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Homeschooling - am I out of my mind?
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 386081" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>We slid into it. difficult child 3 had increasingly had problems. Every year the problem behaviours would become a huge issue sooner. At first it was the last term only. Then it was the last two terms. Each year things were more severe and started sooner. Then by grade 5 the problems began almost immediately, and he was physically ill. At first we thought it was a low-grade GI infection because he was vomiting, complained of nausea every day (at least every school day) and actually had low-grade fevers. He seemed to improve a little on the weekends (I thought it was the chance to rest). But then Sunday evening and Monday morning, the fever would be back. Nothing major...</p><p></p><p>The thing is, it meant that difficult child 3 spent a lot of time home form school. Even if I insisted and sent hi (dosed with paracetamol for the fever, and reassured that the nausea would pass) the school would send him home once he began vomiting.</p><p></p><p>Doctors tried to tell us it was anxiety; the teacher insisted this was a physical illness and we would be negligent parents if we did not investigate in depth.</p><p></p><p>It took most of that school year. Over tat year, difficult child 3 would have missed at least half of it. There was no way I wanted to complicate matters by 'rewarding' being home form school, with a holiday. So we brought in "school work during school hours" and the only way out of having to work, was to be asleep. He only sleeps when he's really unwell, and often not even then. So we then found that he was getting a vast amount of work done at home, much more than he ever got done in class. Hmmm... That class teacher, by the way, was always very hard on him. Always had been. I had worried she would be a problem. She refused to follow a lot of the accommodations put in place, although she followed the most important ones. But we realised later, this WAS purely stress and anxiety. But by this time, it was extreme and he was really very sick.</p><p></p><p>Then we changed schools for difficult child 3. The new school was marvellous, they supported in every way, put in all the accommodations. difficult child 3 did better, but we could see that even with the best support, he still was not able to get his work done as well as those weeks and months he was sick at home. Then we were getting halfway through the school year, and things began to worsen again. The nausea began once more. I knew we were heading to hit the wall again, only this time at a school that was already doing the best they could.</p><p></p><p>So we pulled him out. For us, it meant a transfer to the state correspondence school. But we realised, it had been a long, slow slide in that direction anyway.</p><p></p><p>When we finally started the home correspondence, it was actually a huge relief. My workload actually eased. Instead of being tied down with my own schedule always on hold because of yet another call to come fetch the vomiting kid from school, I found we could do a lot of what we wanted. I was at last able to keep my own medical appointments. We went on holiday in the middle of the school term, but difficult child 3 kept working. However, the work now included the travel as part of the lesson. A week after we made the decision to transfer to correspondence, we left to go on holiday in Tasmania. Part of the curriculum included Australian colonial history, so when we travelled around, difficult child 3 kept a journal, photos and text, taking notes from various public displays and other places we visited. There's nothing like climbing to the top of a Shot Tower to really understand how the early soldiers made lead shot. And visiting Port Arthur gave difficult child 3 a good look at how the worst convicts were treated.</p><p> </p><p>A few year later when we went to New Zealand, the Science topic was continental drift and vulcanism. There is nothing like actually being there and smelling the sulfur, to really understand. When you are walking through a field or around the edge of a lake and needing to step carefully to avoid being scalded by steam, you really understand the power of geothermal energy.</p><p>One day we were watching an educational show on TV that mentioned mangroves. difficult child 3 said, "I'd like to go visit some mangroves." Now, it happens we have some mangrove swamps near where we live, so that afternoon we grabbed the camera and drove there (five minutes away). difficult child 3 explored these trees and studied them in his own way for half an hour, then we wandered off to paddle by the shore. It was relaxing for me, it forced me out of the house and outside, but it was also a valuable lesson for difficult child 3. We also have temperate rainforest 15 minutes' drive away. Coal seams half an hour's drive away. But also in our travels difficult child 3 got to see the southern beech forests in Tasmania, and then two years later saw the same southern beech forests in the south of New Zealand. We also saw the tectonic plate margin - you can actually see it in New Zealand!