We have just moved to Indiana (where my husband I both grew up) & my daughter started the third grade. This is the first six weeks and I sent notes to her teacher regarding her disability so that she could give her the modifications that she needed. Well, she hasn’t even been in a resource class or given hardly any modifications. On her report card was all D’s. The teacher graded her “handwriting” below because she can’t write cursive. They were taught that in 2nd grade here, she was barely exposed to it in her last school. I spoke to her resource teacher in our IEP meeting and she doesn’t want to work on my daughters strengths of sounding out words, but build on having a sight vocabulary. She is dylexic and sounding out words helps her know them by sight. I tried to explain that, but not with much success. During the meeting I was speaking to an Occupational Teacher and the resource teacher and her regular class teacher were covering the mouths so I couldn’t see what they were saying and rolling their eyes while I was talking (I know this because my husband came with me and watched them). I am very disappointed with this school. I thought coming here would be better, but it turned out to be much much worse. I want to start homeschooling her. I am going to give her probably until the end of this semester and if the grades do not come up then I am going to do it. She got A’s, B’s, and C’s in her last school with modifications. I am a little overwhelmed with the prospect of homeschooling. Where do I begin? I really don’t have any support. My in-laws do not think I’m “smart enough” to do it, even tho I do have a background in preschool education and I had gone to college for elementary education (but couldn’t complete it because my son got very sick). I know I could do it, but then again I have doubts. I already stay home so that my daughter will know that I am here for her and I get a lot of grief about that from family members. I spend 2 to 4 hours on homework, plus an additional 1 1/2 hrs. before school every day working with her. I already feel like I”m homeschooling her!” Any imput I could get would be great. I’m ready to take that first step, but I’m not sure where it will land me! Thanks, Jenna
Hop(e) on board!
You’re exactly right — you’vebeen homeschooling her already with all that work on homework. The big difference is you’ve had the teachers decide what she should be doing… part blessing, part curse. Especially for kids with dyslexia, figuring out just what is really appropriate is something of a challenge. Not as big a challenge, though, with resources like the Internet — most school systems have their curriculum online somewhere and you can pick and choose what will work for yours — or you can do your own thing completely!
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8259/how.html is a neat summary on what to do to get started. I’d suggest getting a binder or three — or whatever you do when you’re going to take on a big project. Gather resources and organize them there (get some of those manila dividers with tabs so you can print out things like “support groups” “lists of places to get materials” “curriculum” — or whatever angles you’re exploring. Make a schedule and a plan for yourself for getting prepared and then following through. (Maybe you don’t need this kind of advice — I would though. Without setting myself a schedule it would suddenly be 2003 and I would still be “Thinking about homeschooling” — and my kiddo would have been dealing with the consequences.)
There’s more educational stuff and links for the dyslexia angle at my site — http://www.resourceroom.net . Go to Links for some really good “homeschooling LD kids” articles from people who’ve been there. It includes some of the questions you can ask yourself to objectively decide whether or not you’ve got what it takes to do it.
Support in the house would be wonderful… but at least there is some support through the electrons out here :-) There are also support groups everywhere, though you *do* have to make sure they will be supportive to *you.* Groups always take on a personality of their own ;))
I’m sure other folks will chip in with encouragement here… I’m just a former public school and private school teacher (now working w/ college LD kids), and I know there are too many schools out there that are simply, unfortunately toxic to some kids.
Re: Lots of us homeschool now
for the same reasons you cite. Believe me, your daughter will be much better off with you!
There are homeschooling boards at http://www.vegsource.com that are a wonderful source of support and information. I highly recommend them.
Your best first move is to join one of your state’s homeschooling organizations. Every state has at least one, and most have several. I found ours by going to http://www.metacrawler.com and searching for “homeschooling Minnesota”. It costs very little to join one of these organizations, and they typically will provide you with a homeschooling packet of information to get you started. Also, many of them run telephone “hot” lines where you can call and leave a message, and a knowledgeable homeschooler will get back to you with the information you need. Many also run workshops once or twice a year with classes for people who want to start homeschooling.
The book “Reading Reflex” is $16 at most bookstores and is the single best homeschooling investment I ever made. It is written for parents who want to tutor a child in reading, and it contains a very efficient methodology for teaching decoding skills (and you, by the way, are absolutely right about the need for sounding out words, not memorizing them!). That’s where I would start in terms of curriculum materials.
A wonderful information resource is the printed catalog from Rainbow Resource. Go to their online store (http://www.rainbowresource.com) and email a request for a copy. It will give you some idea of the vast wealth of homeschooling resources available to you.
