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In a message dated 3/12/03 4:01:42 PM Eastern Standard Time, leschke@...
writes:


> > We're home now and he's just watching cartoons. My son is more relaxed
> today
> > than I have seen him in a long time. I can't wait for him to "graduate"
> 3rd
> > grade in June so he can come home for a real education.
>
> If you believe that school is harming him, why wait?
> Tia
>
>
>

Tia,

It's a simple reason. I'm a single parent who teaches full-time at a local
university. If I pull my son out of school without planning how I'm going to
handle the practical details of the switch, my son may end up going from the
"frying pan into the fire." The decision to homeschool was made only last
week, though philosophically it's been coming a long time. He's only got 12
weeks of standard school left, during which time I can debrief him every day
and keep his hopes up about next year. I especially have to figure out how
I'm going to get him to be with other children his age since he likes
socializing even though he acts younger than his age.

I don't know what the rest of you do for kids who have special needs (there
are certain expensive special ed services my son needs -- like speech therapy
for articulation). The public school district must provide them, but they
will do so more readily if they think he's coming back next year than if they
think he's "off their hands." We have a meeting with the school staff about
those decisions before the end of the school year and I'm keeping the topic
of homeschooling a secret from everyone but my son in the meantime. No one
has to know why he's secretly smiling during the school day ;-)

Carrie


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

Betsy

** I especially have to figure out how
I'm going to get him to be with other children his age since he likes
socializing even though he acts younger than his age.**


Hi, Carrie --

The nice thing about homeschooling is that there isn't any built-in age
segregation. If your son acts younger than his age, he can play with
children of that younger age. Or a mixed group of kids, both younger
and older, but not obsessed with being cool and precocious.

Good luck finding homeschooling groups in your area. If you and your
son have the same week off for spring break, you may be able to check
out a local group's park day before June. (I won't pressure you to take
your son out of school until you are ready, but go ahead and make
contact with local homeschoolers as soon as you can. They really are a
great resource.)

Betsy

Tia Leschke

> It's a simple reason. I'm a single parent who teaches full-time at a local
> university. If I pull my son out of school without planning how I'm going
to
> handle the practical details of the switch, my son may end up going from
the
> "frying pan into the fire."

Makes sense. The reason I asked is that often people think they have to
finish out the year, no good reason, just have to finish.
Tia