# What was I thinking!



## JuliaM (Oct 15, 2006)

Hi all, I have been lingering around here for a bit, reading some post, checking out the favorite places for homeschooling supplies. Thought I was ready....now I am second guessing myself and I really don't want to fail my son!
I am a stay at home mom, raising/raised 5 wonderful boys. 2 have long since graduated, 2 I homeschooled while in Okinawa for 3 yrs k-3rd, which are now in HS, and last but not least my 8 yr old. I should have followed my gut along time ago, we started him here in puplic school in K, so he was in public school for 3 yrs, last year being the worst, even though he loved his teacher. Every yr, we have fought with him coming down sick, his body hurting, so much so last yr, he was sick for 3 mths, then finally put into the hospital to run test and such, coming back with nothing wrong!!!! He would at least 4 xs durring each yr come down with croop...all his teacher would try and make his enviroment as clean and safe as they could...even the janitors were not to come in that teachers room and clean with their cleaning supplies. I did the same here at home.
Well, he was so excited to start this year and I was so happy to see him this way...the first Monday, I picked him up, he was VERY quiet. Asked how his day went....NOT GOOD, she is mean, so we talked, I explained that it was the first day, to see if he could waite and see how it goes. Well not good! He wouldn't cry going to school, it was after school. I contacted her through email, written letters, contacted the principle (who was new and didn't know me or my son) tried calling and the secretary at the school does know me...along with other teachers and they all know when it comes to my kids...I better get a response quickly. Well on Thursday, 1 week ago, he got in the truck, his nose was all red, right on the tip, his eyes were all swollen...I knew he had been crying, I asked what happened...He had gotten in trouble for talking, she made him stand on the wall with his nose against it....I was so upset and mad...I turned around, went into the office, the secretary saw me coming and called the teacher, asked her if she had time for me...I told her, she didn't have a choice, off I went down the hall and his teacher from last year saw me coming, she knew I was mad and told me to breath, his new teacher was standing at the door, her first words to me were...I haven't forgotten you, you are on my to do list......grrrrrr. Told her that was another problem, but I was there wanting to know WHY she had him stand against the wall and WHY she had him do it for so long...she said she he was to only stand next to the wall facing it, about 6 inches off...well I had heard she had done this several times last year to other children...I told her she was NEVER to have him do that again! That I didn't want him standing against a wall where other children had stood and could have been possibly sick and spreading the germs around. Asked her when she was gonna let me know he had gotten in trouble...she told me I would have found out on the following Tuesday, when reports came out?? I told her, nope, when and if he got into trouble I was to be contacted that day, even though he knows, he better tell me the day he does....which is not often that he got into trouble. Anyway, one thing has lead to another, he started coming in saying his body was hurting again, could hardly walk, even ended up in the nurses office. She knows him too. The next day, we pulled him from school. I already had some supplies, looked into the Texas laws about schooling. The school thought I was pulling him because he had been sick so much before, told them that was part, but most of all, I had given him a spelling test on paper...he failed!!! He couldn't spell any of the words, but he can read. He had gotten his first spelling list, on the instructions she sent home it said, to have them either pound out the words, clap out or something else, no writing? When I asked her about this she said they were getting ready for the TAS testing, that they only needed to beable to know the words by sight!!! Fill in the little dot, so I asked her when they were going to teach them how to write it...she just looked at me!!! Another reason I pulled him out.
Well now I feel like I have failed. He tries hard, but isn't getting it, or so it seems to me. We have been studing everyday, went and bought the Lifepac 3 grade levels of language and Math, he is so struggling, no wonder he was hurting so much. I just don't understand how he made it to the 3 grade, how I let this happen! He doesn't know his sounds! I picked up a 1-2 phonics book, we just aren't connecting. I even had him sit at the computer and put the dvd in of the phonics, I thought he was doing good, but then I realized, that is sight, even though it was saying the words and he would check himself, then when he doesn't get it right he cries, I tell him it's ok, that is why he is with me so we can work together on it. Then his math...he is adding 2 diget numbers and he is doing it from the left to right, I asked him why he was, he said cause his teachers taught him to!!! 
I don't know! I am lost, I don't want to frustrate him more! I did call one homeschooling group, the woman there said to start him back in the 1st grade, that no one would know and he would fly through all of that.., plus she said there were a number of children his age dropping school to be homeschooled....so I am tried that going back over the 1 grade, then he says...I already know that, but when I ask him to do it..he really doesn't! 
I don't know what I am asking...I am frustrated! How long do you all study, on each subject? I know some he is getting. He didn't even know what a noun was! He can't write out a sentence. How can I help him!
He picked up a science book "Investigating God's World" ABeka book, 3rd edition, it was on the .50 table, I told him maybe we should waite for that one, but hubby said it is only .50, let him get it, so we did, on the way home I heard him reading it.....he had taken it out and was reading. How do I get past what his teachers have taught him! When he says "my teachers do this or that" then he tries to do it their way and it is wrong, no always, but for the most part. Then when he pronouns something, he spells it on paper the way he hears it and it is wrong, but he spells it right. Am I missing something? Ok, now I am thinking through my fingers....Thanks, if you took the time to read this and have alittle time for some suport my way....I would so appreciate it...


