Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe public school could meet his developmental, educational, emotional, social, and sensory needs. Wow. That's a long list of needs isn't it? I'm barely able to meet them and I have only one other child to look after and no pressure to pass standardized testing. I have all the time in the world to study him and understand him and all the motivation in the world to help him succeed. But even with all that, even with being his mother, I can't always do it. I can't always keep him interested in learning or motivated to challenge himself. I can't always keep him focused for longer than 2 minutes on a task. If I can't do it, how can a teacher with at least 10 other kids to worry about do it?
So I have decided to homeschool. And I fully admit I might be out of my mind. This may not work. I might go crazy. I may not be able to teach him. Taz may not be able to learn from me. I don't really know what's going to happen. But I'm going to try. And he's only four. So if it goes horribly wrong, it's only preschool right? Right?
Yay! You can do it!
ReplyDeleteYou have to find support tho - it makes a huge difference. there is one yahoo group i'm on, homeschooling extraordinary kids, which is for kids who are gifted and/or specail needs - very helpful. Also read a lot - homeschool diner is one of my favorites to start with. The biggest thing is NOT to try to make it look like a school, but to fit in learning where and when he is ready to learn - esp with our variable-mood kids. He might like to practice numbers while jumping a trampoline, or might prefer to practice reading with a computer program instead of a book - and those are fine, as long as he's learning.
You know it made my life so much easier, not having to try to convince teachers that, no, he's NOT doing that on purpose to annoy you, and no, yelling at him WONT help . . . and the iep meetings and the homework and the 'nobody likes m!' . . . oy. feel free to hit me with any questions!
Yes, it's only preschool! One of the best things anyone told me when we were struggling with education decisions for Carter was this: There are no educational emergencies.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you don't have to make a permanent decision. If homeschooling feels right for now, do it. If it stops feeling right, look at the alternatives. We've done public, home, and private school and if I've learned one thing, it's that it's best to stay open to all the possibilities.
I agree with Adrienne. We've done all types of school as well and you can always change as needed. The most important piece of homeschooling special needs kids, in my opinion, is to make sure you have scheduled time apart from your child so you don't burn out. Let us know how it goes :)
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