grader to go to public school to allow him to get more comfortable interacting socially with others. I think it is important that kids do that. I'm just thinking it's necessary for them to do that when they are six years old. 16, yeah. 6, not really.
It makes sense to me that you want your 10th grader to go to public school to allow him to get more comfortable interacting socially with others. I think it is important that kids do that. I'm just thinking it's necessary for them to do that when they are six years old. 16, yeah. 6, not really.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
I dated a guy for a few months, he was homeschooled his entire life and he is a truly wonderful person. He is very smart, intelligent, and knows his stuff. I asked him why he was homeschooled, he said his parents wanted him to have the best education possible. He got his GED at age 16. (he's 35 now and married) He is a store manager of a major retail chain.
He does have good social skills.
Just my experience.
He does have good social skills.
Just my experience.
246 in Dec 2008 before banded 1/28/09 at 215 lbs, band crapped 9/09 at 170 lbs and struggled with it and regained to 203 revised to bypass on 8/1/11 and am very happy.
Most Active
Recent Topics