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

You poor thing! I can feel your frustration through your post.

You said that your son had lots of tests in the hospital. I'm assuming they did allergy tests, right? How about food and additive allergies?

Do you know what kind of learner you son is (visual, auditory, tactile)? Once you figure that out, you will be able to help and teach him much more efficiently.

The most important thing, I believe, is to relax. When we are stressed out, our kids get stressed out too. It's hard to learn anything when you're stressed out.

I'm sure some of the fine folks on this board will come along and offer some great advice soon!


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## foaly (Jan 14, 2008)

I agree with what Mammabooh said. I can feel your frustration.

Your sweet boy sounds burned out already, just like you do. Have you considered just letting him de-school a bit? Maybe you could spend a few weeks just reading to him, coloring, playing, doing some things that he enjoys to give him (and you) a chance to unwind. Then, you could gradually begin starting back to a regular academic schedule a little bit at a time. As MB also said, figuring out how he learns will also be most helpful.

As an aside, my DS9 "hates" schoolwork and turned himself invisible yesterday to avoid it.  However, he is certainly pleased to be able to show me that he can read and flies through his math at lightning speed. My boy regularly tells me he can't read but he's just inherently lazy and would rather have me read to him. We all have our days, don't we?

Our children are all distinct individuals with their own wants and needs. Clearly, public school isn't giving your son what he needs but I know you can. You have his best interest at heart and no one cares more for him than you do.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

calm down...... deep breath.....calm

He is young enough that this will be OK. You can start with no learning at this time, and it would still be OK. He will learn at his pace on his schedule. But you have to stay calm.
Go to the library and read books by Dr. Raymond Moore. Better Late than Early is the best one to start with for your situation.
Here's a link to the Moore Academy
http://www.moorefoundation.com/article.php?id=5

Look through their site, and see what types of products they use. Games, fun learning type books, unit studies, etc. Not all kids do well with simply pencil/paper type learning. There are dozens of ways to learn, not just pencil and paper.

Another couple of good links are
http://www.timberdoodle.com/
and
http://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/start/rmain.asp

The main thing you need to realize is that each child is different. Each child has special needs in one way or another. And sometimes kids need a curriculum that allows for movement, hands on learning, and time to gain readiness. That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the child. It's just the way God made him. So let him bloom at his pace with his fragrance.


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## JuliaM (Oct 15, 2006)

Thank you so much ladies! Your suport is so wonderful to have!
Thank you too, for the links, I will head that way and check things out. This morning, this are set back, our little donkey was lame and being she is new I was taking my time in her training, so handling her hasn't even started. So I spent most of my morning taking care of her, he was so worried about her! 
I was thinking the samething, just taking a break, read, play games and just hangout together, then just slip things in here and there. Until he is ready to start or maybe he will start and not even realize he is.
One day at a time! Yes, I forgot to breath! My emotions took ahold of me, One of my older boys fell through the public schools cracks and I refuse to let that happen again. The 2 still in school I stay ontop of their grades and I am always asking questions, plus their teachers know me from their brother, He dropped out just 4 weeks before graduation, when we found out he didn't pass the tests required to graduate, amazing he had made it that far! Anyway, he did go on to do his GED, passing it at 98% of the US tested and joined the army! 
To be truthful I am not sure how he learns best, when he was in school, he would fly through his homework, we would check and it was all good.
As for the testing, yes, they tested for allergies, allergies to chemical like cleaning supplies and such, so I am careful to clean when he isn't home and open windows to air out the house. No food allergies, thank goodness, or none that they tested for. The doc had ran blood test and it came back with a very HIGH strep count, that is why he was put into the hospital, because of the blood test, then when we got there, they pulled blood again, less then 24 hours later, only for there to show no signs, but we chose to keep him there and put him on IVs with antibotics, which only after being on them for 3 hours he was back to walking, where as before that he was walking around like the little guy on Starwars, Yoda! For over 2 mths!
You got me thinking Mammabooh, wondering if i could tape some different letter sounds and words, let him just listen and see if that would help him. I have the games for the phonics, but he flies through that, just to get to the end and play the game part.
Mekasmom...hands on. You made me think, he is always moving while we are doing things, if he can't move around his mouth is making some kind of noise, if asked to be quiet, he will hum. Maybe thats another learning curve I can put into play! Thank you!
Thank you too foaly. I feel abit better and I do plan on breathing more and taking some steps back...him and I both need it.


