Public School vs. Home School

To home school or not to home school?  That is the question...  I have been playing ping pong with this decision for the last year.  With fourth grade here in only days, the question consumes me.  I constantly wonder if throwing my sweet Rebecca into the public school system is the best thing for her.  They are not trained to work with her learning difference.  In fact, most of the teachers know very little about Dyslexia.  In addition, the administrators don't even accept the term Dyslexia.  It's like beating my head against a brick wall.  Rebecca started going to resource the end of last year.  I called and emailed several times to find out what methodology the resource room is using.  I never heard back from them.  Being that the school doesn't know about Dyslexia, I can only assume they aren't using a method that will help Rebecca.  She feels stressed at school.  She sees other kids finish their work before her.  She knows she is behind the other students.  Am I making a mistake having her go to school everyday?

So then I start to think about homeschooling.  Rebecca loves to learn.  As much as she and I butt heads at times, she is a dream when one on one.  If she had individual attention working in the style that works for her, would she make better progress?  Most likely, yes!  Home school is a perfect fit for her.  BUT...  What about socially? Sure, I could plan play dates with her friends.  But is that enough?  Rebecca is the type of 9 year old that socializes better with adults and younger children.  She struggles to fit in with kids her own age.  She needs that social interaction that a school provides - drama and all.  

There needs to be a happy medium.  But I can't find it.  I don't have a clue what to do.  So, my plan is to sit in on resource early in the year.  I want to see first hand how they are helping her.  I don't want that time to be solely catch up from the classroom.  Adjustments can be made within the classroom for that. I want to see some individual work with her on reading, spelling, and writing.  I also plan to meet with her teacher and see if we can come up with some kind of plan that will work for Rebecca.  We need to keep her self esteem up.  I want her to like school again.  At the same time I will be researching home school curriculum.  I will be talking to some friends who do home school and see how they deal with the socialization with their children.  I will then re-evaluate.  This year will work for Rebecca - one way or another.

School Starts in 4 Days

I can't believe the school bell will ring in only 4 days.  My oldest will start middle school. I'm not worried about him.  He is a good kid and is very smart.  The adjustment will be a little rough for both of us, but he'll be okay.  I am sure of that.  My youngest will be starting the first grade.  She got the very best teacher and I have no doubt she will have a successful year.  Rebecca will be starting the fourth grade.  I am scared to death!  I remember the fourth grade from a few years ago.  My son had the same teacher Rebecca has.  She is great!  But, it's a tough year.  Lots of homework.  Lots of reports.  Lots of projects.  Lots of reading.  Rebecca is bright and loves to learn.  I hope this year won't squash that.  I worry about her.  She already doesn't like school much.  She doesn't think she is smart.  She doesn't have many friends.  I can only hope we start this year strong.  I have new organizational ideas to help keep her on track.  And I have considered requesting little or no homework to help her through.  We'll see how it goes.  I know I need to take a step back and just see how it goes...  At least for a few days.

Fantastic Article

I saw a link to this article the other day and I just loved it.  I have read the third paragraph more times that I can count.  It just makes Dyslexia feel more normal.  So, I decided to add the link here so I can pull it up and read it whenever my little heart desires...

link  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/office-diaries/201007/new-kind-literacy-lines-links

I Need an Outlet

I need an outlet.  My beautiful almost 9 year old daughter is dyslexic.  I knew this as soon as she started to talk.  Call it mothers' intuition.  After years of hearing from our school district that her issues were developmental, my husband and I chose to take her to an outside testing facility.  The summer after first grade, I finally learned it wasn't in my head after all.  Rebecca is severely Dyslexic and moderately Dysgraphic.  However, the district continues not to recognize her learning difference.  The testing results have been added to her file several times, but our school doesn't recognize Dyslexia as a specific learning disorder.  So, the fight continues.  After not seeing much improvement in Rebecca over the period of 5 Student Study Team meetings (SST) in a year and a half, the district agreed do their own tests with her.  The results were that she qualified for special education because of "reading problems".  Really?  Isn't that Dyslexia?  Funny thing is that reading isn't her weakest subject - spelling and writing are far more difficult for her.  This is no surprise for me since I already know Dyslexia encompasses far more than just reading.  But I will take what I can get.  Rebecca started going to resource during the last couple months of her third grade year.  I am not convinced it is the correct placement, but I will stick with it into the fourth grade and see where it takes us.  Fortunately for Rebecca, we have a wonderful friend who offered to tutor her twice a week.  They are working on the Barton Method.  Fourth grade will be tough.  It is a whole new world academically and there is no doubt Rebecca will struggle.  I often wonder how we will both get through.

I have set goals for myself this year.  I want to bring more awareness to Rebecca's special learning difference.  She is not alone in this and neither am I.  So why am I writing a blog?  I need an outlet. I have to believe that writing what Rebecca and I are going through will help me somehow get through our everyday struggles.  So many people don't understand.  I can't keep it bottled up...