Homeschool World Forum

[Sarah71216]

I have 3 children aged 9, 11 and 13 that are in school in Spain. They are now in their 7th year of Spanish school. They of course do all their school work in Spanish. They start at 3 and do 3 years of infants before entering 1st grade at 6. There is no help here for children who are highly intelligent only for those who struggle.

My 9yo son is failing everything (although from everything I see he is extremely intelligent) and yet all the summer work we have done he did really well. He has no interest in school and from what his teachers say he shuts down in lessons. They say he has no problem and should be doing really well. He started school here at 3 and rapidly learned the language and was one of the top of the class until entering 2nd grade when he just stopped having any interest.

My 11yo daughter is doing well and always puts in her best effort, she will I believe do well in any enviroment. She is excelling in maths but is complaining of being bored.

My 13yo daughter is also really intelligent but completely uninterested. She learned the language sufficiently to do all her schoolwork alone in just 10 weeks at age 7. She has suffered for many years with bullying and recently this has escalated to the point that the police have become involved - long story. I no longer feel they are completely safe.

My dilema is this - I homeschooled her for over a year until my husband left and I had to put her into school part way through first grade before moving to Spain. She tested 3 years ahead and now is scraping by. I have always wanted to return to homeschooling as I feel very strongly that the 9 and 13yo do not respond well in the classroom enviroment and the 11yo could do more but it is against the law here. My ex husband and I are now considering the option that we return to the States and take up the homeschooling again. For this to work we will have to move in with him and make the best of it. We are not the type of couple to scream and fight and generally get along quite well but obviously we are divorced.

Sorry its so long - any suggestions/cautions? If we do this what sort of things will I need to work on with two of the children having so little interest in school work?

[4given]

I have no advice to offer, but I wanted to wish you well.

It is very encouraging that both you and your husband are leaning toward homeschooling again. The idea of living with an ex seems odd. However, if there is no weird emotional garbage going on, then I'd say go for it.

Keep us posted from time to time, if you will. Sorry I didn't have any great words of wisdom to share.

[Sarah71216]

The living with the ex part obviously does concern me not only for me and my ex but also for the effect that it will have on my children. I believe that it probably is the best solution for the children of the available options as home schooling is illegal here. I am concerned about the message it sends to the children and also if we can make it work for them.

Thanks for your encouragement and taking the time to reply.

[mark_egp]

Sounds like the 'disinterested' ones are too smart for the classroom pace. We are now homeschooling 6th, 9th, 11th grade daughters. Our website has details on what we did for 6th, 7th, 8th grades and rough outlines for 9th-11th. Take a look, it may give you some ideas. Also, look into Robinson Curriculum which is self-paced and very simple.

http://www.everygoodpath.net

Hope it all works out, Mark
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