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## HOTW (Jul 3, 2007)

When I pulled my kds from the system I let them take time off of the subjects they were worst at. Som hated reading so he was let off literature studies for a while. Then he was allowed to pick what he wated to read for 6 months it was nothign but weaponry fromt he library but he learned so much about weapons in that time! He has gone on to read classical literature an dlikes it much better than the american literature he wa reading.He also is a hge sci fi fan. Talk about hsi interest and let them lead his learning. You might find he grows in leaps and bounds. Math cna be done with baking or almost any household chore if you htink about ways to count and mulitply. I feel if kids wer allowed to folow their interests a bit more they would have a better idea of what they want to do, the public system is designed to give a very general education. My 16 years old just built his own computer and its faster than anyhting I 've ever been on. It took him a year but he ddid it because he had to learn about all the different parts and what he was going for, then he had to earn the componenets. DH said if we had bought it on the common market it would have cost over $2000 for the tower alone. We spent about $1000 but he shoudl have it for eyars.

Check out anoldfashionededucation you cna find a lot of resources there and lots of different subjects. I am sure you will get alog fine just don't let your confidence get to you. We KNOW whats' best for our kids of we are listening


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Been there and done that!!! We were you last year going into 2nd grade.
Horrible, bully teacher too. No return calls, no return emails.. found out that my child wasn't allowed recess at all etc.. separted from other students, put down in front of other students. We took appropriate measures through the principal and guidance counselor.. no change. 
My son was shriveling before my very eyes.
Sick.. ended up in hospital.. etc..
He went from A/B Honor Roll to flunking and flunking hard.
We pulled him in December.. we waited until he couldn't take it anymore and I let him drop the paperwork into the mailbox.

You need to de-school. There is no rush. He will catch up and overtake the other schooled kids in no time at all!
We spent all of the winter break just chilling.. we watched documentaries, we got books from the library that he was interested in.
Then we did confidence building things and things that he enjoyed until he got healthy and happy again.
And even after all this time.. almost a YEAR!! We still have to deal with some of the wounds. If he gets stressed, his mind goes blank.. utterly and completely blank. A total shut down. Can't even remember his own name. So, when he feels time constraint or fears he will get 'in trouble' for not being fast enough etc.. we have to step back and start again. He still says he is 'a bad kid' and 'stupid'.
This is not the case.. he is 7 and enjoys algebra in his free time.
But he did not fit the school mold at all.

So.. I went to the thrift store in town and got history, language, math textbooks for about $.50 each and we go through those. We supplement with documentaries on Netflix, library books etc..
We chose notebooking as our prefered method of teaching.. he has a timeline he can fill in, a history notebook where he does fact sheets for historical figures or times,
he has an insect book where he draws pictures of the insects and then writes down facts about them.. we pick the ones we see in the yard.
We do spelling words.. he copies them, unscrambles them etc.. then everyday we do a quick 'test'.. even the very first day. They don't count for anything at all, just as a measure. If I called them a test, he could freak a little. Wednesday we do a test.. if he gets all 10 correct, he gets to play computer gamers that night. We do a new list for W, TH, with a test on Fri.
We have a science notebook .. we did water cycle and weather.. pretty cool notebook with experiments and charts etc.. he really likes looking at that one.

Google 'homeschooling notebooking free printables to get tons of great pages to print out.

Good luck and congratulations!
Take a few months and get him strong again.. there is no rush at all.


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## KnowOneSpecial (Sep 12, 2010)

I'm kind of confused. You say that in school he would fly through his homework, but then you also say his teachers were teaching him wrong (addition from the left, etc). Could it be that he found someone to blame? It's hard for kids to say they don't understand and easy to blame the teachers at the last school. 