</p><p></p><p>Teachers struggled with difficult child 3 and his behaviour at times was difficult, to say the least. He could be aggressive and violent. The thought of me taking tis kid, sitting him down at a desk and saying, "this morning we will study English," seemed impossible. But home schooling needn't be so formal. You can adapt the methods to suit the way the child learns best. A great social lesson as well as mental arithmetic lesson is taking the kid shopping. Get him to help you find items on the shopping list. Or sit with him and plan the shopping trip. Plan to cook something. Ask him what he would like to help cook, then calculate what ingredients you need to buy. Then shop for them. Bring them hoe, pack away the shopping, then get cooking. It involves planning, it involves reading recipes (procedure), it is practical (hands on) and the end result should be a tasty reward as well as a positive achievement. It is also valid education. You don't do this every day necessarily. But you have this freedom.</p><p></p><p>Last weekend we had to drive to Port Macquarie (a historic coastal resort) for a family wedding. Because of the shape of the east coast of Australia (mountain range inland, running the length north-south; hence rivers running from the mountains to the sea, east-west) we crossed a lot of rivers, just as the early explorers had rivers to cross. At every river, a city has been founded. The road takes us either through or near these cities and always, over the rivers. As we drove, each river became a landmark. "When we reach the Manning River, we have only one more hour to go, when we reach the Hastings River we will be there." </p><p>As we drive we see the country changing, we see different crops growing, we see oyster leases in some rivers but not in others. If we had kept driving we would have seen the landscape change dramatically again, another two hours north with the banana plantations. It's a great way to learn.</p><p></p><p>But even at home - you can assess your chid's level of engagement each morning and modify your plans accordingly. For example, today I know I have my cleaner coming in at midday and this always disrupts difficult child 3. So I have chosen one of his favourite subjects (Electronics) for him to work on, he can focus on this and shut out all distractions. He has his worksheets and kit form the school, he either does a theory sheet or he assembles a circuit, takes a photo of it working then moves on to the next worksheet.</p><p></p><p>Getting started is always our problem. But we have a sneaky trick for that too - he earns a mini chocolate bar if he concentrates solidly for half an hour. And I know once he has concentrated solidly for half an hour, that is all it takes for him to stay on task for the rest of the day.</p><p></p><p>I'm off to get him started...</p><p></p><p>Good luck with this. Chances are - not only are you NOT crazy, but you may have just saved your sanity!</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 386081, member: 1991"] We slid into it. difficult child 3 had increasingly had problems. Every year the problem behaviours would become a huge issue sooner. At first it was the last term only. Then it was the last two terms. Each year things were more severe and started sooner. Then by grade 5 the problems began almost immediately, and he was physically ill. At first we thought it was a low-grade GI infection because he was vomiting, complained of nausea every day (at least every school day) and actually had low-grade fevers. He seemed to improve a little on the weekends (I thought it was the chance to rest). But then Sunday evening and Monday morning, the fever would be back. Nothing major... The thing is, it meant that difficult child 3 spent a lot of time home form school. Even if I insisted and sent hi (dosed with paracetamol for the fever, and reassured that the nausea would pass) the school would send him home once he began vomiting. Doctors tried to tell us it was anxiety; the teacher insisted this was a physical illness and we would be negligent parents if we did not investigate in depth. It took most of that school year. Over tat year, difficult child 3 would have missed at least half of it. There was no way I wanted to complicate matters by 'rewarding' being home form school, with a holiday. So we brought in "school work during school hours" and the only way out of having to work, was to be asleep. He only sleeps when he's really unwell, and often not even then. So we then found that he was getting a vast amount of work done at home, much more than he ever got done in class. Hmmm... That class teacher, by the way, was always very hard on him. Always had been. I had worried she would be a problem. She refused to follow a lot of the accommodations put in place, although she followed the most important ones. But we realised later, this WAS purely stress and anxiety. But by this time, it was extreme and he was really very sick. Then we changed schools for difficult child 3. The new school was marvellous, they supported in every way, put in all the accommodations. difficult child 3 did better, but we could see that even with the best support, he still was not able to get his work done as well as those weeks and months he was sick at home. Then we were getting halfway through the school year, and things began to worsen again. The nausea began once more. I knew we were heading to hit the wall again, only this time at a school that was already doing the best they could. So we