Hi everyone!
On the advice of another member (thank you ommmward) I have started this threat for others who are also dealing with the fear of home schooling. We have just decided to remove out 12 yr old son from school. He is borderline dyslexic which seems to mean "yes you need help, but no we don't have the budget to give it" the stress he had at school has made him suffer from headaches daily and he has become a lost soul :( We feel that if we don't support him, he will end up going off the rails and we really don't want that. So we are going to home school him. We collected him from school yesterday and made the decision. Any advice would be great as we are worried that we can get into trouble or how to make sure we do the best for him. Also, we are from Swindon Wiltshire and would really appreciate any others who are in the same situation, also are there any social groups for other children in our sons position? Thanks everyone!
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Home ed
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birdieswifey · 07/03/2012 09:25
Hi, birdie, I am also home educating my 12-year old son. I have been through this before (a year ago) and spent what would have been his Year 6 at primary home educating him. He then made a huge effort to attend secondary school, with lots of support from the school and an Educational Outreach Worker. He did really well, then started suffering unexplained stomach aches etc all over again. In the end, he was just so ill with the stress of it all that he couldn't attend. He has not been back since Christmas.
I have not deregistered him as he is off sick at the moment (he is being treated for OCD and anxiety issues; he was also, originally, diagnosed with dyslexia, but has lost that diagnosis now), so we are still getting work from the school. However, having spoken to him last night, I really don't think he will be able to go back - at least for the foreseeable future. It is scary, but sometimes you don't have any choice. I just want DS to be happy again.
I know lots of people here are autonomous home educators, but I don't have the courage to do that (yet), so I have drawn up a fairly flexible timetable. At the moment, we are trying to do Maths, English and Science every day, plus a project on Spain (because we are going on holiday there in June. That is, if we can get DS1 there because at the moment he can't even go out of the house - the holiday was booked before this episode). Some days, like today, DS just spends far too long on his computer playing Minecraft because DH and I have been busy. That's when I worry. However, I think his mental health is more important than his education at the moment.
I have ordered a Galore Park Maths book on the advice of someone on this board and it's great. Apart from that, we are just following BBC Bitesize and other internet resources.
Must go, but will pop back another time if I get any good ideas! (Or to borrow some 
).
birdieswifey I think I may have answered your thread on the UK Home Education FB page?
The lady I referred to there, as knowing about dealing with the LA, is SDeuchers here......
julieno - I agree with you about the educational aspects of Minecraft. I think it is very creative and DS has explored music, sculpture, architecture and art through the game. He has also attempted to learn programming skills. And he is learning all sorts about the use of materials to make stuff. Oh, and it's sociable too because he plays it with his friends.
The only drawback is that it is completely addictive and DS would do nothing else with his life but play Minecraft if he were allowed! I just wish he wanted to go out in the real world a bit more and had more varied interests. Yesterday, when I was too busy to check on him, he spent three hours doing Minecraft and 16 minutes doing BBC Bitesize 
. And that makes me feel a complete failure at home educating him.
(oops - sorry for thread hijack, birdie).
Apologies, birdie .
julienoshoes - thanks for that link. Makes very interesting reading.
Frances - my son was initially diagnosed with dyslexia too (has lost that diagnosis now and gained new ones 
) and has always been stressed and unable to concentrate at school. Maybe you should give home ed a try before committing yourself to a school that is going to be difficult to get to. You can always change your mind later.
Out of interest, what does today hold in store for those of you already home edding? I have just finished the school run and am eating breakfast. DS1 is still in bed, but I will be nudging him out of there for some breakfast in a minute. We are going to start the day with some discussion of, and writing about, 'Holes' by Louis Sachar (I may have to act as scribe as DS has problems writing), then DS can do some work on MyMaths. I will see if he can have another attempt at the Galore Park workbook too. For some reason, he can do the addition and subtraction sums perfectly well on the computer, but gets incredibly stressed by worksheets (ok, there's a clue in the having problems writing area 
). That should take us through to lunchtime. Maybe I can get him to learn some Life Skills by doing some housework with me .
That sounds fairly typical of dyslexia-type problems, birdie (simple instructions having to be repeated). Although it could also be a sign of a boy who has more interesting things on his mind . My boy is just the same. My mother was astonished to find that he was unable to follow her instructions to put the washing in the basket ready to tumbledry. The basket was upside down and he balanced all the washing on top 
. I think that he was simply trying to get the job done as quickly as possible so that he could get back to more important stuff, like Minecraft.
If your DS is keen to learn Spanish, that sounds like a fantastic start to his home ed.
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Morning Toffee!
WOW that link is fantastic!!! thank you. 
That totally explains why he didn't get on at school, in fact, it couldn't have been a less productive atmosphere for him. Oh and by the way, it is totally weird that you call me Birdie lol that was my husbands nickname when we were growing up! sorry.... but it makes me chuckle as he calls me Mrs birdie lol.
Anyway, I am off to read more on that website..... Once again, thank you
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