So, my father thinks I should definitely not homeschool my kids. Well. So what?

I have two kids just finishing 2nd grade -- The Boy is gifted/ADD, The Girl is multi-VE/autistic. Here's what I told him:


"You'd have to see The Boy in the classroom to really understand why I'm considering this. He has weeks where all he wants to do is kick the other kids in the ankle, then he has weeks where all he can do is pace back and forth across the back of the room, and then he has good weeks where he does most of his work except his writing assignments. (He has trouble organizing his thoughts into speech and writing, and he needs help.)

"Three years ago, we started him in the non-gifted kindergarten program at a different elementary school, just to give him another year to get his social skills together before starting first grade. And at the end of 2nd grade, we're still waiting for it to kick in. He doesn't bow to peer pressure or competition. ("That Boy has 200 Reading Counts points -- you'd better get on the ball!") He doesn't value the stickers and medals that the other kids work for. Recognition makes him jumpy and unhappy. We learned a long time ago that big groups of kids make him nervous. He's okay one-on-one, but when they start producing that "puppies in a box" effect, his brain overloads.

"This is not the environment in which he learns best.

"There are no small private schools that a) I can afford or b) have the teachers with the skills/understanding of wacky kids. There are homeschooling clubs in the area that have a weekly meeting with spelling bees, activities, and freeze tag. The YMCA has a homeschooling gym class. He never sees his classmates outside of school, but he sees his best friend usually every weekend.

"The Girl pays no attention to her peers. She's picking up bad behavior from them, and isn't learning her academics. She needs more one-on-one, and she needs more "kinesthetic learning". (Divide the 11 beans into groups of three -- you get 3 groups with 2 beans left over. 11 / 3 = 3 with a remainder of 2.) She needs more read-and-tell reading work. (Come to think of it, The Boy does too.)

"Both of them need to learn to tie their shoes and ride a two-wheeler bike. The Boy and I are going to research and build a seige engine this summer. The Girl and I are going to read Little House in the Big Woods and do, I don't know, something for it. I'll probably also do some math with them. I'll take them to the food co-op "divide up the shipment" work day, keep a weather graph, etc.

"I don't see any other way to get them grown and educated without completely stressing out The Husband and me. School is making us wrecks, and frankly, the kids aren't learning. What would you do?"


The Husband is with me on this, but he's not sure that The Boy and I will refrain from yelling at each other all day. We're both pretty hard-headed.

Either way, I'm starting to feel like I did when I was first pregnant -- alternating between excited and terrified. So, I'm starting to remember what I learned from that experience. Take it easy, don't overthink the process any more than I have to, and get plenty of rest. And don't buy everything I think I'll need. For God's sake -- all you need for a new baby is a blanket, a sock drawer, and diapers.

So, this is what it looks like from the top of the roller coaster...