I cannot update on here as often since I spend a better part of my day homeschooling and taking care of six little ones. :) However, I got a comment asking how my homeschooling with my Aspergers son is going and I'd love to answer here.
It's going great! No more having to deal with impatient teachers, upset calls from my son, a stressed out and tired one at that, or having to worry about him being overloaded with too much work. Chaz already had long days at school and for him that is just so much stimulation and concentration for one day. Plus, homework was usually sent home. That's where I put my foot down and told them no homework for Chaz. It's way too much. However, this year we decided to homeschool and see how that would work instead. I know that I'm treating Chaz the way he deserves and I know his strengths and weakness. I understand when he needs breaks and I can work around his emotional struggles. When Chaz can't take any more work, I know when it's time to quit and just hit the books again in the morning. The fun part is I've enjoyed learning right along with my kids! I may not have everything perfect and down pat but that's why I use a ready made curriculum so I don't miss anything. If I don't understand it, well, we work on it together till I understand and I can teach him.
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| My husband teaching Kyle (my 3rd son) chess |
At first we tried K12 and it was just too much work for my Aspergers son. It was pushing him past his limits every single day. It didn't help that they required so many online meetings on top of the work he already had to do. Eventually he would be in tears. Unfortunately, K12 is not as flexible as they claim to be. I think if I were homeschooling Chaz and him alone it might have been okay. However, I also homeschool 3 other ones. I needed to find something that would work for Chaz and for the rest of us. I purchases Switched on Schoolhouse for Chaz and Ryan, and Compass Learning for my younger two homeschoolers. They are ready to go curriculums and Chaz can finish his work in about 2 hours. That's a long cry from 5 hours with K12.
Anyway, that's just my own personal thoughts on it and how it's been working out. Chaz is doing very well and he's not overwhelmed by any means. Chaz has been doing fantastic in so many ways since I pulled him from a brick and mortar school.
