Dear Parent,

Thank you for your question. You indicate that you are happy with the family-oriented Catholic schools that your boys have been attending. If you continue to be blessed with these schools and your boys are happy, I would not change. Surgery with a month of recovery is a big enough change, and the school your boys will be attending should have some homebound assistance either with the aid of a teacher or tutor or with information that you can use to keep your son on track. Then he can more easily re-enter the classroom after his recovery. Since you mention using the CHC program in preparation for him missing part of the semester, I'm not sure that what he would cover in the CHC program will be what the other students are also covering in the classroom. This discrepancy might make his return to the classroom more difficult. Perhaps you could meet with the third grade teacher to discuss the situation and possible solutions?

What is important to understand is that home schooling is not the same as classroom schooling. The two are not equivalent, and so they are not necessarily interchangeable over a period of a few weeks. This does not mean that one type of schooling is academically deficient, but that the use of different texts and assignments will focus on different aspects. Home schoolers also tend to stray outside the box of grade levels. If they are interested in a topic, they may pursue it further without saving it for the next grade.

If the Catholic schools are working well for your younger boys, but your nine-year-old son is getting overwhelmed and discouraged in the classroom, then home schooling offers a feasible alternative. You can begin whenever you are ready, either in the summer or at the start of the private school year. Home schooling will mean schooling at your son's level without any pressure to keep up with his classmates. He can relax and work at this own pace, and you can add activities that will address continued development of his fine motor skills. (If you have not already done so, I recommend teaching him to touch type. That can take a lot of frustration out of his life and allow him to move on to more creative and critical thinking. I have a torn tendon in my right hand and that makes for sloppy writing, but I can type more comfortably and much more legibly. It is very tiring for me to write by hand for even a paragraph, so I have much empathy with students who have difficulty writing.)  During his recovery, you can adapt lessons to keep your son learning by using an oral approach to the lessons. Instead of him reading to you, you will be reading to him. He can give oral responses and will be able to develop his listening skills.

If you choose to home school, I strongly advise that you commit to it for a full year. Even if you have a teaching certificate, because home schooling is different, it takes time to get used to. Sometimes I think it is easier for parents who aren't professional teachers to home school because they don't have to struggle against a classroom mentality. It is difficult for children to have sudden changes in their environment. Primary school children especially like well-established routines. If you decide that you would like to try home schooling, my best advice is to start slowly with the core subjects for the first semester. You and your son will need time to get used to the new situation.

May God bless you and may your son's surgery be successful and his recovery quick.

Respectfully,

Sandra Garant