Homeschooling

by Briklyn

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  I wanted to share my experience with homeschooling. My son was struggling in public school and then in private school. After testing from both sources didn't give me any answers. I began to research learning disabilities.  I found a couple of possibilities and made an appointment with a large psychiatric hospital for an evaluation.

  It turned out that both schools had missed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Developmental Math Disorders.  With these bad experiences and a child who had begun to exhibit emotional problems due to always failing at school, I decided to homeschool. I found some local homeschoolers and asked questions about what the requirements were. In PA you have to have a schooling plan with outcomes by August turned into the administration office. I got most of my information from the text books I used. The local school I dealt with was very helpful and encouraging. They gave me all of the books I needed to use. You can also get complete curricula from various sources.

  You also need a teacher to evaluate the portfolio at the end of the school year. The portfolio contains school work, pictures, etc. to prove you completed what you said you were going to, and very, very important, it includes a schedule of all of the hours you spent and on what subject.

  We needed a special education teacher because of the disabilities. The evaluator (teacher) writes a letter approving your work. You then meet with the school principal. He reviews your portfolio and the letter and then gives your child credit for that school year. We homeschooled from 8th to 11th grade. Overall it was a positive experience. My son went to a small private school and then to the public school to graduate. This was his choice. Homeschooling really took the pressure off of him and allowed him to relax and learn. I always tried to keep my son involved in other activities so that he had the social interaction he needed too. If I had it to do over again, I would homeschool for the early grades especially.

 
Briklyn
 
Lord help me to be the person my dog thinks I am.