Would you ever tell your child they are not going to public school, no matter how much they want to? (middle school age)
Yep! I've uttered those very words to my middle school age dd. We've made a lifestyle commitment that INCLUDES homeschooling. My commitment and values aren't going to change just because she misses her friends..lol.
I have said it to my oldest. He is the reason that we are homeschooling. He proved that he could not handle the responsibilities of public high school and this was his last resort.
Yes I would and have said it to my 12 year old ds who was in ps for 4 years and, God willing, he will never go back. Jane
I have made it clear to mine that he could not handle school before and nothing has changed there. He will continue to home school.
I don[t know if I'd use those words, but that's the idea we try to put across. The reason I wouldn't use those exact words - what if, God forbid, something happened to me or my husband and despite our best efforts, it turned out we had to put the kids into school in order to work or for some other reason? Hoenstly, that would be my absolute last resort, but saying "never" just feels like tempting fate.
I'm asking because my now almost 7 grader really wants to go next year because she wants friends. I really don't want her to go until 9th grade. I'm not sure "friends" are enough of a reason to completely change all of our lives. (I have a ds who is currently in 3rd grade who has no desire to go)
We've always given our kids the option in high school whether or not they wanted to attend public school and they always wanted to continue homeschooling. :lolerhaps in the back of our minds we always knew they wanted to homeschool so saying no to ps school was never an issue.
Depends on what kind of friends and activities you want her to be involved with. The "friends" made in school CAN be good, but they can also be a source of stress and sorrow with their snitty ways and temptations to do things that they shouldn't, with the peer pressure! It's not an option for my kids in middle school. I'd prefer to homeschool them all the way through highschool. My oldest plateaued and needed something else. Personally I think that was a God thing, since he's learned Spanish by immersion with friends at school, and has a whole new life direction now, that he wouldn't have gotten otherwise. It's a work-study program, with lots of local outreach, and mission trips in March of every year. He's in a choir and loves that. So for him it's worked well. But he's in a Christian school, which, though certainly not perfect, has been much better than the local public schools! Even at that, he didn't go until he was a junior in Highschool. My 2nd one will be in 10th grade next year, and will be homeschooled at least next year, maybe the rest of the way through highschool. My dd is in 6th grade, and it's absolutely not an option for her to go to public school! None of them has ever really wanted to go to ps or other school, though, so mostly this absolutely not, is in my mind! Of course when making these decisions, we do tell the kids that if something major happens and we have to put them in school, then so be it (but we will look for the best school we can, not just put them in any public school!). But while we have the ability to homeschool, we will!
Our kids were previously in a Dept of Defense school in Kentucky and it was a good fit for our family at the time. Now that we're homeschooling in Virginia, they know that barring anything unexpected, that ps is not an option here. There are several good Christian schools and if we did decide to send one (or more) out to school, we'd definitely prefer those. The local public middle school is really not an option ever. High school....maybe...but only the gifted magnet type programs would be worth it and I'd prefer to bypass those as well
Here in NY, if you want your child to attend high school, you have to put them in in 9th grade. They won't allow them to go back in 10th-12th because they say there is no way they can get all their credits. So, its back to school in 9th or homeschool for the duration. (well, you can put them back in 10th or up but they put them back in 9th grade studies)
I have always said that if Jeannie really, truly wants to try school, she can. I can tell when she's for real about something or if it's just a passing thing.
I've never said "never" for the same reasons listed earlier...if there is some situation where we would HAVE to put them in school, I don't want the expectation there. We want to hs through high school, including the kids. They've never expressed a desire to return to public schools. That being said, with this economy and dh's unemployment for the last 6 months, I may have to return to teaching in the fall (unwillingly). We'll do what we can to continue hs-ing, but who knows.... Carol
That's no longer an option for me, even if I wanted to. I certification has expired. I guess homeschooling doesn't count toward keeping it up to date, lol!
It's funny - my son looked at me with a horrified expression the other day saying... "I'm here through high school.... right?!?!" He does not want to go back. Funny thing it is.... he complains about not enough friends, the work, the extra chores... but does NOT want to go back to school. But I have said at this point... "God willing you will be here until you are through"
My kids know that public school would be an absolute last resort for us. If for some reason, we can't continue to homeschool, we'd choose a Christian private school. The oldest doesn't want to go back to school, ever. My youngest often says he wants to, but I honestly believe that's because his memories of school are just from pre-K: lots of playtime with very little learning. He doesn't believe us when we say that it's not all fun and games in first grade! LOL I just can't imagine there being a scenario that we would choose public school. Even if we're dead broke, we can most likely find a way to HS.
My dd12 will be giong back to school in the fall for 8th grade. I thought we'd wait until high school but honestly I think this will be the best thing for her. We found out that she will be able to get two high school credits in 8th grade. So a lot goes on in 8th grade that prepares them for high school such as possible high school credits, pre ap classes and sports teams. The main reason we decided to send her back (after much prayer and discusion with her and my hubby) is because she wants to dance on the drill team and play sports like soccer and basketball - or at least try out for the team. She also tested in honors classes which is pre ap which will lead to full college prep ap classes in high school. I honestly can not imagine myself ever telling my child no never absolutely not. She has a desire to go back and a desire to participate in clubs and sports. She is at the age where her opinion counts too and I will always take that into consideration when making a decision.
Tiffany - some of those reasons are the same for my daughter. She wants to be in sports and take spanish, which can give her a high school credit. My original plans, though, was to have her take an online Spanish course next year at home and she can still take the spanish equivalency test at the end of 7th grade at the school. It would still give her the credit for high school. Oh, decisions, decisions...
