cartoontv5

Hi.I am a h/s mother of 5.I really want to unschool yet I am so scared
that I just dont know.I have read so much on the topic and understand
the idea but you see by oldest is a special child.Since she has been
h/s ed her whole life she has never been tested or labeled but she has
a terrible time with schoolwork.I would say her reading level is 3rd
grade and math 2nd or third grade level.I just have run out of ideas to
make her understand concepts.I am wondering how not only will she get
a "diploma" but more importantly how is she going to make it in life if
she cant reason.She can not do any word problems.Any advice I would
really appreciate as I am at my witts end and crying after a day of
trying to explain 3rd grade math word problems to her(she is 13).
Thanks,
Jeanne

Melissa

Eh, I unschool both of my special ed kids, and they are happier than
ever. And picking up more than ever without the stress of me telling
them what they *have* to know.
Melissa
Mom to Josh (11), Breanna (8), Emily (7), Rachel (6), Sam (4), Dan
(2), and Avari Rose


On Mar 20, 2006, at 4:17 PM, cartoontv5 wrote:

> Hi.I am a h/s mother of 5.I really want to unschool yet I am so scared
> that I just dont know.I have read so much on the topic and understand
> the idea but you see by oldest is a special child.Since she has been
> h/s ed her whole life she has never been tested or labeled but she has
> a terrible time with schoolwork.I would say her reading level is 3rd
> grade and math 2nd or third grade level.I just have run out of
> ideas to
> make her understand concepts.I am wondering how not only will she get
> a "diploma" but more importantly how is she going to make it in
> life if
> she cant reason.She can not do any word problems.Any advice I would
> really appreciate as I am at my witts end and crying after a day of
> trying to explain 3rd grade math word problems to her(she is 13).
> Thanks,
> Jeanne
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> SPONSORED LINKS
> Secondary school education Graduate school education Home
> school education
> Graduate school education online High school education Chicago
> school education
>
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
> Visit your group "unschoolingbasics" on the web.
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Melanie Ilsley

Hi i have a question, were any of your special ed kids in ps before? did they have ieps?
One of my 5's has on iep and i am worried about what the rules are for getting her
released from this. My 8 yr old who is deschooling right now had one, only for speech,
the state made us fullfill her iep requirements eventhough the school was still providing
services for her. Can i get out of the iep? My 5 yr old is progressing at HER own speed
which is perfect and right for HER. I am a bit frightened to bring it up with out knowing
what i can do. Thanks Melanie in Vt Mom to Lily 8, Grace and Emmett 5--- In
[email protected], Melissa <autismhelp@...> wrote:
>
> Eh, I unschool both of my special ed kids, and they are happier than
> ever. And picking up more than ever without the stress of me telling
> them what they *have* to know.
> Melissa
> Mom to Josh (11), Breanna (8), Emily (7), Rachel (6), Sam (4), Dan
> (2), and Avari Rose
>
>
> On Mar 20, 2006, at 4:17 PM, cartoontv5 wrote:
>
> > Hi.I am a h/s mother of 5.I really want to unschool yet I am so scared
> > that I just dont know.I have read so much on the topic and understand
> > the idea but you see by oldest is a special child.Since she has been
> > h/s ed her whole life she has never been tested or labeled but she has
> > a terrible time with schoolwork.I would say her reading level is 3rd
> > grade and math 2nd or third grade level.I just have run out of
> > ideas to
> > make her understand concepts.I am wondering how not only will she get
> > a "diploma" but more importantly how is she going to make it in
> > life if
> > she cant reason.She can not do any word problems.Any advice I would
> > really appreciate as I am at my witts end and crying after a day of
> > trying to explain 3rd grade math word problems to her(she is 13).
> > Thanks,
> > Jeanne
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > SPONSORED LINKS
> > Secondary school education Graduate school education
Home
> > school education
> > Graduate school education online High school education
Chicago
> > school education
> >
> > YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
> >
> > Visit your group "unschoolingbasics" on the web.
> >
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> > [email protected]
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
> >
> >
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Melissa

