first post! Homeschooling and church - stressed!
Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 6:36 am
This is my first post and hoping someone can help. I started homeschooling my son last year in kindergarten and everything has been going well up until now and I am ready to just throw in the towel, cry, scream or all of the above.
My son loves homeschooling but is really struggling with reading and I'm trying not to put the pressure on. My son just started first grade and can only read 3 - 4 letter words but is getting better all the time. Last night I dropped him off for his class at church and I could tell something was wrong the second I walked in the room to get him (from the teachers and him). When we got in the car I asked my son what had happened and he said, "They were playing hang-man and I couldn't read the words. The teachers asked me a lot of questions about where I went to school, how many days you teach me, and about what I learn." We hadn't had school yesterday and he said the teachers were upset that he didn't have school that day (The beauty of homeschooling as you all know is the flexibility). It sounded as if my son was being interrogated. Our church is in a very good school district so I know that we have a lot of children in the church that are extremely smart and there are only a handful of homeschoolers there. Church is the only socialization that he really gets during the winter and he loves his class but I am really upset.
So I have a two part question. How should I deal with this? Should I pull him out of this Wednesday night class (you know these questions are going to continue and it's going to be one slippery slope!), and most important - what level should a child just starting first grade be at?
My son loves homeschooling but is really struggling with reading and I'm trying not to put the pressure on. My son just started first grade and can only read 3 - 4 letter words but is getting better all the time. Last night I dropped him off for his class at church and I could tell something was wrong the second I walked in the room to get him (from the teachers and him). When we got in the car I asked my son what had happened and he said, "They were playing hang-man and I couldn't read the words. The teachers asked me a lot of questions about where I went to school, how many days you teach me, and about what I learn." We hadn't had school yesterday and he said the teachers were upset that he didn't have school that day (The beauty of homeschooling as you all know is the flexibility). It sounded as if my son was being interrogated. Our church is in a very good school district so I know that we have a lot of children in the church that are extremely smart and there are only a handful of homeschoolers there. Church is the only socialization that he really gets during the winter and he loves his class but I am really upset.
So I have a two part question. How should I deal with this? Should I pull him out of this Wednesday night class (you know these questions are going to continue and it's going to be one slippery slope!), and most important - what level should a child just starting first grade be at?