I have blogged before about my genius son who has ADHD. He has been homeschooled since the very beginning for many reasons. Had he attended public school, I am sure he would have spent a majority of his day in the principal’s office. He cannot sit still to save his life and is constantly fidgeting. Some days he can complete a month’s worth of work and some days he cannot concentrate at all. We knew we were in trouble when he turned two and we had to put poison control’s 1-800 number on our speed dial. When he turned 13, he began trying to convince me with various impressive... more

Today I received the results of my teenage daughter’s achievement test from the public school. If you have been reading for the past few weeks then you already know about the IQ test results. If not, here is the link to read about my surprise at her new IQ despite having FAS. My daughter has been at homeschool with me for the past four years. I removed her from public school for several reasons. I felt they were not trying to challenge her; she was stealing, forging... more

Our daughter just finished the eighth grade, well sort of; she is making up three classes over summer school. She has been attending homeschool for the past four years. We didn’t feel that she was challenged enough in special education. That was part of our decision to homeschool our learning disabled daughter. However, she struggled with stealing, forgery, cheating, and lying at public school as well. I understand these are common problems among children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. However, now we are considering reintroducing her to public school for high school. Public... more

Maybe I’m in a whiney mood today. Maybe it’s because it’s Monday after a holiday weekend, it’s raining and my computer is giving me fits. Or maybe this is the bald-faced truth: I don’t like being a teacher.

For the past nearly two years, I have been LuLu’s elementary school teacher (or now I'm officiall called a learning coach). It is a job for which I was not trained, nor was I expecting to do (and the pay stinks too!). But faced with no other choice but to send her to a place where she would likely have been abused (through restraints... more

I have been running on overload for several weeks now and it is beginning to get to me. You have probably noticed this from the tone of my recent blogs. I am feeling pulled in too many directions. Although it seems that, many of us here at adoptionblogs.com are experiencing similar turmoil this time of year.

We have been homeschooling our children for about 10 years now and the public school has never bothered us, until now. The state... more

A couple of years ago, I decided to go high tech, on the homeschool thing for the teenagers. The amount of time I was spending correcting the teenagers’ schoolwork was cutting into the time I needed to teach the younger children to read, write, and tutor Lyn, our special needs daughter. Concurrently, our curriculum supplier began offering the same material we have been using for 10 years on CD-ROM.

Of course there’s a catch, it makes life so much more frustrating. To use the curriculum on CD-ROM you have to install their database... more

They say your first year of teaching is the roughest. And, given that last year was my first year of teaching LuLu at home (regardless of where she is or isn’t enrolled), I have to say I agree.

Today is the first day of school around here (never mind that temperatures are still triple digit). Kay scurried off early this morning to her first year as a high school junior. And her mom had a couple of moments of stark realization that there will be only one more “first day of school” for her until she’s gone from my home. A sobering way to start a Monday!

But... more

First, verify the laws of your state concerning homeschool. Many states are not regulated, especially if you claim to be homeschooling for religious reasons. Other states have strict laws that you need to adhere to or risk legal repercussions.

It is a good idea to join a homeschool group that has information about the laws of your state and gives you access to resources for your child. Homeschool Legal Defense also offers free legal counsel and assistance... more

Children tend to lose the equivalent of at least one month of educational instruction over their three-month summer break from school. This number was apparently reached by having children take standardized test before they left school in the spring, and when they returned to school in the fall. The comparison of test scores was a research synthesis done in 1996 by Cooper et al.

Children with learning disabilities are already behind their peers academically, and research conducted by Sargent... more

One of the criticisms that is always levied on homeschoolers is that their children do not get the same socialization as children who are sent to school. I listened in as a group of homeschooling moms of special needs kids discussed this over the last few days, and they made some valid points:

1. Not much true socialization is taking place during most school days for any student. When do children get to practice their socialization with their peers – during lunch and recess. In many districts, recess times are dwindling as teachers... more