Homeschool World Forum

I'm the mother to a very loving 5 year old little boy who is struggling in public school. He went to daycare and preschool since he was 2 and started public school last August. It's been a trip, a bad one.

He gets suspended constantly. Hitting, fits, not listening, not getting along with his peers who now mock him for being the boy who can't control his temper. After several meetings with counselors, psychologists, and his school staff, they found him to have a social disorder. We partnered him up with a paraprofessional to aid him in the classroom and it's not helping. I feel as if he's missing out on the learning experience because he's always in trouble. At home, he's such a solid child. Even at daycare, he's mostly well behaved.

Of course the school just wants me to keep him there but it breaks my heart to see him struggle.

Would homeschooling him make his social disorder worse? He would still attended daycare daily while I'm at work.

Thank you,
The Mother At The End Of Her Rope.

Poor kiddo, that's a rough way to start. The environment that he is in clearly isn't working. If the school doesn't have any other options for him than I would say it's time to look for something else. Home school is definitely an option but if you work full-time than you have to be realistic about what you can take on. Our state, AZ, has some really terrific charter schools that I would consider for our kids if we ever decide not to home school. They have smaller classes and more flexibility than public schools.

Poor thing, and poor you having to see him go through this! I would definitely homeschool, at least until he is ready to attend school and has learned how to recognize what triggers his behaviour and to deal with it. If he is fine at home there must be something at the school he cannot cope with (yet), and no one there to help him. 5 is so young to be out in the world alone! I would not blame him or this 'social disorder' - every child is unique and they cannot all cope perfectly at the age of 5 with one particular situation (in this case, the school).

You are correct in thinking that he is not having much of a learning experience anyway, being in trouble all the time. He IS going to learn that school and learning are BAD NEWS and lead to trouble! You don't want him learning this!

It sounds like his home environment is nurturing and better supports his ability to learn and so I would home school for now. He will learn social interaction by the outings you do together - excursions, visits and activities with other home schoolers and in your local community. Make a good effort to connect in ways that he is okay with, and find out what triggers his behaviour and in time he can learn effective ways to deal with this. Then he will be able to go off to school when he is ready! There are many options for childcare while you are at work. Many homeschoolers help each other out with childcare as do family and friends.

Ignore what the school wants - they obviously don't want the best for your child, or if they do they simply don't have the resources to provide it for him.

Hoping you are not at the 'end of your rope' for too much longer! Let us know how you get on.