pulled him out. For us, it meant a transfer to the state correspondence school. But we realised, it had been a long, slow slide in that direction anyway. When we finally started the home correspondence, it was actually a huge relief. My workload actually eased. Instead of being tied down with my own schedule always on hold because of yet another call to come fetch the vomiting kid from school, I found we could do a lot of what we wanted. I was at last able to keep my own medical appointments. We went on holiday in the middle of the school term, but difficult child 3 kept working. However, the work now included the travel as part of the lesson. A week after we made the decision to transfer to correspondence, we left to go on holiday in Tasmania. Part of the curriculum included Australian colonial history, so when we travelled around, difficult child 3 kept a journal, photos and text, taking notes from various public displays and other places we visited. There's nothing like climbing to the top of a Shot Tower to really understand how the early soldiers made lead shot. And visiting Port Arthur gave difficult child 3 a good look at how the worst convicts were treated. A few year later when we went to New Zealand, the Science topic was continental drift and vulcanism. There is nothing like actually being there and smelling the sulfur, to really understand. When you are walking through a field or around the edge of a lake and needing to step carefully to avoid being scalded by steam, you really understand the power of geothermal energy. One day we were watching an educational show on TV that mentioned mangroves. difficult child 3 said, "I'd like to go visit some mangroves." Now, it happens we have some mangrove swamps near where we live, so that afternoon we grabbed the camera and drove there (five minutes away). difficult child 3 explored these trees and studied them in his own way for half an hour, then we wandered off to paddle by the shore. It was relaxing for me, it forced me out of the house and outside, but it was also a valuable lesson for difficult child 3. We also have temperate rainforest 15 minutes' drive away. Coal seams half an hour's drive away. But also in our travels difficult child 3 got to see the southern beech forests in Tasmania, and then two years later saw the same southern beech forests in the south of New Zealand. We also saw the tectonic plate margin - you can actually see it in New Zealand! Teachers struggled with difficult child 3 and his behaviour at times was difficult, to say the least. He could be aggressive and violent. The thought of me taking tis kid, sitting him down at a desk and saying, "this morning we will study English," seemed impossible. But home schooling needn't be so formal. You can adapt the methods to suit the way the child learns best. A great social lesson as well as mental arithmetic lesson is taking the kid shopping. Get him to help you find items on the shopping list. Or sit with him and plan the shopping trip. Plan to cook something. Ask him what he would like to help cook, then calculate what ingredients you need to buy. Then shop for them. Bring them hoe, pack away the shopping, then get cooking. It involves planning, it involves reading recipes (procedure), it is practical (hands on) and the end result should be a tasty reward as well as a positive achievement. It is also valid education. You don't do this every day necessarily. But you have this freedom. Last weekend we had to drive to Port Macquarie (a historic coastal resort) for a family wedding. Because of the shape of the east coast of Australia (mountain range inland, running the length north-south; hence rivers running from the mountains to the sea, east-west) we crossed a lot of rivers, just as the early explorers had rivers to cross. At every river, a city has been founded. The road takes us either through or near these cities and always, over the rivers. As we drove, each river became a landmark. "When we reach the Manning River, we have only one more hour to go, when we reach the Hastings River we will be there." As we drive we see the country changing, we see different crops growing, we see oyster leases in some rivers but not in others. If we had kept driving we would have seen the landscape change dramatically again, another two hours north with the banana plantations. It's a great way to learn. But even at home - you can assess your chid's level of engagement each morning and modify your plans accordingly. For example, today I know I have my cleaner coming in at midday and this always disrupts difficult child 3. So I have chosen one of his favourite subjects (Electronics) for him to work on, he can focus on this and shut out all distractions. He has his worksheets and kit form the school, he either does a theory sheet or he assembles a circuit, takes a photo of it working then moves on to the next worksheet. Getting started is always our problem. But we have a sneaky trick for that too - he earns a mini chocolate bar if he concentrates solidly for half an hour. And I know once he has concentrated solidly for half an hour, that is all it takes for him to stay on task for the rest of the day. I'm off to get him started... Good luck with this. Chances are - not only are you NOT crazy, but you may have just saved your sanity! Marg [/QUOTE]
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