anyone else sending their home schooled child to public school this year?

[mommy68]

My daughter is starting in 4th grade at a local charter school. She is so thrilled! I have mixed emotions. I look forward to PTO stuff and volunteering and more time to work (I'm a single mom now). She was getting VERY hard to teach at home and it was a struggle just to get her to listen to me. I am also attending college part-time and working part-time a couple of jobs from home so there is limited time to sit and bicker with her about sitting down and learning at the time of day I needed her to, so that stress will be alleviated some (until homework rolls around). She is also very smart, learned well on her own and did well with unstructured time, so I do worry that school will be tough on her in that regard because there will be a rigid schedule to follow each day, which she needs but I worry that it will stress her out. :( 

I hope she does well academic-wise because I just can't handle home schooling her personality type again in the future, it's gotten harder as she has gotten older. She is nothing like her older brother was at her age, he was easy. She did meet one other girl when taking placement tests last month that is going from home school to 4th grade along with her, so that was nice. Just curious if any others are sending their kids to school or back to school this year!

[CariOfOz]

My two started at a brick & mortar school in Feb (start of our year) in grades 4 and 1.  Mr. grade 1 has sailed, he is loving it and thriving both academically & socially.  My grade 4 kiddo has struggled socially, and with attention span.  We suspected that he had add before we ever made this decision, and he's being assessed now.  He's making improvements though!  At first the routine was a huge challenge for him, but he's adapted to that now :)  So I wouldn't worry too much, kids are pretty amazing at working out what is expected and she will learn from observing her peers as well.  It's awesome that she'll have another previously hs'd kid in her class, it will help her to not feel weird... I know that was something my 9yo had issues with.  Good luck, I'm sure she'll do great :)

[mommy68]

Thank you for the reply! She is super excited about starting school but I am worried it will be tough because she is so hyper and used to controlling her day herself to a certain extent but I think she will do fine, as you say she will have her peers to follow and see how they do things, hopefully only academically though, lol. I worry most about the load of school work since was used to a very relaxed day usually here at home for the past 3 years and I worry about homework. But hopefully we will get in to a good routine.

[Linda on the move]

My kids homeschooled until they were 10 and 12, and then transitioned to school. It was the best choice for them. They are starting 8th and 9th grade this fall.

It was an adjustment, and they were both very tired when they first started.

[Mama~Love]

Sorry to bump an older thread, but we are going through this too. My 3 boys have gone to PS from the beginning (what was agreed upon w/ XH). My 3 girls are 9, 7, & 4. I've HS them from the beginning, but now this year with twins on the way, we've made the decision to put them in school. They will be in 4th & 2nd. I'm a little worried about it, as it's been a challenge to teach them at home. I'm worried that they will be behind the other kids (in fact I know they are), and how that's going to affect things. My 9 yr old has really struggled with math, and we didn't even make it through the 3rd grade books this year. Multiplication has been a real challenge for her, and we haven't even got to division yet. My 7 yr old is doing OK, she's real emotional & very sensitive, so I worry how she will do too.

I guess I just want a little reassurance that they will be OK, and that I haven't ruined them by trying to HS them.

[momtokea]

My homeschooled 11 yo dd is at her first day of public school today, grade 7.  I never thought I'd send a girl to grade 7 but she really wanted to go.  She was both excited and nervous this morning.  I will be leaving in exactly 15 minutes to pick her up.  Can't wait to hear about her day.

[dantesmama]

My 6-years-old-in-October ds is starting first grade in ps next week. Academically, he's ahead in everything except writing. His fine motor skills have been slow to develop so I haven't pushed writing very much; his handwriting is pretty bad, he still reverses some letters, and often lapses into all capitals. I don't think that's entirely out of the range of normal for such a little guy, but I know the school is going to be expecting him to do quite a bit of writing and I am a bit worried how he's going to handle that. As far as everything else, he's reading at close to a third grade level, he mastered first grade math last year, and he's a science whiz, so I'm hoping he is challenged enough. I think he will do well socially. He's kind of quirky and can be shy, but he is a genuinely nice kid and he's excited about making new friends at school. On Friday we go in to drop off his supplies and meet his teacher. I am definitely sad about sending him, and I am going to miss him during the day. I've gone back to college though, and I am also busy with my 4yo and my 20mo, and I just don't have the time to juggle everything and everyone AND give him the kind of education he needs. So school it is.

Momtokea, how was your dd's first day?

[momtokea]

Originally Posted by dantesmama 

My 6-years-old-in-October ds is starting first grade in ps next week. Academically, he's ahead in everything except writing. His fine motor skills have been slow to develop so I haven't pushed writing very much; his handwriting is pretty bad, he still reverses some letters, and often lapses into all capitals. I don't think that's entirely out of the range of normal for such a little guy, but I know the school is going to be expecting him to do quite a bit of writing and I am a bit worried how he's going to handle that. As far as everything else, he's reading at close to a third grade level, he mastered first grade math last year, and he's a science whiz, so I'm hoping he is challenged enough. I think he will do well socially. He's kind of quirky and can be shy, but he is a genuinely nice kid and he's excited about making new friends at school. On Friday we go in to drop off his supplies and meet his teacher. I am definitely sad about sending him, and I am going to miss him during the day. I've gone back to college though, and I am also busy with my 4yo and my 20mo, and I just don't have the time to juggle everything and everyone AND give him the kind of education he needs. So school it is.