Don’t wait too long to pull your daughter out. Her self-esteem is probably taking a beating with those grades, and she may be suffering more stress at school than you realize. Homeschooling comes as a relief to most children in this situation. It’s a lot easier to learn one-on-one with an interested adult who hand-picks curriculum materials to suit your needs, which means it also becomes a lot easier to be successful as a student.
Mary
Re: My daughter just got her report card
Hi Jenna. A lot of your message really reminds me of why I began homeschooling my second grade son. His first grade teacher had asked me to work with him on math and handwriting, and I was already helping him with reading (as they had threatened to hold him back in Kindergarten). Then at the IEP meeting we went to last year, they suggested I “preteach” him what he was about to be learning in school. That’s when I started to think I would be homeschooling him anyway at that point, and pulling him out of school would give him some fun “kid” time that he wasn’t getting. It sounds like you are already homeschooling for about 4 hours, and that’s about what I do: about 5 hours a day Monday through Friday (and that includes Soccer and Boy Scouts). I wouldn’t be worried about your ability to start homeschooling. For one thing it sounds like you already are. And I hate to say it but I think degrees are slightly overrated. I received my Master’s degree in Elementary Education 3 years ago, but I have learned SO much more since checking out books on homeschooling, teaching dyslexic children, etc, . And I think a parent really gets to know how best their child learns.
I remember how terrified I was when I made the decision to homeschool. Some friends & family were not too happy when I mentioned I was thinking about doing it, but once we decided to go for it everyone has been amazingly supportive.
Good luck with everything. Feel free to e-mail me if you want any book suggestions; I’ve read tons of books in the last year!
Karen
Re: My daughter just got her report card
You sound sooooo ready to homeschool! Go for it. I can assure you, that a great homeschooling parent has plenty of patience, and a willingness to spend lots of time w/children. Success w/homeschooling has nothing to do with college degrees. I have a master’s degree, and nothing I did for that degree has helped me become a better homeschooling mom. I have a friend with only a h.s. degree, and she is a MUCH better homeschooling mom than I am. She relates better to her children, with more compassion and understanding, where as I lose it sometimes, and wonder how I got into this! Good luck! I am starting to think that my dd is dyslexic (3rd gr.) which is why I hang around at this board, looking for information, and reading the articles. I am learning a lot here, but sorry, I can’t help you that much (yet). But, I wanted to encourage you.
Re: My daughter just got her report card
If I listened to my in-laws and ex in-laws, or even my own parents, my son would be in 4th grade not being able to read. In my case, it was not a decision to homeschool but to treat ADHD with medication. Nobody can possibly know your child as well as you do, and like has been pointed out-you are homeschooling already.
Trust yourself and not those who put you down. I cannot believe someone would have the nerve to say that you weren’t intelligent enough.
The other option, if you have the energy, is Due Process. Maybe you shoud talk to a lawyer in your area. I learned with my stepdaughter that SpEd Lawyers are willing to consult for a cheap (sometimes non-existent fee) and let you know where you stand.
Good Luck.
You’re exactly right — you’vebeen homeschooling her already with all that work on homework. The big difference is you’ve had the teachers decide what she should be doing… part blessing, part curse. Especially for kids with dyslexia, figuring out just what is really appropriate is something of a challenge. Seems you know more than the school folks about that, though.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8259/how.html is a neat summary on what to do to get started. I’d suggest getting a binder or three — or whatever you do when you’re going to take on a big project. Gather resources and organize them there (get some of those manila dividers with tabs so you can print out things like “support groups” “lists of places to get materials” “curriculum” — or whatever angles you’re exploring. Make a schedule and a plan for yourself for getting prepared and then following through. (Maybe you don’t need this kind of advice — I would though. Without setting myself a schedule it would suddenly be 2003 and I would still be “Thinking about homeschooling” — and my kiddo would have been dealing with the consequences.)
There’s more educational stuff and links for the dyslexia angle at my site — http://www.resourceroom.net . Go to Links for some really good “homeschooling LD kids” articles from people who’ve been there. It includes some of the questions you can ask yourself to objectively decide whether or not you’ve got what it takes to do it.
Support in the house would be wonderful… but at least there is some support through the electrons out here :-) There are also support groups everywhere, though you *do* have to make sure they will be supportive to *you.* Groups always take on a personality of their own ;))
I’m sure other folks will chip in with encouragement here… I’m just a former public school and private school teacher (now working w/ college LD kids), and I know there are too many schools out there that are simply, unfortunately toxic to some kids.