[coldfeet]

Alrightie! I've been perusing the boards for awhile now trying to find some answers to my questions before I bombarded you all with too many questions! LOL<br><br>
I have a 5 yo ds who has SI Dysfunction and a 8 yo dd who is awaiting testing for ADD. My dd's Dx has been long time coming -- we have been putting it off and she has been having a lot of trouble in school since the beginning of this school year. We have been having conferences with her 2nd grade teacher and the school psychologist every month talking about different strategies, tactics, changes we've made, and so on and so forth. Finally the school psychologist recommended getting her tested for ADD. I protested but set the appointment anyway for her to see a psychologist. She has an appointment on May 1st.<br><br>
During the past month or so I have searched my heart and soul for answers on whether I should HS my dd next year. I know there are others here that HS their ADD children.<br><br>
I <i>think</i> I'd like to send my ds (with SI Dysfunction) to public school for Kind. next year, but I'm not 100% sure about that.<br><br>
Can mamas who HS their children with SID/ADD respond to this thread and let me know how it goes/give me some encouragement? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/redface.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Embarrassment"><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/innocent.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="shy"><br><br>
My dd's 2nd grade teacher has been very accommodating for my dd -- doing/changing a lot of things in her class room to make things "work" better for my dd. However, I just don't know if my dd's 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade teachers will have the same patience or be willing to do the same kinds of things.<br><br>
My dd is <b>very</b> artistic and creative and she just doesn't conform well in a public school setting. Montessori school is a possibility for her next year but it is very pricey and we are not sure we can swing it. (She used to be in a Montessori school and she did very well so we know that she can bloom in this kind of environment.)<br><br>
One of my concerns is there is a big possibility that I may be doing day care for 3 children (ages 7,4, and 3) starting this Summer. We just don't know for sure yet and won't know until the end of May.<br><br>
Is there anyone here that does a home daycare <b>and</b> HS? The 7 yo would be in public school. I'm hoping the 4 yo will be in preschool, but I'm not sure about the 3 yo.<br><br>
Also, our house isn't very big at all. Scrapbooking is my hobby and it basically keeps me sane (I am a long time sufferer of depression/anxiety) and I also have a scrapbooking business (though, that will probably go away when I start doing daycare). My scrapbooking supplies basically take over our diningroom -- with our table pushed in the corner. I'm worried there is no room for HS.<br><br>
I'm in CO, how do you keep grades for transcripts to go to college if my children chose to go on?<br><br>
I'm kind of stuck on curriculum... as I've mentioned, my dd did well with Montessori, what kind of curriculum should I be looking at? I looked at k12.com because that was the first one that I came across when I was researching CO HS. I've looked at Oak Meadow because my dd loves the fairy tale approach, etc. But my dh isn't sure he's comfortable with Waldorf ways. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/irked.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="irked">: We are Gnostic, and believe in the God and Goddess. So traditional Christian based curriculum most likely won't work for us. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated.<br><br>
I could probably go on, because my mind is just swimming with questions. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/redface.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Embarrassment"> But I'll wait to see what you all say before I ask anything more. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/innocent.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="shy"> Thanks so much, mamas!!

 

[earthmama369]

No answers, but the board gets busy in the evening, so I thought I'd give this a bump. You could also cross-post this in the Special Needs Parenting forum. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[Shianne]

Where in Colorado are you? I'm in Aurora.<br><br>
You can check out Spiral Academy, they offer a transcript and diploma program.<br><br>
My son graduated last year and all I did was keep a running transcript, when he completed a subject, it was translated into official classes and given a grade.<br>
It is 120 hours to equal one credit. To get the g.p.a. you add up the grade score and divide it by how many classes are taken.<br><br>
As for curriculum you can try Enki, Moon Goddess Circles Academy, or Global Village School.<br>
You can also build your own curriculum if you feel that it is really needed. Or you can try A Well Trained Mind.<br><br>
There are a couple of families that have a day care and homeschool as well in our group. They end up just teaching the other children along with their own until it comes time to go to school.<br><br>
I don't have a child with ADD or SID, but I have friends who do who also homeschool. They keep the days short and quite a few do more hands on/unschooling approach. I can ask them what they do hwith their children if you have a specific question. From what I hear from them, it is going very well because the ps system was failing their children.<br><br>
I know others will have more help, but I just wanted to let you know I saw your post.