As for the allergies...did they try food preservatives and dyes? I have a son who is allergic to red food dye. We took him off of it for a semester and over the summer let him have it back only to see that it worsened. Before he was having a tummy ache and now he pukes it out. Hard to learn with a tummy ache! 

If your son was out of school so many times then there may be gaps in his learning. Not everything they learn is covered in a text or homework they send home.


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## JuliaM (Oct 15, 2006)

Thanks Chickenista! He was doing the samething your young man was, only I don't think his teacher/teachers were doing those things to my son...I don't know what I would have done, had I found out she/they had done something like that....
I am going to take it nice and slow. We just finished playing games on the computer, I found some reading games, along with songs, poems, rhythming games, even some jokes he can tell his brothers and dad..we had so much fun. We were playing the bone game, I was up dancing and he was laughing so hard I thought for sure he was going to loose it....but we had fun. 
Knowonespecial, he was showing me the way he said his teacher was showing him how to do his math, it wasn't just addition, it was subtraction too. He was flying through his homework, the problem was/is is that he wasn't learning from it, he was just doing it, then he would forget most of it. Your right though, he might have heard us talking about his teacher, this one anyway, I haven't had any bad thoughts about his other teachers, he seemed to like them, this last one he didn't so maybe he is putting blame there and doesn't want to admit he doesn't know or understand, but him and I will work through that together..I tell him not to worry about it if he doesn't know, that is why he is here with me so we can do it 1 on 1 and work through the problem/problems as long as it take....
Yes, there are gaps and maybe they are from when he missed school, but these gaps can't be that big from the time he missed. This child doesn't know vowel sounds, like I said he writes the words like he hears them, not they way they are spelt. The schools here are only working on passing the TAKS tests, even some of the teacher has admitted this and if the child can fill in the dot...they pass! Some of the 8th graders from last year didn't get to go on to the 9th grade because they didn't pass this test....there is more to learning then getting your schools year end reconnission and bonuses, which the teacher with the highest test scores gets. My other 2 boys will tell you, that is what the teacher talk most about.
Hope I am not sound defensive. As for the testing, they did alot, from poking him, to cat scans and up, we were all over whelmed at the time, but I will check into that. He hasn't complained about any pain since we pulled him out??? 
Again thanks all!


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## HOTW (Jul 3, 2007)

My kids had huge deficits in English. I found an old text by Brainiard Kellogg called Lessons in Elglish and it sure helped them Since he ias younger I would suggest using the McGufey readers and try starting all over. I wish I had had the courage to take my kidsw schooling underhand much earlier. The readers use DiPhongs to teach proper pronucniation and phonetics.


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## JuliaM (Oct 15, 2006)

Thanks HOTW! Those are some good books, I found them on the oldfashionededucation site you mentioned, the McGuffey ones, when my husband gets home we are going to see set up my computer to open those files. I am not very good at the computer. Also checking on the Kellogg books. Did go to the Discovery Channel site, found some links off it that are free, so today we are going to do something things on it. They have math, science, spelling several other links...There is so much out there it is over whelming, but truthfully I am looking forward to all this....
Thanks again so much!


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

Wow, Julia...what a difference a day makes, huh? You sound like a different (very calm!) person. Is your son feeling more calm too?


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## HOTW (Jul 3, 2007)

http://www.gutenberg.org has a lot of free books so check them out too!


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

I agree take a few weeks and "de-school" then pick back up with a short schedule, just 2 or 3 subjects and then add to it each week. We do school from 8-12 each day with reading during the afternoons or sciece projects in the afternoon. We take breaks during the 8-12 time for my younger son and sing songs, do art, play a quick game etc.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

My kid's school does not teach phonics unless the child is having trouble reading. It sounds like yours does not, either! I am glad you caught it when he is 8 instead of 16!

Do not start him back in the first grade EXCEPTING for spelling and beginning phonics. He will need a strong base for when he starts spelling the more advanced words!


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## JuliaM (Oct 15, 2006)

YES! YES! I am feeling much better thank you! We are De schooling, that sounds funny. Today we desided to play some games, his choice, Math....he was having fun, until he missed 2 out of 75. So we had a sit down, told him not be so hard on himself, we stopped there, then we just read to each other. I hope all of you can see how much help you have been to me and him...thank you!
Terri, your so right, I am glad I caught it! 
HOWT-I am off to check out that sight, thanks, keep them coming...these are GREAT!


