Hi, Ann ...

While I have no experience with special-needs children, I can say that our 18 years of homeschooling were a blessing for various reasons:

1.  no driving to and from school each day

2.  the comfort of being in your own surroundings

3.  setting your own pace - taking breaks when needed

4.  the security of home relaxes the child, accelerates learning

5.  studying lessons in your pajamas or sweats is OK

6.  nothing beats a good hot lunch with Mom every day

7.  the freedom to learn, work and play at home

8.  sharing experiences helps siblings grow closer

9.  snow days, sick days don't "interrupt" Mom's plans

10. various ways to learn: textbooks, internet, audio, etc.

In summary:

Parents know their children better than anyone else -- teaching experts included.   We know their strengths and weaknesses, their tendencies to slack off or stress out, and their individual abilities for processing information. 

Study schedules can be set to fit the family, avoiding the need to squeeze the family to fit the school schedule.  I'm not sure how old your children are, but the KONOS curriculum (and other unit study approaches) are excellent choices for that first year or two at home.  Lots of hands-on learning!

This is a decision only you and your hubby can make, and I will pray that you know what to do.  As for me, I wouldn't trade our homeschooling years for any amount of money.  We made a lot of happy memories, the children enjoyed working, studying and playing together and have thanked me many times for teaching them.

I'll get off my soapbox now.  ;-)

Hi Nan

I homeschool my son for Math and during the school holidays but he is still in the regular school so that I can go earn our daily bread.

Thanks for sharing on the KONOS curriculum http://www.konos.com/index.html. It will be a great resource to me.

Mun

Mun, I appreciate your post and wanted to say your son is blessed to have a mommy who is interested in his schooling.  Not everyone can -- or chooses to -- homeschool.  I want to be sensitive to that and not come across as arrogant.

Hi Nan,

Oops, I hope I haven't come across as being arrogant, or imply that you have been. If there is something in my post that has implied that, do let me know, so I can make amends. As a single mom, I have to do that - earn my daily bread.

In my country, we do not have sufficient schools which cater for kids in need of special education. Hence, kids with borderline special needs are placed in mainstream schools (schools for 'normal' kids). In fact, it often goes the other way, that kids would usually go into mainstream schools, be discovered to have special needs, then be recommended into schools for kids with special needs.

In recent years, homeschooling has become a third education option for a growing number of households here. If I had the financial capabilities, I would love to homeschool my son 100% too.

Our mainstream teachers are often not trained to handle kids with special needs. I on the other hand, have devised methods to help my own students cope, often enlisting my 'normal' kids as mentors and coaches. I share the methods with my son's teachers who are willing to learn. Otherwise, my son's education is very much my own battle. In a sense, I am very much blessed to have taught a number of kids with special needs before I had my own child. Otherwise, I'd be at a crossroad by now too.

The story of Forrest Gum inspires me in teaching kids with special needs, and that includes my own. If Forrest Gum had not been placed in the mainstream school but in a special needs school, he might not have blossomed. What his mom taught him at home, if I may refer to that as the homeschooling aspect, complimented very well with his educational pursuits. She expected him to not have special treatment just because he has special needs.

The partially deaf and the partially blind have also been successfully integrated into certain mainstream schools in my country. I have also taught a few pupils with Autism. All it takes is to identify what makes them tick and how to calm them down when they are in one of those moments. It also takes alot of educating the 'normal' kids to not agitate or bully these kids. It's holistic education in the sense of the word. 

There are still many areas to explore where kids with special needs are concerned. My son and I are indeed blessed to have the best of both worlds - mainstream schooling and homeschooling where his special needs areas are concerned.

Hope others will join in this post and share their views.

Mun   

No, worries, Mun ... I just know when the topic of homeschooling comes up, it may appear I'm on a "soapbox" trying to convince others to my way of thinking.  That's why I said it wasn't my desire to come across as arrogant.  When dealing with education and what's best for our children, every parent/couple has to weigh their own options and personal circumstances --  and then try to make a decision based on what they think is best.

I salute your obvious love and concern for special needs children.  Bless you, friend!

Hi Nan

Looks like we've come a full circle where education for children is concerned. Education for children originated in the home, if I am not wrong, then came Sunday School and finally schools as we know them evolved. Pardon me and do correct if I am wrong.

ADHD's made me what I am today, I guess. And I'm glad when I was younger I didn't know I was a special needs kid too. There are lots of parents where I come from who are clueless where Special Needs are concerned. I myself have just started to breathe the subject.

If I can do so, I'd avoid homeschooling for kids. But if they do have a unique problem that can only be helped one-on-one, homeschooling would seem the best option.

Mun

You are right, Mun -- education first began in the home.  In fact, many presidents, inventors, scientists, authors and artists (music, etc.) schooled at home.  I think it's interesting that 4 or 5 generations back, children didn't start formal schooling until age 8.  Before that, they were soaking up life experiences through exploration, assisting their parents in the garden, on the farm and in the home. 

"The tutoring system has never been matched for effective teaching, and the home is its best nest."  (Dr. Raymond Moore, developmental child psychologist and author of Home Grown Kids )

Dr. Moore points out that sometimes special needs children are turned over to their parents because schools aren't equipped to handle every situation. Then he states, "If our educational system believes parents are able to handle special-needs children, why do they feel those same parents are ill-equipped to handle a child *without* special needs?"  Interesting thought.

Again, every parent has to decide what is best for their situation.

I made the choice to homeschool my middle child because the school wasn't meeting his needs. When he was promoted to the 8th grade with atrocious grades, I requested they hold him back. They refused, giving the reason that he would be handicapped by being two years older than all the other children in his class since he had already been held back before.

The kicker was: he had never been held back before and was the same general age as all his peers.

I decided if he was going to learn anything it would only be if I taught him.

I think it important to note here that in the school set up where we lived at that time, 8th grade put him in a different building. I believe they just wanted to wash their hands of him.