One of the main reasons hubby and I decided to try the homeschooling route is the school district we live in- they are horrible. We can not afford to move out of the district or afford private school. Recently we have found out the state has scholarships to pay for private schools but we have to start her in her Kindergarten year- next fall. Lately, my daughter has been questioning why she can not go to school and has been asking to go to school. Hubby and I have alot to talk/think/pray about. Will you guys please be praying that we listen to God and make the right choice?
hello! Well, but she IS going to school: homeschool! Tell her what things she will be doing and may be START doing that already! So she can have school already. "School" is not something a 4 year old really understands. So give it a face and start doing it! May be in a bit classical way, so she understands it is schooltime ;-) My kids LOVE to play 'I am a new kid in class today'. And than they knock on the door, enter and say 'hello, my name is Sarah (or so) and I am new' and I welcome them in 'class'. Make it fun! Besides that, YOU as parents decide those things. If YOU decide your kids go to school A instead of B you do that cause you think about it and conclude school A is better for you, your kid, your family and so on. Same with homeschool. YOU as parents think, pray and decide...... Your child is 4...not 15 ;-) Take care!
Well, your kids don't run the house. I mean if they did you would be eating ice cream for dinner and have disney characters painted on your ceiling. Yes, it's hard to hear your kids ask to go to school when you are a homeschooler. Yet, I know many school kids who ask to be homeschooled and the parents simply say no. lol. Again, I sympathize but you pray and do what God wants you to do.
You girls are right. She does not run the house- my husband and I do. However, I still feel her opinions and thoughts need to be heard and considered. I told her that Mommy and Daddy will talk about it and make a decision and let her know. She has accepted that. I just want to do what God wants for our family. We are just needing prayers for the wisdom to discern that.
I do think considering your child's opinons and feelings are important. However, at your kids' ages, I wouldn't even worry about that yet...seriously. My 10 year old was always given explanations and allowed to voice her opinion. ya know what? That was a MISTAKE! LOL. It really was. She still thinks she needs explanation and that she should give her opinion and moreover that it should hold weight. My son was not given such freedom because even at 4 we saw the ill effects on my strong minded dd...lol. He is far more obedient. Of course, much is personality. Just a thought.
I totally understand where you are coming from Chris. It is a very hard thing to know in your heart what you feel is right for your child, and to hear your child begging for something else. We are actually in a similar situation. Only our dd is in PS and we are considering pulling her due to the fact that she learns so much better without the distractions of a school environment. Nonetheless, it's not an easy decision and in my case, I find myself second guessing what IS right and that just confuses things even more. There are pros and cons to every situation. All you can do is what you feel is best for your family at this moment.
Ava- Thanks for your thoughts! Newbie- Glad I'm not the only one in the boat! I'm also second guessing myself! After the last few days with her, school sounds welcome. I know that it is just mood my talking so I'm putting those feelings aside and focusing on praying about it whenever it creeps into my mind!
So, with your dd being 4, she hasn't started ps yet has she? In my opinion, I would think that if she hasn't been introduced to school yet, that this would be the best time to try hs'ing. Then if it isn't for you (or your family), you could try ps as an alternate. With my dd, she's used to going to school, and is 7. So, pulling her out is not going to be easy. She has made a lot of "friends" there ..in 1st grade they are all friends and I know she will miss the daily contact. It's tough, and while you hate to even put the social aspect on the same level as education, it is a factor. But right now I keep coming back to this thought, her being popular in school is great, but it's not going to pay her bills when she gets older if she has a limited education. I think about a friend of mine who always struggled in school, very popular, but now can't get a job to save her life. I don't want my dd to HAVE TO rely on someone else to support her. I am a stay at home mom by choice, but knowing that I could get a job based on knowledge and skills is reassuring. I'm rambling, but just shedding my dim light on the matter.
A friend once told me to make a pro/con list for hsing, and a pro/con list for ps/pvt school. She said fill them out, be realistic as I do it, and see which is longer. For me, the school list had more 'pros'. Lol- so why am I here??:wink: I did actually make those lists, though. It gave me concrete proof of how big or small all the issues involved were, and helped me see clearer.
Is your DD a social kid? Does she want to go because she wants to be with other kids? If that's it, then maybe you can discuss extracurriculars with her. She may not be going to school everyday, but she can see kids at girlscouts, swim lessons, music lessons, sports teams etc. etc. She'll have time for that more if she's NOT in school! Edie
I can understand where you are coming from on this. Last year my girls struggled with wanting to be like the kids down the street. I had to get firm on the issue. They were told that this is what the Lord wanted for our family and that just like you have to obey mommy and daddy we have to obey the Lord. Off and on one will still tell me they want to go to "real school" and I tell them they do, homeschool is a real school. I know that her balking at it isn't because she's homeschooled, she would balk at it if it was public school, she wants to be the one in control. They both are really strong willed, but the one is super strong willed and it can get tough at times. Listen to what the Lord is telling you, that is all you can do and He will take care of the rest.
Sometimes just the number of items on a pro/con list have greater value than others; there isn't a one-one correlation. So making the list can be significant. For instance, a pro list for HS reading: "no bullying, teacher who understands, work at own pace" would trump (IMO) a pro list for public/private school that listed: "great playground equipment, more mommy time alone, learns about the newest fashions, learns how to sit quietly", even though the second has 4 items and the first has 3. KWIM? So even an uneven pro/con list can clarify the importance of the items thereon.
I would hope the school pro/con list would be more serious that that. At least I hope you're being sarcastic. When I did my school pro/con list, I remember putting as pro- will be taught by a real, certified teacher with training I don't have (matters for alot of reasons) will be around her aged peers more often will have opportunities I can't provide here-field trips, activities, programs, extras. For cons, I really had only a few, which makes me ask again- why am I here?? Lol. My cons were- I didn't want the possibility that she'd be compared to her brother, who had such a rough time in school. I didn't want to possibly have the same teachers to deal with. ( They have all left in the meantime, having gone to a new school recently built.) I really don't remember the rest of either list, cause that was forever ago. I've always said, though, that if Jeannie asked to go, and was sincere and consistent about it, sensible and mature about it, I'd send her. Not if she gave me ditzy reasons, but only if I could sense she was serious.
Thanks for all the input on it. She is a very social person and we do have her involved with things- church, gymnastics, pre-school group, story-time. Hubby and I are still talking and praying about it. I'm feeling pullings towards one direction most of the time and hubby is still undecided. We still have time to decide. Thank for the prayers!
I would hope it would be too. However, I was trying to show that some points that might show up have less value than others. And I was trying to come up with lessers for pro-school off the top of my head; frankly, I have a hard time coming up with pros. The only one of those on my list would be the "mommy time alone" - it's a pro, but doesn't rate as highly as the pro-HS stuff. I didn't mean to offend you or imply that yours was made of such fluff. I was just trying to come up with an example of how some points have lesser worth than others. I simply meant that the number of items on a pro/con list does not mean that the section with more pros (or less cons) is the better one. Again, apologies if you took it directly, as I was trying to come up with random examples. SG
Nope, I didn't see it like that at all. I just hoped no on else would put those things on their list for real. The pro list does matter if the items on there are sensible, real possibilities.
Honestly I didn't see a thing wrong with the list Scottiegazelle came up with. Not trying to start an arguement or anything but people have different ways of viewing things. For example for me having my child around only kids her own age would not be a pro but a con on my list and having a certified teachers means doodlysquat to me because I don't need a degree or training to teach my own child. But once again every persons pro or con list will have different items on it and under different catagories. The only pro I can come up with is alone time just like scottiegazelle said. But again.....we are all different. Just wanted to state my POV.
