life after alternative program

[jeteaa]

We are hsing but supplementing with classes and part-time school programs. We are considering enrolling dd1 (and later dd2) in a pt program/school. From thier website and other parents I know that send thier kids thier it sounds like the perfect program for my dc. We can choose 3, 4 or 5 days/week, its multi age "one room school house" K-5. My question is what happens after 5th grade. This program is nothing like public school and too much school to be like hsing. I wonder if we should even go down this path if we will have to totally change directions in 6 years.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by jeteaa

I wonder if we should even go down this path if we will have to totally change directions in 6 years.

Six years is a long, long way away. Do what feels right for this year, and the let the future take care of its self. Six years is longer than highschool or college. It is a LONG time. You wouldn't skip the best highschool you could find because you'll have to change directions afterwards.

It sounds like your Dd is entering Kindergarten. Many parents start on one path that they have researched and feel is best, and yet when the reality of how their child does in what they have chosen, or their lives change in unforseeable ways, they end up doing something VERY different.

BTW, my DD was homeschooled in a relaxed way until she was 10, and then she started a traditional school with high test scores. There was an adjustment period (her teacher didn't count any of her work for the first 3 weeks towards her grades) and then she made straight As and thrived.

It really isn't that hard to get the hang of how traditional school work is done if a child has solid basic skills. My DD had good math skills from playing games, activities, real life math, etc. It took her a few weeks to get the hang of copying math problems from a text book to a sheet of paper, but then she ended up on the top math group.

[karne]

As someone who thought i had my children's educations all planned out before they even started school, I would say take it step by step! We started in a folksy/homey loose preschool situation, went to waldorf for a while, did some homeschooling and now are using and enjoying public school. Sometimes life, or your children, lead you in different directions, if you are open to it. I say make the plan that feels best for now, and see where the next few years take you.

[beanma]

I think it's fine. We're in an alternative environment (not one room schoolhouse, but 4/5 rooms) 3yr-5thgr and by all accounts the kids who leave and go to public school do fine. I want my dds to stay there until they've reached a maturity level to deal with public school (it would be too much for them now), but I'm not really worried about when the time comes. My back-up is homeschooling. If you're jsut starting out who knows what will happen with your dc in the next 6 yrs and who knows what will happen in the schools. There may be a charter middle school that opens or your dc may be begging for public school or you may have moved to Timbuktu! Go for it if you think it's the right choice for her now.