DS loves school...but I don't

[PenelopeJune]

My DS is 4 and he started preschool this year. I had always thought that I would homeschool, but he wanted to go to school SO much I just couldn't say no.

He LOVES school so much. He loves his teachers. He is making friends and he comes home so excited after school every day, which is awesome. I'm happy that he loves it so much.

But I don't really like him going to school. He comes home with a WICKED bad attitude. Since he only goes on Tues and Thurs, I can tell the attitude has time to wear off from Thurs until the next going-to-school time, and then he goes to school and it's back.

I'm already getting a lot of hassle about our vax status. Right now he's fine on a parental exemption, but next year I'm going to have some fighting to do with the nurse.

They say the pledge of allegience. I know, this may not seem like such a big thing, but it bothers me. A lot. It's not that I have anything against the pledge itself, I just have a real problem with teaching it to 4 year olds.

And of course, there are a million more reasons.

So what do I do? I want to homeschool, but I don't want to make him unhappy. And we live way out in the country, and know NOBODY in town, so it's not even like he would get to play with kids if he didn't go to school. (There are no homeschooling groups in our area.) I really want to do what's best for my son, and I think that in the long run, homeschooling would be that, but I'm afraid that in this case, for now, homeschooling might be selfish.

[annethcz]

There are going to be pros and cons to both options. We HSed for several years, and then sent our kids to school when we moved to the country. And I'll be HSing at least some of my kids again next year. So I've seen both sides of the fence.

Preschool is supposed to be fun. Kindergarden is supposed to be fun. I don't think your child is going to be permanently damaged by attending either program. Some kids love and thrive at school, and other kids don't. And it can vary from year to year. You don't have to make a permanent decision right now. Look at the pros and cons, make the best decision for the time being, and reevaluate if things change.

[kathymuggle]

Unless you are given a really hard time about vaxing, I would use preschool for now and allow him to age out of it . It is one of the many reasons I like preschools, lol, it has a reasonable end date.

While he is in preschool, locate and begin to attend HSing events so he is not just cut off when he does start to Homeschool. You are lucky - you have some time to plan and get things in place....

The attitude thing is weird....what do you think is the source of it? Is he renderred overtired/stimulated on preschool days?

YMMV

Kathy

[BennyPai]

I share your sentiment. This is one of those choices that have pros and cons on either side, and you're bound to feel conflicted.
As long as you're following your instincts and tuning in to your son, you are sure to make the right choice for your family.

[zinemama]

When you say "bad attitude" what exactly do you mean?

[isabchi]

I was in the same page last year. She went to Waldof school. She loved the teacher and the friends. This yea we're doing HS and I'm pretty happy with our decision even though she had a wonderful experience that I know don't go last much fo various reasons.
This year is calmer and go have a nice HS group when we get together and play.

[PenelopeJune]

Thanks you guys!

When I say bad attitude, it's nothing horrible, but he just gets really sassy. Like if I ask him to do something, he growls at me and huffs and says he doesn't want to do it. I know a lot of it is the age, but his attitude really wears off over the weekend. He also says rude and snippy things. If I tell him to stop doing something because XYZ, he says, "I wanna do what I wanna do!" And of course, a lot of it is just his tone.

I don't know if the attitude comes from being over stimulated or tired, or if there are sassy kids in his class. But by Saturday he's usually back to his old self, and then Tuesday comes around and he's Mr. Sassmaster all over again. I don't like backtalk.

I like the idea of letting him do preschool and then kind of reassessing. I can see him really wanting to do kindergarten next fall, too. But maybe by the middle of first grade, he'll have lost at least some of his excitement and might like the idea of homeschooling. (I haven't even brought it up with him.)

I just feel like I could do such a better job teaching him. I think back to my own days at school, and I can't even count how many times we studied the Revolutionary War. But it never seemed like we got any farther! And every time we touched on a topic that interested me, it was time to move on. Which of course, I'm sure you guys all know this and feel the same.