I am starting this blog to keep up with what we are doing for homeschooling and what all is going on in our family.  After a really bad year academically for Nate, we made the decision to try homeschooling for one year. If you were to look at his grades, you wouldn't know that he had a bad year. He had all A's & B's until the final report card. But, he struggled. Every single day. He struggled with homework, he struggled with classwork, he struggled with all of it. We knew he was struggling, but we kept hoping that with our support, it would get better.

We had him tested in November and confirmed that he does have ADHD-Inattentive Type. The diagnosis is what we expected and it was clear to the examiner that Nate doesn't need meds at this point. More than anything, he needs re-direction when he zones out, a quiet space to work in, and a schedule. The classroom he was in at school had about 24 kids in it, all at different levels and all working on different projects. At one point when I was in the classroom, there were kids finishing worksheets, kids reading books, kids researching Spanish words on computers, and another couple of kids listening to a CD.  Ummmm, and you wonder why worksheets don't get completed?!

Nate is the kid that excels in music. He is in his 3rd year playing violin and is about to start cello. He started reading music in January and has taught himself to play several songs on the guitar.  Yet, he struggles with math facts but completely understands the concepts being taught. He can watch something and understand how to do it or repeat back what was just said, but he does not soak in what he has just read.

Anyway, so after a lot of prayerful consideration, I decided to homeschool this year. I don't think it is always going to be easy, I know there will be days I just want to run away. I also know that the best chance we have in helping Nate succeed is by giving him the opportunity to learn in a way that works with his gifts and personality.