 

[coldfeet]

Thanks so much for your replies! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/orngbiggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="orange big grin"> I'm thinking that my first post was a bit intimidating (long?) <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/redface.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Embarrassment"> Maybe that's why it didn't get any replies! LOL I could probably shorten it up, my mind is just swimming with questions right now.<br><br>
Shianne ~ I'm in the Ft. Collins area. I know there are a lot of HS families here, I just don't know any personally. I'm trying to get in touch with some through a friend of mine -- left a message on their voicemail, so I'm just waiting for a response... Thank you for all the rec's for curriculum. I'm going to look at them tonight. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/orngbiggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="orange big grin">

 

[Thystle]

I PM'd you.<br><br><br>
One thing I forgot to mention in my PM... you do not need to use any curriculum! You can piece together your own or even give them all up and do "child led/unschooling".<br><br><br>
There are ALWAYS other options! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/winky.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Wink">

 

[canuckgal]

I don't have time to PM you this minute, but I totally agree with her. Type in unschooling as a search term in this forum, and you will see some past threads. It just might "work" with your kids unique learning style. BTW, your dd sounds almost exactly like mine, being "artsy" and not doing well in a conventional setting.<br><br>
I have an almost 7 yr old dd and almost 4 yr old ds. Neither have ever been to daycare/preschool/kindergarten. I just took ds to a public health screeening this past week, he is being referred to OT, PT, and speech for his delays (for example, he will be 4 in a month, and still cannot climb stairs and tends to crawl up them, tends to lay down to play, seems to have a problem with heights/perception...panicked this winter being accidentally set on the edge of a tire track in the snow even...and his speech is still at the level of 2-3 word sentences and is hard for those outside the family to understand.) Dd was the exact same as him (well, better speech-wise though), and I am debating taking her to an OT, she has many many tactile/movement-craving-loving spinning-upside-down stuff issues and I think auditory issues, manifesting themselves as being "spacey" and bewildered in large noisy crowded settings, looking like "ADD". ( I am of the belief that ADD is a poor fit of environment to learning style/temparment...read stuff by Thomas Armstrong or John Breeding for more on this) These issues are affecting us more as she wants to be involved in more outside the home and struggles with it. I am sure she would be very lost and angry and bored in a school setting. That all being said, it was a very hard decision for me to take them for an evaluation, I have done some reading on how to deal with SID, but want some ideas and tools in my toolbox so to speak, that I can use at home to help them.<br><br>
I do want to encourage you to try homeschooling though! I love our unschooling/relaxed approach, I see dd learning tonnes, even math concepts, writing through just wanting to write me notes, how "science", "social studies" etc gets "covered" just by investigating what she is interested in and how it all interconnects, unlike the artificial divisions the school system creates. To sit her down and have her do spelling from 9-9:30 am would totally not work, she is learning to spell as a side effect of everyday life, for example. We can sleep in if we want. We can go to the park if we want and when we want if they have ants in their pants. We can just have a conversation if we want (and she is not forced to stay in a desk) and much learning takes place just through our attachment/conversation with each other...she would not have that connection with a public school teacher and would just be up and wandering from her desk for example. I just love how I can accomadate our lives to my kids uniqueness....such as seeing how ds is blossoming in his own way in language and not having him in a preschool setting where he would be aggressive...this is my sweet-still-nursing little boy and I know he is NOT READY for that kind of srparation! I love how my trust in them is growing as I see the learning they do everyday. Taking that first step (deciding to homeschool) is scary, but your kids will prove your decision as you go along.<br><br>
I do want to mention that your 8 yr old may need "deschooling" time...a time to just veg after having the course of her day dictated in school...time to rediscover what interests her.<br><br>
A good link to get you started is also<br><a href="http://wwww.besthomeschooling.org" target="_blank">http://wwww.besthomeschooling.org</a><br><br>
This site is maintained by an occasional poster here (Lillian, we haven't heard from you in a while!) and is great for all sorts of neat things you can do with your kids, articles on not pushing early academics, on relaxing, how homeschooling is a RELATIONSHIP and a learning lifestyle as a family, not just sitting at a set time each day to pour knowledge into your kid's head <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"> etc.<br><br>
Also, go to <a href="http://www.unschooling.com" target="_blank">http://www.unschooling.com</a> (maintained by Home Education Magazine) as well, for some great essays.<br><br>
A great yahoo group that I am on is also Shine With Unschooling...all about accepting and celebrating your kids, viewing them in a "glass half full" way, instead of a problem to be fixed. Many of these ladies have children like ours, or have pulled them out of school for ADD and such. READ the posts for a few weeks to get the feel of the group though, they do emphasize leaving your kid's labels at the door!!!! I have learned so much from these wonderful ladies about my perceptions of my kids and how to celebrate them!<br><br>
PM me if you want some more info, links, etc or just to chat!<br><br>
Tina, dp James, dd Stephanie, ds Jonathan here in Manitoba, Canada

 

[canuckgal]

Ok, lets try that again...<br><br><a href="http://www.besthomeschooling.org" target="_blank">http://www.besthomeschooling.org</a><br><br>
one too many w's up above...sorry!<br><br>
Tina