June 16, 2005 10:21 PM
Home sweet homeschool
Just want to share my joy: Next year Maddy and I will be homeschooling together!!
Though we were homeschooling in California, when we moved to Virginia all our kids went to public school. (I believe we had a mission to fulfill.) Next year the Downzers will still attend public school as they are getting an excellent and specialized education - plus being the special ambassadors God made them to be.
Sophia (15) will be going into 10th grade. She seems to do better working with structured teachers and assignments and wants to continue. She's surrounded by a group of girls with similar standards (modest dress, no early dating. Plus we have this weird thing in Loudoun County where they won't count any homeschool credits when you enter high school, so if she stayed home and then for any reason went back, she would start at 10th grade no matter how old she is.
Bottom line: it feels right. And when I gave workshops at homeschool conferences I always suggested parents take it year by year, child by child, with lots of prayer. You can't always explain why God leads you in a certain direction. After the fact it's easier to see.
Anyway, I'm so looking forward to spending time with Maddy(12). She's signing up for some co-op classes, including Shakespeare with real stage combat training!!! Oh, I just love thinking of all the places we can go and things we can see!
PS: Ben (18) and Zach (17) will both be at Liberty University. Ben majoring in music, Zach majoring in math, minoring in music. We will miss them, not the least because of the music they make.
Posted in Homeschooling | Permalink
Comments
I feel that year-by-year attitude has worked best for us, too. You just don't kow where the child will be, what programs will be available, and what kind of fit there will be between the two, ahead of time.
Posted by: Jschutt | June 17, 2005 8:02 AM
Barbara,
I hesitate to say this, since I am in a homeschool corner of the blogosphere, but I have found that public school children are so much more comfortable with my son than homeschooled children are. That's one reasons I felt it would be difficult to homeschool, after considering it for three years, attending conferences, etc. Children really need almost daily exposure, for awhile, to learn to related to nonverbal children, it seems to me.
Posted by: Julana | June 17, 2005 3:51 PM
I know a lot of people homeschool their kids with Down syndrome, but when we were considering what to do with Jonny originally, I realized that he has a unique contribution to make to his class. I have to give public schools credit for all they do for "the least of these." And "the least" make so much more of all the other kids. Our local high school voted a girl with Down syndrome homecoming queen this year - which actually happens surprisingly often across the country -- a sign of how much compassion and understanding have been built in them through going to school with her "normal" peers.
And yes, homeschool kids don't have as much exposure and so aren't as comfortable. There are trade offs for every choice.
Posted by: barbaracurtis | June 17, 2005 5:48 PM
I have to admit that I appreciate this space because of your openness to public school. We have taken it year by year too, and now after 5 years of homeschooling we are sending ours...just because it's what seems to be right for this next year! Thanks for sharing your story!
Posted by: Anonymous | June 18, 2005 6:22 AM