Two of mine were, i just sent a certified letter saying that
effective on such and such date, I would be refusing special services
as stated in our IEP. Your other option would be to call an emergency
IEP meeting and such tell the school admin at that meeting that you
are pursuing other educational avenues. Have a letter saying that as
a parent you release the school district from their legal obligation
to educate your child. HTH
Melissa
Mom to Josh (11), Breanna (8), Emily (7), Rachel (6), Sam (4), Dan
(2), and Avari Rose


On Mar 21, 2006, at 10:13 AM, Melanie Ilsley wrote:

> Hi i have a question, were any of your special ed kids in ps
> before? did they have ieps?
> One of my 5's has on iep and i am worried about what the rules are
> for getting her
> released from this. My 8 yr old who is deschooling right now had
> one, only for speech,
> the state made us fullfill her iep requirements eventhough the
> school was still providing
> services for her. Can i get out of the iep? My 5 yr old is
> progressing at HER own speed
> which is perfect and right for HER. I am a bit frightened to bring
> it up with out knowing
> what i can do. Thanks Melanie in Vt Mom to Lily 8, Grace and
> Emmett 5--- In
> [email protected], Melissa <autismhelp@...> wrote:
> >
> > Eh, I unschool both of my special ed kids, and they are happier than
> > ever. And picking up more than ever without the stress of me telling
> > them what they *have* to know.
> > Melissa
> > Mom to Josh (11), Breanna (8), Emily (7), Rachel (6), Sam (4), Dan
> > (2), and Avari Rose
> >
> >
> > On Mar 20, 2006, at 4:17 PM, cartoontv5 wrote:
> >
> > > Hi.I am a h/s mother of 5.I really want to unschool yet I am so
> scared
> > > that I just dont know.I have read so much on the topic and
> understand
> > > the idea but you see by oldest is a special child.Since she has
> been
> > > h/s ed her whole life she has never been tested or labeled but
> she has
> > > a terrible time with schoolwork.I would say her reading level
> is 3rd
> > > grade and math 2nd or third grade level.I just have run out of
> > > ideas to
> > > make her understand concepts.I am wondering how not only will
> she get
> > > a "diploma" but more importantly how is she going to make it in
> > > life if
> > > she cant reason.She can not do any word problems.Any advice I
> would
> > > really appreciate as I am at my witts end and crying after a
> day of
> > > trying to explain 3rd grade math word problems to her(she is 13).
> > > Thanks,
> > > Jeanne
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > SPONSORED LINKS
> > > Secondary school education Graduate school education
> Home
> > > school education
> > > Graduate school education online High school education
> Chicago
> > > school education
> > >
> > > YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
> > >
> > > Visit your group "unschoolingbasics" on the web.
> > >
> > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> > > [email protected]
> > >
> > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
> Service.
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
> SPONSORED LINKS
> Secondary school education Graduate school education Home
> school education
> Graduate school education online High school education Chicago
> school education
>
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
> Visit your group "unschoolingbasics" on the web.
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Pampered Chef Michelle

On 3/21/06, Melanie Ilsley <us5@...> wrote:
>
> Hi i have a question, were any of your special ed kids in ps before? did
> they have ieps?


My son falls into the "autistic spectrum." I almost had an iep done for him
the one year he was in ps (kindie) I decided against it as I knew I would
end up hsing him at some point and didn't want the "blueprint" and label
follwing him. If you are going to hs why do an iep? Especially if you are
going to unschool? We don't use a guideline to determine what our children
"need" to know. They learn what they need when they need it. eip's are
used by the school system so that they can "catch up" the "special ed kids"
with the rest of their grade level. It's to make THEIR life eaiser, not
your child's!


Somehow I missed this yesterday:

> On Mar 20, 2006, at 4:17 PM, cartoontv5 wrote:
> >
> > > Hi.I am a h/s mother of 5.I really want to unschool yet I am so scared
> > > that I just dont know.I have read so much on the topic and understand
> > > the idea but you see by oldest is a special child.Since she has been
> > > h/s ed her whole life she has never been tested or labeled but she has
> > > a terrible time with schoolwork.I would say her reading level is 3rd
> > > grade and math 2nd or third grade level.