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

One thing that our son likes to do is to read at the library. They have several big, comfy chairs near the window and he loves to sit there and read. I don't know why it's so much more exciting to read there than it is at home, but he says it is. Sometimes, he asks me to sit there and read to him while he's on my lap. He's 8 1/2, so it sort of surprises me that he still wants to do that, but I'm all for it as long as he is!


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## JuliaM (Oct 15, 2006)

My boy is 8 1/2 too! We went to a crime watchers meeting yesterday, he was hugging me and snuggling up against me, he hasn't done that in years, I didn't care either...it was nice. Our boys would probably have alot of fun together. Our library only has the table and chairs in it, it was hit by hurricane IKE so they lost alot of stuff, but we are planning a library day.
We haven't studied at all today, he isn't feeling good, coughing, it started while we were at the meeting last night, his nose started getting stuffed up, while we were sitting there. He is hanging out watching the pbs channel.


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

Is there any possibility that he is sensitive to scents? Could someone at the crime watchers meeting have had perfume, lotion, or shampoo that bothered him? My mother-in-law can get a whiff of some perfumes and be out of commission for a couple of days. (she has trouble breathing, is stuffed up, and gets a headache).


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Chieckenista wrote


> You need to de-school. There is no rush. He will catch up and overtake the other schooled kids in no time at all!
> We spent all of the winter break just chilling.. we watched documentaries, we got books from the library that he was interested in.
> Then we did confidence building things and things that he enjoyed until he got healthy and happy again.


THIS is the BEST advice you have been given. Seriously.

Enjoy your time with your son, enjoy learning together, once he starts loving school work again, then he will do so much better. Trust me on this.


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## JuliaM (Oct 15, 2006)

Thank you Our Little Farm, I am doing just that! You all are great for suporting me. My hubby thinks I am crazy, but I think he is coming around :happy:
Ya know mammabooh-I didn't notice anyone wearing any, but there were alot of people there. He is complaining of all those things you mentioned about your mil does. I gave him his meds. I don't wear perfume and am very careful of what we use to clean with, I know he starts having a hard time when we used to use frebreeze, or 1 of the other boys uses that Axe stuff, so that is not allowed into the house. Poor kid!


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## mom in oklahoma (Nov 25, 2003)

I was trying to remember a book I rented from the library, I don't remember the title, but I did come across this website http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm
I have not used this website, but the book helped me a lot with figuring out how my son learned. He is a combination of visual, and auditory. We also deschooled for a bit.When we first started school work, he would say my teacher does it this way, I would just tell him this is my way, your teachers had their way of doing thigs this is the way I do it. He usually replied with ok.
Hang in there, it will get easier. When we first started homeschooling I was a mess, worried all the time basically. It does get easier though.:thumb:


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## JuliaM (Oct 15, 2006)

Wow, thanks mom in oklahoma! I went to the site, i am going to do that test with him, as soon as he is feeling better. He is back on the neb.


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## QoTL (Jun 5, 2008)

Hi-

I'm not (yet!) homeschooling my dd, but will give you some insight on WHY your ds's learning seems to be odd from ps.

Reading: my ds is 9, in ps, and great at it. BUT he doesn't know nouns or verbs, or consonants or vowels. Huh? Our school believes in whole word, has an entire spiel about how it teaches spelling (they forget to mention it also encourages kids to 'guess' but that's a separate rant). In our school, kids aren't allowed to sound things out really, so if the kids can't get sight words, too bad. They truly believe sounding out words interrupts fluency, and that it's much better for a child to parrot back a phrase than to spend the time READING it. I know some people do believe in whole word, so I'm not saying it doesn't work. It DOES. ds is a great reader. But it DOESN'T work for all kids. It also means the kids don't necessarily learn the stuff we did when we started. This varies from school to school, and I'm sure teacher to teacher.

Math: yes. They do tell them to add/subtract very oddly. For instance, ds was taught this:
The problem was 53-35= ?
His method, as taught by the school:
50-30=20
3-5= -2
Here's where it gets a bit scary:
His next step is 20- (-2) = 18

Yes. 18. And you are correct if you are laughing at me and saying NO, a negative with a negative cancel each other out! The TRUE answer with this method would have incorrectly been 22. But nope.. not in this bizarre way of learning math. I'm terrified for higher math when the -(-n) will really become a problem.

Anyway.. hope that sheds a little light there for you. Schools don't teach kids like they use to teach us. The whole reason we are seriously planning on pulling dd is because they AREN'T teaching her to read in a manner that works for her AT ALL. They won't let her sound out words, won't let her touch objects to count, and she does awful. At home, she is a sponge who can count to 72 and can spell anything she can sound out. At school, she's a dismal failure who only reads at all because I gave her a crash course (in phonics) over the summer.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

How is he Julia?


