Saturday, November 30, 2013

Private School

Earlier this week we went to one of the private schools in the area to meet with the director, have Jena tested for placement, etc.

It was the school that was at the top of our list for private schools, and we're satisfied that they would provide a quality education and try to work with Jena at her level.

The testing was a little... unclear. The way they do testing is to review work that the students are currently doing. So for Jena the teacher reviewed both Kindergarten work and 1st grade work.

Kindergarten work, no problem. But they are small classes, they believe in advancing the student as they are ready, etc. So sounds good.

1st grade work... well, everything they covered is something that I know Jena knows how to do. But... how it's delivered confused her.

For instance, for reading they asked her to identify which words follow the "mb" combination sound rule. Things like "lamb", "climb", "plumber", etc. She couldn't answer.

But here's the deal. She can read all of those words. She knows how to pronounce "mb" in combination. But no one has taught her that it is a "rule", that it's a "combination sound", etc. So to ask her to identify words that follow a "combination sound rule" doesn't make sense to her. But if you asked her a different way, I know for a fact she knows that information. Does that make sense?

So probably if we were to send her there we would go ahead and start her in Kindergarten, so she could catch up on the way they teach there. Does that make sense?

We haven't made a decision yet, but I'm glad we went. It gave us a lot of good information.

One issue we have to look at is finances. The private school tuition, plus after school care for over 3 hours a day, means a significant chunk of my paycheck would be going just to her schooling.

Plus, since this school starts earlier, but I still can't pick her up till after work, she'd be either at school, or in an after-school care center for roughly 9.5 hours a day. I know she's already in preschool for 8 hours a day, but that extra 90 minutes just makes it sound like a lot. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that.

We're keeping our options open, and continue to gather information. I'm sure we'll figure it out in the end.

We're also considering the possibility of homeschool. Any readers care to share their experience / knowledge on the subject?

As always, thanks for checking in!

1 comment:

Estes Family Blog said...

I home schooled my daughter for a few years and while I home schooled her I taught my son who wasn't in school yet. The reason behind my home schooling was the school she was in. My mom had passed away the previous school year (in March) and my Lexi and her were extremely close. After my mom passed she became extremely clingy, afraid that if she wasn't with me I would pass away. When she started the new school year (3rd grade) they would literally have to rip her off of me. She screamed and cried and it broke my heart. Then came the problem of her being able to focus, because she had the irrational fear that while she was away from me I to would die. 3 weeks into the school year her teacher told me she wasn't going to pass. I felt this teacher had given up on my daughter and didn't have any compassion for the situation so I went to the principal and counselor and requested that she be put into another class. At 3 weeks into the school year a teacher should not be making the assumption that any student will not pass. They refused to change her teachers and where we lived it was too late to change her schools so I pulled her out and home schooled her. It was a good option for us. The area had a ton of home schooling activities so that kids got plenty of socialization. I also have a sister who home schools her son and my best friend. They actually both do virtual schooling. It may be an option in your area and you should check it out. They both home school their sons because they are autistic and the class atmosphere is not for their kids. My sister tried public schools and private schools, they just didn't work.
I think home schooling isn't for everybody, but it is a good option for those who need it. As long as the kids are still being socialized it's a wonderful option. With virtual schooling becoming more and more popular it's helping a lot of students and parents. I know that thru virtual schooling my friends son has advanced so much.

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