Momtokea, how was your dd's first day?

Thanks for asking:)  She had a good day, seemed happy and content with everything.  Made friends with another new girl who has lived in Africa for the past 6 years -- she seemed happy about that.   There seemed to be a lot of first day admin work to do ... assigning textbooks and lockers, moving desks and tables around.   She's pretty tired tonight, she also had 1.5 hours of aikido tonight, too.   She wants to keep up her outside activities so she will be a very busy girl.  She had a snack and has crashed now for the night.  She had no time for piano practicing.   We will probably have to cut back on some of her activities I think.  We'll see how it goes.  Overall, she seemed to have a good day.  I'm still homeschooling my 13yo and 9 yo and am trying to figure out a workable schedule for them.

[Mama~Love]

dantesmama - I hope your son has a great time at school! Your reasons are similar to mine; I just feel it's best for the girls because with twins on the way, and the other kids, I would be so overwhelmed.

momtokea - glad your DD had a good day! Sounds like a busy schedule for her; i think it's great she wants to keep up with her other activities.

We went to the open house yesterday, and the girls had a lot of fun. Their teachers are really nice. I think they will do just fine, they were already introducing themselves to the other kids, saying "Hi, I'm new this year, my name is ______. What's yours?". I was so proud of them when I saw them doing that! Their first day is on Tuesday. I'm sure I'll have some tears then. I think their younger sister (4) is going to have a hard time adjusting to them being gone. They've never been separated this long before. I'll have to plan something special with her that day.

[moominmamma]

My always-unschooled 14yo ds will be starting school half-time next week. He is dysgraphic and won't get an assessment until the spring (has been on the wait-list since last February), so we're probably going to have to purchase a laptop or similar for him to use until then. 

My always-unschooled 12yo dd will be starting 8th grade full-time next week. 

My 17yo dd has been at this school part-time for the past three years and has paved an accepting, open-minded road at the school for her siblings to follow.

My 8yo dd will remain at homeschooled.

Miranda

[Dandelionkid]

My 7 yr old started grade two yesterday at Montessori. She loves it (LOVES) but I am finding it a big adjustment in family-life without her around. Ultimately we will adjust and it will be good to shake things up a bit. I have a lot more time to focus on my middle kid but he is very bored without the "leader of the pack". It's great for him to have to take on more of the eldest role but it will be a challenge for him. 

I have to say I am feeling nostalgic about our old family dynamics, waking up later, spending lots of time together, having lots of energy for outside activities. I am keeping my DD in one activity this fall but it might even have to go if things stay this tiring for us all. 

Couldn't imagine keeping her in school if she was struggling - it's an easy decision, though, seeing how happy she has been this week.

[mattemma04]

My kids have been in Montessori for 3 years now.They complain about going to school,and what goes on daily. Despite the complaints they continue to choose school when I ask them every year what they want to do(school,homeschool,eschool).

[~threemoons~]

My dd just started Montessori school after being homeschooled. She LOVES it. She told me she doesn't want to homeschool ever again. I'm sure it's just the newness of it all. I do hope to HS in the future-we would like to travel. . . .     I almost feel guilty that I feel SO relieved to not have to worry about lesson plans and all that stuff. I feel liberated! Of course I miss her, but man was I burned out! I am happy to have her school community-and it is a wonderful community. I am happy to just be Mom, not teacher. I think our relationship will benefit greatly. School is the best fit for now. Maybe HS will be the best fit in the future. We are open to whatever life brings :-)

[earthmama369]

My 6-year-old is starting second grade on Tuesday and my 5-year-old is starting kindergarten. I ran into some health issues that made homeschooling very difficult last year and DD opted to try a semester of first grade last spring and another year of school starting this fall. After that, she wants to go back to homeschooling. DS still wants to homeschool, but in the last few days has started to get excited about going to kindergarten. I was really worried about him, but having met his teacher and seen his new classroom, I think he's going to have a great time. She seems like a great fit for his needs and personality.

I still want to homeschool, honestly, but we've been really lucky with the public school in our neighborhood. The principal is fairly new to this school and has really set a new tone for respecting children (and vice versa) and modeling kindness and curiosity and sharing. She's gone out of her way to accommodate my mobility issues in getting the kids to and from school and really made us feel welcome. As much as I miss my kids during the day, I know they're much better off there right now than at home.

[meetoo]

Earthmama I think I've met you before when my kids were younger. I'm sorry your having health problems.:(  I'm glad you have a school your happy with available to you though. I hope your kids have a great year!

Dantesmama: My not quite five year old is starting first grade and he can barely write too. He went to public K last year too do no worries. Sheesh, you should see my writing. I think it's genetic ;)