She has been labeled. You have labeled her. Your frustration has labelled
her as well. She probably has the mindset that she can't do it. What are
her interests? What does she want to do? My son wants to be a chef with a
small garden. That's his life goal (at almost 8 yo and I wouldn't doubt it
that he achieves that goal!) Guess what we do? We do lots of cooking,
baking, poaching, kneading, boiling, and herb gardening. He may never be
"on track" with other people his age, but the boy will know how to cook :)
What does your daughter want to do? What interests her and sparks her
creativity? Focus on that. When she has need of working out problems she
will. It might surprise you that she *can* work out problems like her math
word problems, but they relate to the things that she is interested in. We
do that as adults. Most of us given a grade school word problem would
probably balk at it, but we can figure out how much food to make for dinner,
how many stitches we need to increase on a knitting project, and how much
money it is going to take with the current gas prices to go on that vacation
to grandma's house next month. :-)

I just have run out of
> > > ideas to
> > > make her understand concepts.



What concepts do you think she is not getting? Does she need those concepts
or does the school system with its arbitrary list of "should knows" think
she needs those concepts?

I am wondering how not only will she get
> > > a "diploma" but more importantly how is she going to make it in
> > > life if
> > > she cant reason.She can not do any word problems.


Does she need to be able to do word problems. World problems are fairly
abstract to many people. "Jenny has 5 peaches. June has 7 peaches. Mary
has 2 peaches. A pie needs 3 peaches. How many pies can Jenny, June and
Mary make with their peaches and how many pies does each girl get to take
home based on her contribution?" ACK!! Who the heck cares about Jenny, June
and Mary, their pies or how many THEY can make?? We don't work that way in
real life. In real life Jenny, June and Mary would get together and put all
their peaches into as many pies as they could and most likely would evenly
divide them pu between the 3 of them because Mary may have donated the pie
shells and all the cooking was done at June's house and the only thing Jenny
contributed was peaches! See, for some of us there is a lot of missing
information to this word problem. There are other factors that aren't
brought up. But a peach pie sounds really good right now. :-)

Whether your daughter needs a "diploma" (which BTW can be printed on most
any home computer)and the ability to figure out word problems is all going
to depend on what SHE wants to do in life. There are hundreds of careers
that she could go into (including motherhood) where a diploma and the
ability to solve word problems isn't going to be a factor at all! And if
she does want to go into a career that requires she have a diploma and be
able to solve word problems, then she will find a way to make that happen.
My middle child wants to take over the world and thinks that her best
vantage point will be Switzerland, so she is teaching herself French,
Italian and German so she will be able to better communicate in
Switzerland. (Yes; Ren, be afraid! Be very afraid!) Since your daughter
is a teenager, I would recommend the Teenage Liberation Handbook for both of
you!





--
Michelle
Independent Kitchen Consultant #413652
The Pampered Chef
850-474-0817
http://www.pamperedchef.biz/michellelr
Catch our new wave of color!
Book a March show!


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

>>One of my 5's has on iep and i am worried about what the rules are for getting her
released from this.>>

My son had an IEP when he came out of 4th grade. It was my understanding that the IEP was binding for what the school had to provide for him, not what I had to do or prove to the school. Once I sent in my notification to homeschool, the IEP was dissolved. I was now in charge of his education.

--
~Mary

"The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the
green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly
alive."
~Thich Nhat Hanh

-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Melanie Ilsley" <us5@...>





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

>>Hi.I am a h/s mother of 5.I really want to unschool yet I am so scared that I just dont know.>>

Don't be scared. It's all okay. Really. Your daughter's not broken and you don't have to fix her.

>>I have read so much on the topic and understand the idea but you see my oldest is a special child.>>

They're all special. :o) That's the beauty of unschooling. Each child can live fully to their own unique talents and potential. You may find something useful in an article I once wrote on this very topic. http://sandradodd.com/special/mary

>>Since she has been h/s ed her whole life she has never been tested or labeled but she has a terrible time with schoolwork.>>

Then I would stop the schoolwork and focus on what she loves, on what she's passionate about, on what makes her shine. Life is not about schoolwork. School is about schoolwork. How is your daughter doing in other, real areas of her life?

