I've wanted to home educate my 10yo for five years now (yep). He's never wanted it despite periods of extreme unhappiness at school. I think he's finally given up on school and now is willing to try home ed. Just wondering if there have been any new developments or issues over the previous couple of years that I should be aware of. I think the last time I looked seriously at it and drafted an application was two years ago.
I'm aware of most issues. I'm in ChCh and will contact the CHE. I'm just wanting to check whether anything 'significant' has changed, law changes etc??
My guess is that we will attempt this until the start of 2013 and re-evaluate then. I'm well aware that a foray into home ed would be arising not entirely because my child "really" wants it, but because of him feeling so helpless at school; more of a resignation to it than a strong desire. Not the best reasons I know, but hopefully he will have the opportunity to see how rewarding it can be.
I do have concerns about 'keeping pace' with the level of work he would need - will have re-educate myself - but not about our ability to 'work together' on this.
Hi,
I think the only thing tyhat's really changed is that ERO are not routinely reviewing home educators anymore - only about 35 familes a year, usually as a result of complaint etc.
I took my kids out at age 10 and 9 and haven't looked back - go for it!
Two terms ago I was in the same position as you were. After 5 long gruelling years of primary school (for him & me) my husband & I (with the help of a counsellor) finally decided to pull our now 10yo out of school. His emotional health was more important than anything else. He did want to be homeschoolled and had been asking to do it since about 7. Having a special needs daughter at home meant it wasn't an option until after she went to school.
So we bit the bullet, wrote out our exemption application and pulled him out of school. I can honestly say it hasn't been easy but it has well and truly been worth the smile on his face and the sparkly eyes we are starting to see back.
I am now (after 3 months of unschooling him) trying to reinspire my very bright but very unmotivated child back to his passion for learning. The first time I gave him a worksheet he flipped his lid - too many over the years - pointless. We have realised that although a very intelligent little boy he is lacking in resiliance, strength & stamina so have focussed on getting back to the basics.
There is alot more that I could say (I have never posted on here before)
other than GO FOR IT!! I can even say I am enjoying what we are doing, some days don't go as I planned but thats OK. We like you are going to keep him at home for a few more years and may even homeschool him through college years. Not sure yet but we just take each term as it comes.
Hi, When I pulled my son out of school a year ago, after five years at school, I was led to believe that a "recent" change (I'm not sure how recent) in the application process was a bigger emphasis on tailoring the curriculum to the child's needs. This apparently came about because the schools now have to show more about how they're planning for each child. Madness in a way, because tailoring the curriculum to the child is one of the natural strengths of homeschooling. So if you're looking at applications from a few years ago, they may not succeed today if they don't have the required emphasis on the individual child's needs, interests, learning styles, etc.
Also, the age of the child makes a big difference in what your application must include. If you're applying to homeschool a six-year-old, the Ministry assumes you will learn how to teach as your child grows. If you're applying for an older child, you'll need to show much more about how you're assessing and evaluating how well you're doing.
The Ministry says the application takes 3 weeks. Ours took 8 weeks, and I've heard others say the same. This doesn't seem very long but it really dragged for my son and I wished that I'd timed it better or at least had prepared him that it might take that long.
If you don't mind my adding a comment, I wouldn't pull him out until he's eager. Our first year has really been about trying to establish a way of learning together, about relationships. If the low times ended up with my son saying "well I didn't think we should do this anyway!" I'd be really distraught. If your son is worried that he won't see enough of his friends, this is indeed something you might worry about yourself later, and you don't want him to be blaming you for it.
Is it possible to take him out of school once a fortnight to visit homeschooling groups, get together with homeschoolers, or do some activities that he normally can't do because he's at school? Hopefully he'll get enthusiastic and will ask to be homeschooled himself.
Lots of people advised me not to try anything structured for the first year, as in that year we'll be re-establishing healthy relationships. They were right. The second year is the year I'll be actually looking to see if the homeschooling is working. So keep that in mind when you look at timeframes.
The more we're out of school the more we don't want to be in school ever again.
I so want to do this, will be challenging but I think it could work. Just need to be certain that he really wants it too, and that he's not doing it begrudgingly. Sigh.
I am so grateful to be reading these comments right now. I have come to a conclusion myself concerning my sons well-being. He has asked me for about 3 months now to home-school him. I am as keen as I could ever be to do this. My only concern is whether or not I am actually doing the right thing for him. He is a child that in the beginning loved to learn new things. He has changed a lot. I need to do this.
