special needs homeschooling parents- i need a morale booster!

[inky leeuhhh]

so, here's a little background. we were all set to send dd to public school this year, due to some pressuring from my dh. a wrench was thrown into our plans when we found out we're pg with #3, which will mean a move for us in the late fall or early winter- only 2 mos after dd (who is going into second grade and has a dx of autism) would have started school. so she would have started school for the first time ever, been there maybe two months, and then not only would she deal with a move and a new baby, but she would need to start school in a brand new school. we can't afford a bigger place in this school district. anyway, there is no way i'm doing that to her, and dh is on board with hsing again this year after taking all those changes into consideration.

however, my interactions with the school she was going to go to have left me with little confidence in myself. i am really going to be stepping things up this year. she is advanced with her reading and handwriting, but behind in other areas. of course she has autism, so who's to say she wouldn't be behind even if she'd been in public school this whole time. i have her iep paperwork so i know what to work on, and i plan to spend more time with her and add more subjects and activities to our routine to try and get her caught up. it's just been so hard for me to get excited about this after dealing with the public schools. they were actually very nice, that's just sort of the feeling i came away with. i would love some words of advice from other parents of special needs kids who are hsing and thriving, or just words of encouragement. i really want her to do well this year so that i can possibly talk dh into keeping on with hsing. this is what i have planned subject- wise for next year:

language arts

spelling/ grammar

math (repeating 1st grade- she struggles with math concepts)

history

science

geography

so i'll be adding science and geography, along with stepping up the language arts stuff. i'll also be working on some of the more specific things she's having issues with, like reading comprehension. tia for any input you guys :) .

Edited by inky leeuhhh - 7/6/11 at 5:39pm

[moominmamma]

I totally believe you can do this... but I have to ask, since you were happy with the school enrolment plan until you realized you were pregnant, do you really have to move mid-year? Obviously I don't know your living situation but it sounds like it's just the prospect of the baby's arrival that is causing you to move. Couldn't that be put off until the end of the school year?

Miranda

[inky leeuhhh]

well, the situation is sort of complicated. dh wants to move before the baby comes because we live in a tiny 2 bedroom apt, and it's really cramped already. if we were not going to move, i would be quitting my job and looking for something part time so that i could get dd to and from school. before/ after school care is VERY hard to find in this area. i've looked everywhere. so anyway, the plan before the pg came along was for me to quit at my current job and go the pt route. it would be very, very hard for us to live off one income. probably possible, but hard. i did briefly think about just quitting in sep, because i really don't think anyone is going to hire me once i'm showing (unfair, but i think that's the reality). anyway, dh blew that idea out of the water, and we're pretty cramped so i understand why. so a combination of those things leaves us with needing to move at an awkward time during the year. blegh.

eta: after we move into a house i plan to open a very small in home daycare, and hsing should become much easier at that point. that's a major plus.

[Linda on the move]

Two things:

1. There are several homeschoolers on the special needs board, some with kids with autism. You might double post there. Posts there don't have to be supportive of homeschooling, as they do on this board, but you still might get some helpful feedback. That board moves slowly and posts tend to get A LOT of views for how many responses, but if you put something up, eventually the right person will see it.

2. Second, I only skim the homeschool board and seldom post here (I'm a former homeschooler) but a couple of things really jumped out at me in your posts. I believe that something is up in your marriage, and I'm not sure if you are seeing for what it is. Either your husband has power issues and the situation is unhealthy, or you don't take responsibility for your choices and blame him for things. I really can't tell. But either way, figuring it and working on it will ultimately bring about greater peace for you. Here are some highlights:
 

Originally Posted by inky leeuhhh 

 due to some pressuring from my dh. a wrench was thrown into our plans when we found out we're pg with #3,

dh is on board with hsing again this year after taking all those changes into consideration.

. i really want her to do well this year so that i can possibly talk dh into keeping on with hsing.

Originally Posted by inky leeuhhh 

well, the situation is sort of complicated. dh wants to move before the baby comes

anyway, dh blew that idea out of the water,

This is your life, too. What you want and what you feel is best for the kids matters.

Peace

[inky leeuhhh]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move 

Two things:

1. There are several homeschoolers on the special needs board, some with kids with autism. You might double post there. Posts there don't have to be supportive of homeschooling, as they do on this board, but you still might get some helpful feedback. That board moves slowly and posts tend to get A LOT of views for how many responses, but if you put something up, eventually the right person will see it.

2. Second, I only skim the homeschool board and seldom post here (I'm a former homeschooler) but a couple of things really jumped out at me in your posts. I believe that something is up in your marriage, and I'm not sure if you are seeing for what it is. Either your husband has power issues and the situation is unhealthy, or you don't take responsibility for your choices and blame him for things. I really can't tell. But either way, figuring it and working on it will ultimately bring about greater peace for you. Here are some highlights:
 

This is your life, too. What you want and what you feel is best for the kids matters.

Peace

your consideration made me smile! my dh is actually awesome, we were just raised very differently, and yeah we get frustrated with eachother sometimes. we were childhood friends, and we have this weird brother/sister relationship going on. lol. trying ps was his idea for this year, and i think part of me was trying to think his way and try ps (i kind of figured if it didn't work, we could go back to hsing), but part of me was hurt because he wasn't into the idea of hsing. in the end though, he came to the conclusion by himself that hsing her through this year at least was best for her, so everything turned out ok.