Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Home ed

Find advice from other parents on our Homeschool forum. You may also find our round up of the best online learning resources useful.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Original poster

my daughter wants to go to school

153 replies

powpow · 14/08/2008 15:44

she will be 7 soon and keeps insisting that she wants to go to school. she went to nursery for a year and still talks about all the time.

i swing back and forth with it.
i truly love home education and what it can offer your child and their future.
but at the moment, i also feel like she isn't getting what she needs.
she's incredibly organized and needs a structured day and unfortunately i am terrible at giving it to her.

she also has a little brother that she really cannot stand at the moment.
they are constantly fighting and he is always following her.
it has recently become physical with them, which is another challenge i wasn't prepared for.

i'm worn out and not sure if i can keep it up.
sometimes i think school will be great for her (maybe for me?) even though i know it isn't ultimately what i want for her.

anyway, i was wondering if anyone else has had these problems.
what did you do?

OP posts:

Original poster

powpow · 15/08/2008 17:29

i think you probably do runnerbean!
i just realized who you are from another thread.
should have had this convo on list, but it's been interesting to hear the differing opinions.
i wouldn't get that if it was completely HE

so here is the latest if anyone is reading.
i had a long talk with dd today at the farm.
basically, she is missing her groups and classes (since it's school hols and they are not happening either).
when her groups are meeting and her classes are in - her words - i don't ever think about school because i am having so much fun with my friends.
but right now she is lonely and thinks that school is happening and could meet friends there.
when i explained to her that no kids were in school she said OH! then i don't want to go to school.
holy cow!

i asked her loads of questions about how she was feeling being home educated and i learned even more.
i had asked before but for some reason nothing was coming out. i think she needed to process how she was feeling first.
turns out she really loves her freedom and her friends and her family and doesn't want to spend all of those hours away from them in school.

juuule said earlier that probably a lot of this was me possibly looking for a break and making it about wondering if she really wanted to go to school.
i think that's right.

we went to a local farm today and as we were walking out she asked if we could come anytime we wanted, and i happily said YES!

OP posts:

Runnerbean · 15/08/2008 17:40

Powpow, [big wave]
I've sent you a message on facebook.

onwardandupward · 15/08/2008 17:47

powpow. I'm so glad you've got to the bottom of it.

But dammit, now you're going to have to drop some of that mama guilt about whether you are doing the right thing in "depriving" your child of the benefits of school!!

Cammelia · 15/08/2008 17:48

HE? do it every day, doesn't every parent?

I also allow a school to share the responsibility of educating dd.

Interesting concept, "freedom"

some children want the freedom to be like lots of other children

Original poster

powpow · 15/08/2008 18:01

onwardandupward - i hear you!

it was really interesting to hear different points of views and those from people who actually have some experience in this.
thank you.

i know that HE gets peoples hackles up.
i don't tend to judge others choice in schooling.
i have my philosophies on life.
doesn't everyone tell their children what they believe in?
what they value and hope for their children?
that's all i'm doing with my family.
i'm not hoping for little clones, i'm hoping for them.
and whether 'you' get that or not, doesn't make a difference in my life or my children's.

OP posts:

onwardandupward · 15/08/2008 18:02

My God, you're right Cammelia, and all the other posters on this thread who have said similar things. We must be complete fools to think that not sending our children to school might on any level be a good idea.

Immediately enrolls entire family, including self, in school

juuule · 15/08/2008 18:56

Powpow Glad to hear you've got things resolved

AbbeyA · 15/08/2008 19:08

Glad it all worked out, you can now be happy that it was all a misunderstanding and you are doing the right thing.
All I was trying to say was talk to, and listen to, your DD; hopefully if you had had the conversation and found that she had valid reasons for trying school you would have treated it seriously.

AMumInScotland · 15/08/2008 20:08

Glad to hear that it's been happily resolved

Doobydoo · 15/08/2008 20:30

Powpow

Hecate · 15/08/2008 20:38

If she raises this again, could you talk to a local school and let her 'sit in'? Would they do that? Not enrol her, but let her sit in the classroom and take it all in? Get a feel for the environment?

terramum · 15/08/2008 21:04

Glad she finally made her feelings clear powpow. Would it be worth looking at what playschemes and events are happening locally & see if any of them interest her as there's nothing much happening in the HE world?

Cammelia · 15/08/2008 21:06

My god onwardandupward , sorry but your reasons for taking your child out of the school environment as listed by yourself in a previous post are somewhat

Cammelia · 15/08/2008 21:07

You talk about school as though its the Moonies (remember them anyone?)

Cammelia · 15/08/2008 21:21

Immediately enrolls entire family, including self, in school

Isn't that exactly what you have done, owau, by he'ing

Original poster

powpow · 16/08/2008 07:34

terramum - yes, i think next year i will get her into a drama camp or something over the summer.
she loves her drama class. it just didn't really cross my mind TBH.

cammelia -
i think you will find that HE is absolutely nothing like school. oh - but that's if you took even a second to learn anything about it.
thanks for trying to turn this thread into a fight. much appreciated.

thanks again to those who were genuinely interested and trying to help.
i really do appreciate all of your ideas and opinions.

OP posts:

Cammelia · 16/08/2008 11:26

I think you'll find that lots of other posters made similar points long before my first post on this thread.

I was responding to onwardandupward's attack, not "fighting"

Cammelia · 16/08/2008 11:27

And I genuinely do think schooling is schooling, wherever it takes place physically.

juuule · 16/08/2008 11:44

Cammelia - Do you know anything about Home-education? Genuine question, not being sarky or anything.
Because I'm not sure I understand what you are talking about.
However, the insinuation that home-educators haven't thought through what they are doing as seemed to be implied by your somewhat flippant post of 15-Aug-08 17:48:31 does get a bit wearing and does prompt a response (not an attack) along the lines of Onwards.

Cammelia · 16/08/2008 11:46

My sister home educated her 3 children for several years.

onwardandupward · 16/08/2008 11:54

I apologise for my previous response, Cammelia. Mine was an ungracious clever-clever post and I'm sorry if it came across as a personal attack. Ah well, post in haste, repent at leisure.

(It might be worth people googling "unschooling" or "autonomous home education" before assuming that what all home educators do is some form of school at home, however)

juuule · 16/08/2008 12:00

Cammelia - your sister may have done but do you know anything about home-ed? Were you involved with it at all? I home-ed but my sister would be the first to admit that while she supports us doing it, she she doesn't really understand it.

onwardandupward · 21/08/2008 15:37

bump for dooby (ah - I see you were on this thread already anyway!)

AbbeyA · 23/08/2008 18:26

I apologise for getting emotive. I was empathising with your DD, I felt that she was very like me at that age but obviously I shouldn't have done because I don't know her. I also apologise for telling you what you were thinking-not a good move and one that annoys me when people do it to me!
I think some of my advice was useful, given your OP, and the majority of the posters, over 20 I think advised letting her try school.
You did say that you resented your parents sending you to school.
Morningpaper said that your negative ideas of schools need to be challenged and I always try to do this, because they really don't match what I know.
You don't seem to accept that there is no longer the straightjacket of the National Curriculum. I know there isn't, in my area,
I spend hours planning lessons and some of my best Literacy lessons have been contrary to the NC.
I am pleased that it is all resolved for you and your DD. I was concentrating on 2 words in your OP, which possibly you meant differently from the way that I interpreted them.

AbbeyA · 23/08/2008 18:28

I intended to add that I hope there are no hard feelings and that we can just forget it.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 7