So right! The past two days have been a dream! He's learned a thumbnail bit of geography (agricultural and industrial products, attractions like the Grand Canyon or Mt. St. Helens, and fun facts, for example) about all 50 states and finished memorizing them by shape (his choice). He's doing math well and without complaint. He's really enjoying his reading of "Old Yeller." He's writing tongue twisters.

I feel like he was really getting something out of school this week. Some weeks I feel like I'm doing a crummy job, but other weeks I feel like this has been the best thing ever! This was a "best thing ever" week!

Oh Kriston, I also LOVE school weeks like that. Why don't they come more often???
I love when they are getting into the car and start talking through each other : "listen, we did this, and Ms. so and so had this great idea, and I found this coolest book ever, and I learned this about France, and so on and so on..."

Well, if DS were in a school building with someone else teaching him, then I wouldn't know why those weeks don't come more often. But since I'm home schooling my DS, I know EXACTLY why they don't come when they don't! I think that intimate knowledge of weeks gone awry is more painful then the wishing it were different from afar!

Pros and cons of home schooling, I suppose. At least I have some measure of control over whether it's a good learning week or a bad one!

"Pros and cons of home schooling, I suppose. At least I have some measure of control over whether it's a good learning week or a bad one!"

Absolutely.

Kriston, I'm beginning to think I have been spending more time advocating at school than I would on teaching at home.

It's starting to become ridiculous.

I

That's precisely why we're where we are! Between all the time I was going to spend making DS do dumb, easy homework and all the time I was going to spend advocating (badly), it just didn't seem to make good sense to stay in that school!

So where does that leave you, 'Neato? What are you thinking?

That is exactly where we are Kriston and 'Neato. I feel like we are just spinning our wheels at our current school and neither my husband or I are particularly good at pushing hard and advocating. It gets so exhausting jumping through hoops for a school that won't meet us half way. They've dropped the ball on almost everything I've talked them into. Not to mention, some size and disciplary problems in DS's class right now. I feel like for us to be succssful, we need a school that will meet us half way and be used to dealing with these situations. Or we need to homeschool (which is defintely what we're researching hard right now).

Anyway 'Neato, do tell us how it is going!

Anything I can do to help you, Kim?

I certainly can't blame you for being sick and tired of all those problems!

Thanks Kriston! Actually, just hearing a homeschool on the fly success story is very encouraging!

Maybe DS is just more GT than we've been telling ourselves (continued GT denial)? Anyway - thanks for allowing me that vent. May be looking for more home school wisdom as time goes on here! We are debating finishing out the year. DS is really quite happy socially right now even though he's not learning anything.

Okay, I'm back. Had to get the little monsters bathed and ready for school in the morning.

Well, things aren't going so well. DD7's everday extra pullout is supposed to start back up Monday, so that is good. In the last three weeks all the emotional problems at home have cropped back up. She finally admitted it has more to do with the fact that she really doesn't like doing work she already knows.
I asked her to tell the teacher and she was afraid. She was nervous because she doesn't want to teacher to be mad at her.
I wanted the teacher to hear it from her, so they know this stuff isn't coming from me. DD7 actually told me what her teacher would say to her if she complained. I told her to nicely ask the teacher to test her on the material to demonstrate that she knows it and then she could move on to new material.
DD7 was so cute, she said, "Well that doesn't sound too bad, it might just work."
Anyway, the teacher was having a bad day and didn't handle it too well.
In her defense, she knew it and sent an apology e-mail and will speak to DD again this week.
I won't post it, but I think my response was pretty effective and would PM it to anyone interested.

The saga continues................

Then there is HG DD5 or C-dog as I like to call her in the forum.
She was happy up until a month ago, or so "learning how to do school". Well that gig is up, and K hasn't had the enrichment teacher at all for the same reason older sister's class didn't.
C-dog has been crying everyday when I pick her up. She says she doesn't want to go to school. There was at least one day that teacher told me her behavior was bad. Another mom reported that on another day she saw her remanded to her desk with another boy during story time. She was crying one day and told me she was the dumbest one in class????????????
She knows she's not, I'm not sure what the deal is. She sees the child psychologist who tested her twice a month, because I want her to have help with OE's and it's going really well.
We agreed that a gradeskip would help her, but I don't think the school is going to go for it. I have a call in to the principal. I'm sure they are so looking forward to talking to me again! Will probably ask for the school psych to get involved and hope he will see what we see and be open to recommending a grade skip.

You know, I thought we had things on a good path, but I'm starting to wonder if we can ever expect anything to run smoothly. I'm not giving up yet, but wow, I'm worn down.

Incog

Oh, I'm so sorry! That all sounds perfectly awful! No wonder you're feeling worn out and fed up.

Anything we can do to help?