My 5yo has been struggling in school since she started last year, within her first month me and OH attended a 'help them read at home' class there, for the phonetics, as taking part in these things is important to us. While there we mentioned that she had said she was being picked on my one of the other students, the reply was that she herself was being 'boisterous'. Totally unheard of for her, but I thought maybe school had this effect.
2 weeks later I was called in and told that she was difficult to control, other children refused to play with her and she was being put on a reward chart, she was familiar with them from doing them at home, but I happily explained that she's had these before and we no longer used them because she behaved without them at home. I was spoken to like a child when they explained that 'us teachers tend to get better results than parents, we know what the children respond to'. At this point I was heavily pregnant and walked down the hill crying with 5yo in tow.
A week after I was called in because she was too teary to remain on the reward chart. So she had gone from to much to handle to 'hyper-sensitive'...
During this time we have had 2 parents evenings, both of which we were tag teamed and told that she was 'probably acting out because of the baby'. The second time we were told this we were sitting with 2 month old, which 5yo has been amazing with and never displayed anything other than love for. At which point me and OH had just had enough. I told them I believed her transition to reception wasn't a good one, and OH let rip about the reading. They send her home with books with alot of words that she cannot read, while telling us that she has read them in school. And she informs us almost daily she hasn't read her book today. We sit every night with her reading. We've had incidents where they have packed away her lunch because she has taken too long, (she ate only half her sandwhich). She has had 5 pairs of gloves, 3 hats and 4 scarves all go missing, no matter how many time we mention it and check the 'lost box' they never arrive. She's been dragged around by her coat in the playground a few times, so we've replaced 3 coats since september. She says she doesn't like school or 'learning stuff' anymore. She comes home crying alot, because she feel she can't do the work. And I know she can, no matter how many time I speak to the teacher we get the same responses.
At home we do alot of work books (math, reading,spelling,letters), gallery visit's, photography, crafts, she has football training and a few other bits and pieces. I can't halp feeling like I can do a better job at taking over her entire education.
My brother was home school from 11-16 and he effectively did nothing, he was one of what I guess is a small handful which HE isnt the way to go, but it still makes me nervous.
I've read up on the process, read countless forums, I think it's time to get some real information of how it really is...
I really feel that her being at home is the best thing for her. I think I just need some reassurance that more people have felt this way about the current situation their children are in?
Sorry for the long post, feeling rather emotional about it all today. First day back after the holidays and all that...