Homeschool or Public School?

Just for starters ... let me touch on that socialization issue (yes I know you said forget it ...) .. a child, placed into a large group of nothing but his/her own age children with poor supervision, (then told to shut up and sit down) is NOT being socialized!! Ok .. moving on ... First thing I would suggest you do is check into your state regulations. This can be done easily at www.hslda.org/laws/ . Once you do that it would be a good idea to check around in your local area and find a support group. If you are unable to find a local one (or even if you do!) I would also suggest you look online as there are TONS of groups (like yahoo groups) that can help you out. Now .. a little more practical here ... YES you can do this as a single mother! It isn't easy .. but I know you can ... how do I know this? Well .. because I am doing it! I am a single mother, with three boys, all have "issues" from developmental delays (not diagnosed otherwise) to my oldest who is on the autistic spectrum (Aspegers) to some sensory issues with my youngest, etc. My youngest two are both on SSI payments (over $600/mth each), which allows me to stay home with them. It isn't a lot of money, but we make do. If you check with your local Social Security office you might find some help there as well. You are so right that the public school system is just NOT the best place for most children, particularly special needs children! From what I have heard from others fighting the school system does not work, and is even more work then just teaching them yourself would be! Kudos to you for realizing that YOU are the person who knows them best, and I am sure you would do a great job teaching them! I am using a lot of free stuff off the internet, as well as curriculum, most of which I have bought used online. Feel free to add me as a friend if you wanna talk more, or even send me a yim or msn messnger id if you are on either. Best to you as you endeavor to do whats right for YOUR children! ~Rachel

I'm homeschooling a special needs child. Her issues are all medical, not cognitive, she's immune compromised and was getting recurrent staph infections in public school. I don't have much money but we've managed to make do. I'm using the Charlotte Mason curriculum from Ambleside online, and have a membership to enchanted learning for lesson ideas and worksheets, craft projects, etc. I also joined the homeschool buyers coop and get amazing prices on things. We also use the public library a lot.

I am all for homeschooling, not just for special needs children, but for any children whose parents are capable of doing so. Our public schools are not doing our kids any good. The kids are stressed out from being expected to learn too much, too soon. Twenty years ago, my friend who was studying to be a preschool teacher was taught not to push 3 and 4 year olds into reading because they would be bored in school while the rest of the kids their age were still learning. Now parents are being pressured to start them learning to read as early as possible. In my opinion, that is part of the reason they act out in school so much nowadays. Kids learn a lot from unstructured play time. You are in a tough spot, being a single mom. You seem to write well, I would recommend that you consider doing some free-lance writing. Especially since you have special-needs children who will give you experience to write about these types of problems, you might find you can be a great help to others. I wish you all the best! If you are interested in writing, check out: http://www.associatedcontent.com/join.html?refer=44927 http://www.constant-content.com/?aref=8083

Your first step really needs to be finding a job you can work at from home. Hopefully you can find something that would allow you to still keep the kids at home as well. A lot of the telecommuting jobs want you to have no children at home with you which makes it a lot harder to do with kids at home. Freelance writing and other similar careers all allow you to work from home with your kids (mine are at a table behind me doing their school work while I work.) Your next step is to start looking for materials that you want to use based off what you like, and what you think will work best for your child. Then start budget shopping. I'm using Saxon math for my kids, which is a great program but VERY expensive. For the complete kits they run about $95 dollars then I can purchase the additional materials for my second child for about $35. I was able to get the materials for the 1st grade kit for only $60 on e-bay. Look around for deals like this to help you cut costs because with working at home and homeschooling you will need to cut corners anywhere you can without hurting your child's education. Good luck!

sounds true and it is of course we are the first teacher of our children... but even then since your child is special she needs a trained one for the job...but if you think you can handle it it is of great..you dont need one i guess..

I don't advise teaching your kids all by yourself because you tend to spoil them and overreact over a lot of things. I planned to homeschool my regular kid when she was 3 years old but ended up arguing over what to do. Of course, you would want to be the hands-on trainer for your children but there are instances when additional help are necessary to obtain their optimum development. Also autism has socialproblems and being included in a small group, and eventuallu to the community is of great help. I dont think homeschooling is that expensive especially if you intend to do it on your own. There lots of books, some have even worksheets incorporated in it but it is better if you will be making your own lesson plans, visual aids, assessment materials, etc based on the progress of your child.Just don't get frustrated when trying to teach your kids and they havent't fully grasp it after a few try. Its really stressful but it is worth a try.