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## JuliaM (Oct 15, 2006)

QoTL-Thanks for the insight! Your school sounds like his did. We are taking the time to learn to sound things out, I am always asking him how to spell something for me, which is really working out wonderfully.
We have been dong ALOT of hands on learning. He has been doing some computer learning games as well. Funny thing is, is that he wants to keep going, so he is always doing something learning wish....we are having fun. He does get VERY frustrated at himself when he does it wrong or is unsure if it is the right answer, he was refussing to try, if he thought the answer was wrong he just wouldn't answer it, but we have worked through that, even though we have to have a reminder...my words...If we don't make a mistake we wont learn...
Yesterday he helped me build a hay feeder, I was measuring with my eye, he turned around walked away, next thing I know he is standing there with a tape measurer and his own tools, told me he thought he should help me before I got my sizes wrong..haha.
Thanks for asking, he is feeling much better.


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## ovsfarm (Jan 14, 2003)

Glad things are working out a bit better now. Definitely remember that you have not failed your ds and his life is not ruined because he isn't getting all his 3rd grade work.

I would suggest taking plenty of time and only doing the subjects he enjoys or unit studies based on things of interest to him from now until Christmas. Allow him to rediscover that learning can be lots of fun.

Then starting in January I would start giving some of the various diagnostic tests you can find online to determine his grade level in all areas. Not for the purpose of labeling him or casting blame on the ps, but for the purpose of discovering what material still needs to be taught. You can give the IOWA or CAT tests to figure this out if you are willing to pay about $50. Or the online stuff is harder to find but is free.

Then you can find the curriculum to use to bring him up to an appropriate level in most subjects. There may be some that he will always struggle with, but even with those he should aim for basic proficiency. Not everyone will be a great speller, for example, but everyone should make a concerted effort to master the basics and to definitely learn all the words associated with their primary interests or professions. 

Make sure he knows that YOUR school does things differently than his old one did and that you will be bouncing all around all the grades to be sure that he has all the information he needs to be successful.
---Gotta go help dh with some firewood--- I'll try to write more later.


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## RachelC (Oct 21, 2009)

Hello! I hope your guy is feeling better. I am glad to see you realizing learning is life, not 8-3 each day! I applaud you for the courage to take him out of ps and take on the resposibility yourself. You need some time for him to see you as a teacher and not just Mom. The two were connected before he went to school, it just takes you both time to reconnect the two and with each other. Homeschooling is as much about your relationship with your son as book learning. As far as math goes, I have a 9 yo and 6 yo. The 9yo is slower in math and the 6 yo very fast at math. I love Ray's Arithmetic, it is not graded at all, just do. It encourages mental math, with very little writing at first and using manipulatives as long as the child needs them. It is 1 lesson per week. Take it as fast or slow. It moves in a very logical pattern. It is printed by Mott Media, MI. It is a contemporary of McGuffey's. Get the parent teacher guide. It is basic but helps with understanding the development levels in math. Your son sounds like my oldest. HE IS A PERFECTIONIST! It is a strength and a weakness. My boy cries if he doesn't understand or does even one problem wrong. Build his confidence in what he can do and it will become easier to take the little set backs of life. God Bless you in this journey! Rachel


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## QoTL (Jun 5, 2008)

When my ds was very young I had to keep reminding him, "it doesn't have to be perfect to be perfect." I had to chant it over and over.

A few years later I was making a cake for dd. It wasn't going the way I wanted it to, and I was sort of disappointed. My then-5-yo ds piped up, "it doesn't have to be perfect to be perfect, mama!" LOL. I needed that!


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## JuliaM (Oct 15, 2006)

:hysterical: Kidds are great aren't they! 
Thanks for all the suport. We are doing 1 day at a time....he is really wanting to do math, so we are doing alot of that. I did join this site....
www.ixl.com I really like it and so does he, they send me daily reposts and I pick which level and all I want him to do. We are working on Level B right now, they also adjust it to his level of learning. It updates me with how long he works to or how long it takes him to do a project. Then they have an awards system. 
Yes, RachelC, like I said I am a mom of 5 boys and this one is my perfectionist! He did some study time with his Dad yesterday and DH saw what I have been telling him all along, even the "My teacher did it this way" Only this time it was "Mom does it this way" HAHA!
Ya'll have a wonderful day!


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