Anyone do a combo of hs and ps?

[mom at home]

I recently realized that the state I live in allows one to do any amount of ps -it's not all or nothing. I have always wanted to hs and am a unschooler at heart, but my dd (2nd grade) wants to go to school, I think for the social aspect mostly, as she readily admits how boring it is.

I'm so excited because we've decided that in the fall she is going to stay home 1 or 2 days a week and we can do projects together. I've been sad about how little time we have together and that she is bored in school. She'll still have her school friends and classroom that she finds important and we'll have time together to work on cool projects of her choosing.

Anyone else do a combination like this? How is it in terms of the transitioning back and forth and such? Any other input would be great. TIA.

Alison

[Openskyheart]

Well, we don't have our son enrolled in a regular public school program, but he does go to a public school supported Independent Study Program two afternoons a week, and it's great. They have classes for homeschooled kids: art, science, lifelab, play time, cooking, etc. fun stuff.

Our son is a very social little guy, and because we live in the country and don't have a neighborhood full of kids for him to run out and play with, this was a big consideration. It's working out very well for us so far.

Our daughter has chosen to stay in school, mostly for social reasons. The ISP we're signed up with has lots of boys, and no girls in my daughter's age range! She's also very much the little student, so it works out for her. I wish we had the option to keep her home one or two days a week - that sounds great!

If your daughter is choosing to school the way you've described, I think it can work out beautifully for you. Having given our children choices about where and how they school, I can tell you from experience that they enjoy their lives and their learning more than they would if they felt forced to go to school, or to homeschool for that matter.

Good luck with your journey. It sounds fun!

Laura :-)

[Miss Kitty]

I have been combining public and home school for nearly 3 years. The reason is because dd is special ed and she struggles with the 3 subjects she doesn't have in special ed. Plus she is a very hands on learner.
I get her SS units ahead from the teacher then I create thematic units we work on together to supplement the "lecture - note - test" they do in school. She made a really neat 3 dimensional colonial fort and her teacher has made it a permanent part of the class room.
For Lit I get on line and get individualized study guides for the books and/or authors they are studying. I also get books on tape for her as she is not a terrific reader.
Finally for math we use Saxon even though they don't in school. It helps her understand the concepts better.

In addition to all of this she has a private tutor and I have a friend who homeschools full time who helps me a great deal. Every parent-teacher conference the special ed coordinator remarks how much work I do.
Well - duh! She's my child what else am I supposed to do?