>>I would say her reading level is 3rd grade and math 2nd or third grade level.I just have run out of ideas to make her understand concepts.>>

You can't *make* someone understand something. Either they're ready, willing and interested in learning something or you're just wasting your time. When I stopped trying so hard to *teach* my son and focused instead on joining him in his exploration of the world, it all started happening for him. His reading has steadily improved and he's a voracious reader now picking out things like manga, magazines, classic sci-fi and philosophy/spirituality books to read. His writing is the last to come about but he's now writing for pleasure and purpose. He works at our restaurant, has good friends young and old, handles his finances better than most, has varied interests and deep passions. He has a life of his own design. That's my goal for him.

My son is as brilliant as I always knew he was even when he did not excel at schoolwork. You can have the same for your daughter. You just have to let go a little and let her have some room to shine.

--
~Mary, unschooling mom to Conor (16) and Casey (12)

"Just today I'm going to be utterly present for my children, I'm going to be in their world (not just doing my own thing while they do theirs), I'm going to really hear them, I'm going to prepare myself to be present starting right now."
~Ren Allen

Melanie Ilsley

-Thanks Melissa, It doesn't sound like it would be too complicated. Melanie -- In
[email protected], Melissa <autismhelp@...> wrote:
>
> Two of mine were, i just sent a certified letter saying that
> effective on such and such date, I would be refusing special services
> as stated in our IEP. Your other option would be to call an emergency
> IEP meeting and such tell the school admin at that meeting that you
> are pursuing other educational avenues. Have a letter saying that as
> a parent you release the school district from their legal obligation
> to educate your child. HTH
> Melissa
> Mom to Josh (11), Breanna (8), Emily (7), Rachel (6), Sam (4), Dan
> (2), and Avari Rose
>
>
> On Mar 21, 2006, at 10:13 AM, Melanie Ilsley wrote:
>
> > Hi i have a question, were any of your special ed kids in ps
> > before? did they have ieps?
> > One of my 5's has on iep and i am worried about what the rules are
> > for getting her
> > released from this. My 8 yr old who is deschooling right now had
> > one, only for speech,
> > the state made us fullfill her iep requirements eventhough the
> > school was still providing
> > services for her. Can i get out of the iep? My 5 yr old is
> > progressing at HER own speed
> > which is perfect and right for HER. I am a bit frightened to bring
> > it up with out knowing
> > what i can do. Thanks Melanie in Vt Mom to Lily 8, Grace and
> > Emmett 5--- In
> > [email protected], Melissa <autismhelp@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Eh, I unschool both of my special ed kids, and they are happier than
> > > ever. And picking up more than ever without the stress of me telling
> > > them what they *have* to know.
> > > Melissa
> > > Mom to Josh (11), Breanna (8), Emily (7), Rachel (6), Sam (4), Dan
> > > (2), and Avari Rose
> > >
> > >
> > > On Mar 20, 2006, at 4:17 PM, cartoontv5 wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hi.I am a h/s mother of 5.I really want to unschool yet I am so
> > scared
> > > > that I just dont know.I have read so much on the topic and
> > understand
> > > > the idea but you see by oldest is a special child.Since she has
> > been
> > > > h/s ed her whole life she has never been tested or labeled but
> > she has
> > > > a terrible time with schoolwork.I would say her reading level
> > is 3rd
> > > > grade and math 2nd or third grade level.I just have run out of
> > > > ideas to
> > > > make her understand concepts.I am wondering how not only will
> > she get
> > > > a "diploma" but more importantly how is she going to make it in
> > > > life if
> > > > she cant reason.She can not do any word problems.Any advice I
> > would
> > > > really appreciate as I am at my witts end and crying after a
> > day of
> > > > trying to explain 3rd grade math word problems to her(she is 13).
> > > > Thanks,
> > > > Jeanne
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > SPONSORED LINKS
> > > > Secondary school education Graduate school education
> > Home
> > > > school education
> > > > Graduate school education online High school education
> > Chicago
> > > > school education
> > > >
> > > > YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
> > > >
> > > > Visit your group "unschoolingbasics" on the web.
> > > >
> > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> > > > [email protected]
> > > >
> > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
> > Service.
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > SPONSORED LINKS
> > Secondary school education Graduate school education
Home
> > school education
> > Graduate school education online High school education
Chicago
> > school education
> >
> > YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
> >
> > Visit your group "unschoolingbasics" on the web.
> >
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> > [email protected]
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
> >
> >
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Melanie Ilsley

