I can't believe that Christmas is almost here!

I just realized this today. It's only a month and a half away. That sounds like a long time, but in reality December is so filled with obligations that it really means I have only about 3 weeks to be productive and get ready for the holidays.

i know it is going by so fast..thanksgiving is almost here.....I need to start my shopping

Shhhhh! Be quiet!! lol I have so many things to do before Christmas..I have most of the shopping done but I still have the kitchen ceiling to paint, the bathroom painting, flooring, vanity to finish. JJ's room needs the laminate flooring,closet painted and organizer put in, the walls patched, primered and painted..I need to touch up some spots in the spare bedroom with paint, and Kris wanted to see if I could paint one more coat on the livingroom walls.

I am going to try to get it all done, plus I am thinking about taking JJ out of school and homeschooling him. If I do I will have that to do as well. We'll see, my sister homeschools her 4 kids (well actually the oldest graduated this summer) she's extremely organized and does a great job with her kids. JJ is intelligent, but can't be bothered with all of the other things that aren't important. In other words, if the teacher just taught the lesson 15-20 min and then let him do his work, he would be fine..Instead he gets frustrated because the work is drug out over what he feels is an unecessary amount of time. For example in English he had to do a report. He included all of the information the teacher wanted, explained things very well, excellent grammar, punctuation, etc. Except the teacher wanted 3 pages. He did it in 1 1/2. He failed the paper because it didn't have the required 3 pages. However, (and I agree with him) in order to make the three pages, he would have had to throw some BS stuff in there..there wasn't really any more to the topic he could have elaborated on. English was my straight A subject all 4 years in highschool, I thought he did a damn good job on the paper. So despite his horrible grade for some classes, on the MEA's and other standardized tests he is performing at a 2-3rd year college grade level. His teacher will assign a book to read, he is done reading it in two days..the class is given a month to read it..so he gets bored sitting around waiting for everyone to catch up to where he is. They won't put him in honors English because his grade wasn't great last year. But his grade wasn't great last year because of the same reasons as this year, it's a vicious cycle.. I have talked to teachers, guidance counselors, had him tested, etc. The school doesn't want me to pull him out to homeschool him, yet they won't do anything even though I have explained to them what I think the problem is. They think he just doesn't want to bother to do the work..which is so far from the truth. He was insulted and upset last year because his english teacher kept making spelling mistakes and saying things incorrectly. Why should he be taught by an English teacher who can't spell? He could teach himself better than she could teach him.. I don't blame him really. He's a good kid, never complains, generally always has a good attitude, never a discipline problem at home or school.. so that tells me along with everything else, that there is something wrong. He doesn't fit an indentifiable profile to them, so they don't know what to do with him. He can't follow along with the class because they go too slow and go over a bunch of un-needed stuff that he doesn't need help with. They won't put him in honors classes because of his bad grades from classes the year before. So they have no solution for him.. My sister has had great results homeschooling, her kids are very intelligent and her system she has set up is brilliant. She told me that I could use her books, worksheets, parent's guides, DVD's etc. and that she would help me out if I needed off and on. So Monday I am going to go over to her house and look at her lesson plans and curriculum..and if I feel I can manage it and that it will work better for him, then I will do it. This way I can go as fast or slow as he needs on a particular subject. So he won't become frustrated or bored..I dunno, we'll see..

Kelly, I had the same problem with English as far as the speed at which books were read and taught. I really lucked out once - had a teacher who quickly recognized the problem and set me loose in the library every day. This was in the 70's and I had a very progressive school, so our English was broken down into lots of choices for us. This particular class was Fantasy and Science Fiction. The class would be assigned a single Vonnegut novel stretched over several weeks and I'd be on a reading frenzy in the library. Loved it! I was and still am a rule-follower, so I could stretch a report as needed.

It sounds like homeschooling would benefit JJ. He sounds bored as hell in school and shouldn't be held back so other kids can keep up. I wasn't a genius by any stretch, but when I skipped school (again, I was an angel, so I called in sick, didn't actually skip) it was from frustration and boredom.

Kelly, one of the problems of extremely intelligent kids is that they do not fit the "cookie cutter profile". They are easily bored and need to be constantly chalenged. Bayley had an IEP, because she has ADHD/Inn, she also has a MENSA level IQ( did you know you cannot test for MENSA until you are 14?). Instead of being in special ed, she is in AP classes, basically a whole grade level ahead, but she is still bored sometimes. For math she goes to the High School 3 days a week and takes IPC, Integrated Physics and Chemistry. ( THIS is the reason we dont have a chemistry set in our house.....do you know how many times I have heard "BUT MOM, I SAW IT ON MYTHBUSTERS"?)
Have you considered asking for a 504 plan? It could outline acomodations that he needs, such as being challenged on a daily basis, sitting in with older kids for certain classes etc. That is what we did with Kristin, although graduating at just barely 17 was a mistake for her I think, she was a 3 year grad.

I have considered homeschooling Bayley, but with her ADHD she needs the social aspects of school. We are looking into a Private prep school for her for High School, nice catholic girls school....LOL It is the High School I went to, so i KNOW she will be challenged.