My son isn't well enough to go to public school everyday after just having a Bi-lateral Craniotomy. I've been home from work w/him since his surgery & since that time he has caught a virus & contracted a sinus infection which he is still on antibiotics for. Of course the school is giving me a hard time about his irregular attendance, so I have set up a meeting w/the school & his regular dr. for Oct 3rd.
In the meantime, I have decided to homeschool him, because he has already missed 2wks of school due to this illness & because of his recovery. I want to make sure that I'm going about this the right way. So if there is anyone who can offer any advice, I would really appreciate it. I want to make sure I order the right books, etc.
First and foremost in my mind is my son's health & that he recovers properly from this surgery, however I also want him to go forth with his education and not to be delayed or fall behind.
Any assistance is appreciated.
2007-09-22T15:40:58Z
My son will be 14 in Nov. and he is in the 7th grade. I understand I missed some important facts before. I'm sorry.
I actually have my educational plan finished now (just barely). I hope it is well writen & covers the right materials. I've spoke to the Dept. of Ed/Homeschooling Div. & I need to file next week. The only thing I'm missing is a Special Ed eval., which I plan to get the beginning of the week.
At this point I'm just looking for good, supportive materials.
John S2007-09-22T09:24:02Z
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You have my sympathies for the challenges you and your son face. Somehow, I just know you're going to get through them. I'm not psychic or anything, but there's a resolve and matter-of-factness about your question that gives me hope for you.
Almost regardless of where you live, there are many resources available. The best tend to be support groups and cooperatives. If you know anyone locally that homeschools, this is a good way to get plugged in.
You don't say how old he is, or where you live. Both of these are important, because the requirements vary from state to state, and even within states some places. You may just be able to pull him out and have no accountability, or you may have to go through the school district and be accountable for their pace and presentation of material, and possibly even for attendance.
One of the great things about homeschooling is that it's well suited to a situation like yours. Because of your son's health challenges, you have the flexibility to catch up when he's better, and take it easier if he has a setback, during his recovery. The more closely you're tied to the school, the more you risk giving up those benefits, so it's a tradeoff.
As far as dealing with the school officials, it's critical that you know your rights going into your Oct. 3 meeting. What is the school district's policy on homeschooling? What is the actual state law where you live? A phone call with a local attorney knowledgable about this area would be a good idea. Failing that, I'd find someone who's already homeschooling and learn from them what the legal requirements are. That way the school officials can't push you around if they're so inclined.
And even before any of that, I've learned from years of dealing with schools and related authorities, that the best strategy is a collaborative one. Go into the meeting prepared, and with the knowledge that your son's education is the principal thing both you and they want. You're there to work with them to find solutions. But also keep in mind that their motives are, in fact, mixed. This may sound cynical, but it's important to remember that most school districts get state money based on attendance. If your son is not in school, they don't get paid. If you withdraw him entirely, they don't get paid for him any more at all. If, on the other hand, they have any kind of home study program, and if you're willing to work with them on that basis, then you'll probably find them to be more cooperative, since they'll get paid something for his enrollment in that program.
Start with hslda. They help you with the laws then talk to the school tell them what you want to do and why. They may even help you out by giving you the books you need if you plan on sending him back to school later in the year. There are laws that protect you and your son while he is recovering. Another thing is talk to his teacher she may be willing to give youall the work he should be doing in school each week and you should be able to get a tutor from the school for at least the testing if they won't let you do it. My daughter underwent a surgery a couple of years ago and missed a few weeks of school to recover but at the time they were threatening to fail her because she had missed so much school. The teacher sent home all of her work for while she was out and I just dropped it off at the end of the week. I also tested her when she was supposed to be and the school accepted it and passed her. Your mind is exactly where it should be on the recovery of your son and his health and every little infection he can pick up in school will only lengthen his recovery so keeping him home for a while is essential! Good Luck and God Bless you and your son!
If you don't plan on homeschooling him very long I wouldn't purchase any books. If you were to homeschool him the rest of the year it would be well worth it, but if it wouldn't be that long it wouldn't be a wise investment (at least in my opinion).
Talk it over with him. Like you said you don't want him to be delayed or fall behind so make sure you talk it over with him about what kind of homeschooling he wants to do. He could do just regular book learning, but there are also online schools he could attend from home. There are also other programs that you could check out..so my first advice would be to look them over and see what kind of homeschooling will work best for him (first and foremost) but one that will work well for you too, being that you're the teacher.
If you decide to use just regular work books like a regular school would, then your next step would be to find the curriculum that would work best for him. You can even mix and match if it's neccessary. For instance I use mainly A Beka but their Algebra sucks..so I use a different brand of math. That's the great thing about homeschooling is that you can find what suits you best.
Anyway, I hope that helps and I hope whatever you decide works out well :-)
List his grade level. Many suggestions for curriculum will be grade dependent.
If he is in early elementary, I would begin first with getting him into his math and reading curriculum, but wait until his strength is up before bringing him up to a full schedule. You could perhaps read or play recordings of good historical fiction for some history during this recovery time if for nothing more than to keep his mind occupied while he is resting. My kids loved the Your Story Hour tapes when they were young. If you get the history oriented sets, they pack a lot of history in to the story. G. A. Henty has written a plethora of exciting history stories with youths as the main characters. His stories are now out of print, so you can access them free from Project Gutenberg - http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/h . If you don't have time to read them, try to find a recording.
For when your son has gotten his strength up, try browsing the Lifetime Books and Gifts website for curriculum. This business is run by homeschoolers and they have a very large collection with great descriptions of each item.
Hi I haven't been homeschooling long but I use" Math u see" for Math, Lots of reading both fiction and non fiction for English and a couple of those grammar and vocabulary books you get from bookstores, everything else I use library resources and I have joined some very good home school, group learning network.
The best thing I have gone is to relax and keep it simple, have fun with it.