Both my 8 yr old who is unschooling now, and my 5 have iep's. Sometimes in moments(or
years) of self doubt and self inflicted guilt it is difficult to go against the main stream.
Especially when they tell you that if you don't get these services your children will suffer.
It has taken me a long(way too long) time to be able to see that my first instincts were
correct, and to impliment the changes. I have always been involved with any iep services
for my kids, especially my 5 yr old. She enjoys all of her "friends". But I can see that she
is developing on her own, in her own way, at her own pace, and it is fine, and perfect for
her. We wanted to unschool from the begining, but our oldest wanted to be in ps. so we
went along, then her younger sibs saw that and wanted to be there too, we got caught up
in the whole tangle...and are working our way out. melanie in vt--- In
[email protected], "Pampered Chef Michelle" <pamperedmichelle@...>
wrote:
>
> On 3/21/06, Melanie Ilsley <us5@...> wrote:
> >
> > Hi i have a question, were any of your special ed kids in ps before? did
> > they have ieps?
>
>
> My son falls into the "autistic spectrum." I almost had an iep done for him
> the one year he was in ps (kindie) I decided against it as I knew I would
> end up hsing him at some point and didn't want the "blueprint" and label
> follwing him. If you are going to hs why do an iep? Especially if you are
> going to unschool? We don't use a guideline to determine what our children
> "need" to know. They learn what they need when they need it. eip's are
> used by the school system so that they can "catch up" the "special ed kids"
> with the rest of their grade level. It's to make THEIR life eaiser, not
> your child's!
>
>

Melissa

Melanie, we did much the same. Our oldest was to start ps the year
that Breanna was dx'ed with autism. I wanted to homeschool
desperately, but dh was against it and in the face of such severe
issues, I was beaten down. It took five years for us to gain the
courage to admit that the ps had nothing to offer us but emotional
pain, and pull them O-U-T out! We were also told over and over that
the sped teachers were the only ones who knew how to teach our
daughter, and once our son was dx'ed we received much the same. It is
a tangle, and it does take some unweaving. We've been out for a year,
and we're still working on all of it.

Glad you're here!
Melissa
Mom to Josh (11), Breanna (8), Emily (7), Rachel (6), Sam (4), Dan
(2), and Avari Rose


On Mar 21, 2006, at 8:50 PM, Melanie Ilsley wrote:

> Both my 8 yr old who is unschooling now, and my 5 have iep's.
> Sometimes in moments(or
> years) of self doubt and self inflicted guilt it is difficult to go
> against the main stream.
> Especially when they tell you that if you don't get these services
> your children will suffer.
> It has taken me a long(way too long) time to be able to see that my
> first instincts were
> correct, and to impliment the changes. I have always been involved
> with any iep services
> for my kids, especially my 5 yr old. She enjoys all of her
> "friends". But I can see that she
> is developing on her own, in her own way, at her own pace, and it
> is fine, and perfect for
> her. We wanted to unschool from the begining, but our oldest
> wanted to be in ps. so we
> went along, then her younger sibs saw that and wanted to be there
> too, we got caught up
> in the whole tangle...and are working our way out. melanie in
> vt--- In
> [email protected], "Pampered Chef Michelle"
> <pamperedmichelle@...>
> wrote:
> >
> > On 3/21/06, Melanie Ilsley <us5@...> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi i have a question, were any of your special ed kids in ps
> before? did
> > > they have ieps?
> >