Calm before the Storm

[2pearl]

I was at the school today, we don't start back until the 7th, because I had a volunteer meeting to attend.
I thought I would feel over what happened with the teacher from hell last year but I am definately not. I even saw her in the office and it brought it all back.
I can not tell you how much I dread the return to school. Ds is not really doing too well, especially socially. Of course he's off the concerta and seems to be getting worse on the pfeiffer supplements. What I'm trying to say is, we did not make the gains this summer that I had hoped for. He is still a mess and I know school is going to be such a nightmare for him.
I know this sounds a bit crazy but I am making all the preparations to homeschool if it comes to that. My husband goes berserk whenever I bring this up. He thinks it's the worst idea in the world. But I can't see sending ds to a place where I know, I really know, he will experience failure, humilation, every single day. I saw the damage it did last year and I just can't see letting it happen again.
On the other hand, I am such a bundle of stress and nerves from the relentlessness of his problems that I can't really see spending every day with him 24/7.
I just have this feeling that I'm going to draw the line with the school and pull him out. sick* (I've been dying for a reason to use that emoticon!)

[mrsb00]

Oh wow, I so feel your pain. I'm feeling the same way. Ds starts school on Monday and he is already saying he doesn't want to go. I'm like you; I don't feel we made the gains over the summer as I had hoped, even though I think the tutor did great. I have told my husband that maybe we should send him to a private school and I get the same reaction as you DH. Here I spent $35 on supplements to try over the summer because I think the stims make him too quiet and DH had a fit that I never got to try them. Sigh...

Good luck to you. What part of IL are you from? I'm from the Springfield area.

[Eliserose]

Boy do I feel it too. Our 9yo dd ADHD has been off meds for the summer and it has been so nice. All the stims seem to make her edgy and irritable to some degree or other. We finally had the chance to see what a sweet loving and wonderful personality she has when we did our med break and now we have to start back up for school. We have had the most luck with short acting Ritalin but even that has its drawbacks with changing her personality. To do well in school, she must have medicine, so we have no choice unless it is homeschooling (which the thought of is scary ) or I have thought seriously of private school. I do think I am coming to the conclusion that she may just need to be on a smaller dose of medicine, one that doesnt make her irritable and edgy, but we would of course pay the consequences with school work declining. No great answers just like you all said. I am dreading the beginning of the year starting on Monday.
Nancy

[2pearl]

You know one thing is that I've already made up mind that if we have to homeschool this year, we will. I feel like we really need a larger chunk of time to figure out what is going to work for him as far as supplements, therapy and probably meds. I feel like going back to school is going to send us backwards again.
We are moving next year (just 10 miles west) and it will be a new school (middle) and a fresh start so homeschool would be just for this year.
I'm going to give it a month or so back at school to see how it goes. But I'm ready to pull him out, I already have the withdrawal letter and request for records. I hope I won't have to but I'm not messing around this year.

[2pearl]

Mrsboo, I live in Chicago.

[brazos]

2pearl,
There should be homeschooling conferences in your area, go and look at curriculum. My husband was talking to me about it the other night. We are in a position that if our regular kid doesn't get something he is out of the ISD. I have used ABEKA and Saxon. Saxon Math is really good, my oldest did it for 6 years. He is very strong in Math, I would reccomend it.

[2pearl]

Thanks Brazos, I'll check it out. Math is the one subject that I know I would really need a lot of help with.
Have you ever homeschooled?

[brazos]

Yep I did, the great thing about Saxon is it repeats the problems over and over again. A kid get a huge amount of practice. They started putting Saxon in the schools, and I noticed that when he switched to another book it was very confusing. Saxon is as close as you can get to "old math", the basics and you drill them until they are confident.

Homeschooling is not hard, only tough. Just like anything else you have to be committed and forge ahead no matter what. If I had only one I would probably do again.

Saxon is not hard for the parent the instructions are simple and many examples. My oldest son's 10th grade Math is horrendous! I hate that book!