Thinking about homeschooling. Need some advice. Can anyone help?

Question

This may get a little long, so I apologize in advance.

My son is 11 and currently in the 6th grade. He had attended the same school since kindergarten. Upfront, he is ADHD and has tourettes, along with many other problems. He started having some serious social issues although he was doing GREAT academically for the first time in 2 years. The school (charter school) basically told me that while they could help him academically, they didn't have the resources to help him socially/bahaviorally. He was bullied and targeted by several students. Students he had known for several, several years. He eventually had a breakdown and couldn't take it anymore. I put him in a private school, but that lasted only 7 days because their curriculum was so advanced that he couldn't catch up.

I have been thinking about homeschooling as an option for several months now. Even before he started having those problems at school. We live in a very small town and the only option is to put him......

Answer 1

Home schooling is a great idea! Just make sure of one thing. Your boy has to have as much social interaction as possible or he may grow reclusive. This is the main problem with home schooling. I would suggest summer camp too, the social interaction would help him tremendously. The best part of going to a public/private school is the interaction with peers. This is imperative for his mental and social development. :)

Answer 2

I know for a fact that there are homeschool programs that different parents would run. for example if a parent is homeschooling there kid sometimes they will volunteer to homeschool other kids. there are also programs out there that are more formal too so you should look into that so maybe you won't have to quit your job... Just remember that if you homeschool him it is important you get your kid involved in activities where he will be around other children because you don't want him growing up in a box. That will create an even bigger problem than his ADHD. If your afraid he might be bullied there too, find programs just for kids who have ADHD.

Good Luck- hope it works out

Answer 3

under your circumstances I think home schooling would work provided you have the time to do so. We had a son that was withdrawn from the other students & social activitys, ( public )but was able thru music and athletics work thru alot of it. after High school he tried college and most of the same. he droped out and was able to get in to a local union appenticship. He (now 25) has really found what he loves working on buildings and has become a crew leader.

good luck to you and your son, sounds like he has a great parent.

Answer 4

I am homeschooled and my mom checked into all sorts of programs.The only one I know of that is free is thru the school district.Where we live the school district by law has to provide the books used public school to homeschooled kids that homeschool thru the school district.We homeschool thru our district and can get access to the books maybe you could check into that as a no cost to start up.Hope that helps a little :)

Answer 5

Try School of Tomorrow curriculum.  I think it is schooloftomorrow.com  It is great and YOU can choose the level you think he needs to be at.  It is a Christian curriculum, so it includes values in each subject, and they have from K-12 and some college materials too.  I strongly suggest you to consider it.  They are not very expensive but are really great!  They are recognized in all the states.  Good luck in your search!

Answer 6

k12.com

They give a loaner computer and supply everything! But there customer support is rude. But the teachers are awesome!

This program is not in all states so post your states and I will give you a direct link if they have it in your state. =)

Once you get going you may be able to get a part time job again. Its a pretty good program!

Answer 7

what a brilliant idea, have a look on the websites for your sons conditions, and im sure they will advise you on educational things adventure holidays, they may even have a list of tutors who come to your home to teach your son, who will then be educated like normal children who see the childs potentials and not the disabilities so surf the web and see what comes up for you. good luck okay.

Answer 8

You need to find out what the state laws are concerning homeschooling requirements for you to teach your son at home and what is required of him.

Also check to see if your local school district offers any support for homeschooling families. There may be classes available for homeschooling families in which you get to use their science equipment, etc.

Find out if there's a homeschool support group in your area, the school district may or may not be able to help you out with that. They are great to hook up with for field trips, activities, etc.

We homeschooled pre-internet and when the choices for curricula were much more limited.

I found that used mixed curricula from different sources was much less expensive than purchasing everything from one company.

You can find some things at the library that you can use to teach out of but there may be some things you'll just have to purchase.

You need to research to see what curriucla is available both in book form and online. The choices that are available now are overwhelming compared to the late 80's and early to mid 90's.

A great grammar program that's hands on is Winston Grammar. It's pricey but it worked great for my youngest son.

You may need to purchase both math and language arts curricula.

For science, social studies/history/geography, the library is a great resource.

For PE you can enroll your son into sports or find different things to do together. In fact since your son is ADHD using physical activity and things like songs to re-inforce what he's learned will help use up some of his excess energy and may help him to focus better. He also may benefit from a very hands on approach to learning.

One method of teaching is called unit studies. In a unit study you take something your child is interested in learning more about...let's say he likes cars and is interested in learning more about them.....

