DD wants "real" school

[violet]

Okay, she's not yet 4 and a lot could change, but I want to homeschool and DD well, is dead set against it. She tells me everyday how she will take the bus, go to real school tomorrow, go to so-and-so's school, Julie will be her teacher, etc. We go to a parent participation group once a week with her younger brother, but she already says that this doesn't count as real school.

How much say did your kids have in your decision to homeschool? Did you require they try homeschooling and then offer the choice to them? Did you decide what was best for them and compromise in other ways?

DD is very social and extroverted. I've also noticed that she already craves instruction. She doesn't want to dance in the living room to music, she wants me to come in and be the teacher and show her what to do. I'll admitt, I want to provide what is best suited to her learning needs, and I don't know if I can provide it all by myself in or out of the home. Our area is not filled with HS resources. Just looking for some thoughts on how you negotiated the HS question with the more traditional schooling personality kids.

Thanks, Violet

[afishwithabike]

My niece went through this for a while as well. My SIL got her involved with the "specials" at their local school. (Gym, Music, Library, Computer lab) It helped her to get social interaction as well as some resources she would not have necessarily gotten at home. Hope all works out okay for you.

[ObsessiveAndrea]

My son played a very important roll in wether or not we homeschooled. He started in PS, and last year when his grades started slipping I told him that if he didn't bring his grades up he would be homeschool, well he was so dead set against it then that he brought them up and fast. This year though he was more into being homeschooled and so far he is loving it. He said it is harder but he likes it better.

[phathui5]

Attendng public school is not an option in our family. The whole idea behind institutionalized education where a bell rings and the kids drop what they're doing and move on to the next subject (regardless of whether they were done with what they were doing), or where someone needs permission to do something like go to the bathroom was always been against what I believe education should be.

Friends of mine that teach kindergarten have told me that the kids start out the year excitedand wanting to learn and that the school takes that away from them. I do not think that a young child really understands the that idea, that school can strip that joy from them. I think that for many reasons, "regular" school can be harmful and I'm not going to place my kids in harm's way, even if they want to be there.

Now for my actual advice:

- My ds wanted to take the bus too, so we took a bus, and the Lightrail, and the Metro. And I said, "Isn't this cool? You couldn't take the train right now if you had to be in school."

- Play up how homeschooling is better for her, in things that she cares about. If you take a trip to the playground for an hour or two, casually remark, "You couldn't do this if you were in school, they only get to go outside for half an hour the whole day."

- Do the gimmicky things that schools do. Get her a homeschooling T-shirt. Put a homeschool bumper sticker on your car. We have one that says "Homeschool Bus" on our van that ds loves.

Also, what area are you in? Maybe people here can point you to some good places to go. I'd also recommend asking in the Finding Your Tribe forum for your region if you haven't already.