When and where were the first cars invented? (history, geograpy)

How have automobiles changed our nation? (socail studies)

How are the car designs different from 75, 50, 30 years ago and compared to today? Why did cars change?

How and why does an engine work? (science)

Teach him how to figure out how many miles to the gallon your car(s) actually get. (math)

You could take an imaginary trip to somewhere you've always wanted to go.(Perhaps Washington DC or New York City or Los Angeles or Yellow Stone National Park) Why do you want to go there? How many miles a day would you travel? How far would you get? How much would it cost in gas? Where would you spend the night? How long would it take to get there? What would you see along the way? If you had the time and money what would you stop and see along the way and why? When would you arrive there? (planning, research, math, geography, writing on the computer or on paper - your choice).

He could learn how to do a tune up on a car or how to service a car - check/change the oil, the radiator fluid level, the transmission fluid, check/change the tires, check/service the brake fluid (life skills)

What are the safety features in cars now compared to 15, 25, 50 years ago.  (government and auto industry regulations)

Why and how did the seatbelt laws come about (government)

Why and how did the child safety seat laws come about?

For music you could see what songs you can find that are out there that are about cars. You could learn the fun ones.

If you wanted to you could take it beyond cars and go into trucks and how having 18 wheelers moving about the nation has changed our society and you could go into the history trucking in America.

The idea is to pick a topic or a subject or a period of history and learn about it while bringing in as many subject areas as you can (without being ridiculous).

You can make it as hands on as you want. Teach him as you go along how to ferret out the information, whether you go to the library or whether you do it at home on your computer.

For finding books at the library about homeschooling they are in the 300 and 600 sections of the dewey decimal system. I don't remember the exact numbers. Our library had some actual books that homeschoolers use that we were able to check out and use before purchasing.

A great book you might want to look at is Family Math. See if your library has it and check it out if they do. It has all kinds of activities that are hands on for math.

One thing I would suggest that if you're going to homeschool is to observe you son when he's learning something new. How does he learn the information?

This will be important because you will need to teach him from his learning style for him to more easily grasp new information and gain skills.

You also would be wise to do a little research on learning styles. There's a ton of information about learning styles so don't get in over your head. Get enough information to figure out whether you son learns by listening (auditory), seeing (visual), hands on, and I think there's one more

Do your research, and make your decision backed by knowledge.

By the way christianbook.com has a wide variety of curricula available...a lot of it is NOT Christian...and they are a discount book dealer.

Answer 9

I used to be homeschooled with my sister and my mom tought me. she used Usborne i think to teach us. hope that helped.

Answer 10

Start by looking at HSLDA for your state laws to be sure you can home school legally. Some states require qualifications you might not have.  Their site is www.hslda.org

We use Sonlight but it can be a bit pricey for 1 child the difference is we will use it for 3 kids for 2 years at a time. The site for Sonlight is www.sonlight.com

Also I suggest looking into a home school group in your area. A child with those kinds of special needs does need to be with other kids in an environment you may be able to control (by keeping kids from teasing) Give the kids in the home school group a chance you will be surprised how tolerant of special needs kids they are simply because parents are around to stop any bullying and other bs that the public school "monsters" get away with. Our group has several families that have special needs including us. My son also has ADHD and other special needs.

Does he get any kind of therapy through the school system? If he does then you should be able to continue his therapy there. If not and he needs it then look into it through the public school they still may have to provide it even though you home school. Also ask your Dr about any therapies he needs that you might get covered with what ever insurance you have. We have LA CHIP (Louisiana Medicaid) and all of my son's therapy is covered by them for free!

Answer 11

I'm sorry your son has been treated so badly.  It sounds like homeschooling would be great for him.  It would be an adjustment for your family, but you can make it work.  

Research has shown that how much or little is spent on homeschooling does not effect the overall outcome.  You can homeschool for free using your local library.  Here are some other ways to save money on curriculum:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

With homeschooling you can choose to teach your son according to the way he learns best.  Here are some homeschooling methods you can look at, along with suggestions for further resources:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

For more curriculum suggestions and reviews, visit http://www.homeschoolreviews.com

The season for curriculum fairs is approaching and you may want to attend one so you can see materials up close.

I would also suggest you get involved in a local support group.  This will help you with encouragement and information and give your son a chance to have positive social experiences.

If you don't know your state's homeschool laws, you can find them at http://www.hslda.org

Good luck!