Comments for Laura Grace Weldon http://lauragraceweldon.com Free Range Learning, Relentless Optimism, Creative Living, Gentle Encouragement, Occasional Sarcasm Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:39:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ Comment on School ADD Isn’t Homeschool ADD by Missourimom http://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/01/02/school-add-isnt-homeschool-add/#comment-2279 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:39:54 +0000 http://lauragraceweldon.com/?p=1587#comment-2279 Wow I stumbled into this post searching for information and your story left me breathless and inspired. :-) I have a 6 year old boy whom I ignorantly put into first the public school system for preschool and then a private parochial school for kindergarten. The same story could’ve been written by me. My husband and I decided to homeschool him (and his younger siblings) from here on out by the second semester due to the similar issues in a school setting. My son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS, has heavy Asperger’s Syndrome symptoms (couldn’t receive full diagnosis since he had speech problems, which most Aspies do not), ADHD, and Sensory Integration Dysfunction at the age of 4. A lot to swallow for parents but I always knew he was special little guy from birth and daily he never fails to amaze me in ways I never thought imaginable. We were led to believe that regular school was the only answer and they could do this and that and blah blah blah. It was all like a great big lie. The meeting at the beginning of the school year promising much left us so disgusted by Christmas time, we knew we needed a change. A big one. We got to thinking about homeschool after we realized how much better our son does at home, because we know him, we know how to handle issues, and our life is happy and peaceful. His father and I have worked endlessly to make sure we figured out what worked and what didn’t for him over the years. After all God gave him to us and he’s our responsibility was the attitude that I always took, no matter how bad a meltdown was or how frustrated I became. Once I let go of the notion that regular school was normal and the right thing, just because someone with a super fancy college degree said so, life became fun again. I approached his developmental autism pediatrician about homeschooling also and she was overjoyed. She told me that it was a brilliant idea and wished me luck because she is the first to say the parents always know what’s best for the child, the doctor is just there for advice. Wow that was flabbergasting to say the least. I am happy to say homeschooling is awesome and what bliss! The kids are happy to be home with mom, and my son shows me daily how to do lessons creatively. Your post is very helpful and thank you so much for telling your story. They are many of us out there just like you were.

]]> Comment on Better Test Scores Don’t Lead To Success by Laura Weldon http://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/01/30/better-test-scores-dont-lead-to-success/#comment-2266 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:48:15 +0000 http://lauragraceweldon.com/?p=1664#comment-2266 SO true.

]]> Comment on Better Test Scores Don’t Lead To Success by Christina @Interest-Led Learning http://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/01/30/better-test-scores-dont-lead-to-success/#comment-2264 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:51:36 +0000 http://lauragraceweldon.com/?p=1664#comment-2264 It’s funny because I just finished writing a post for this Saturday where I talked about why failure is a great option. When kids are driven to perfect test scores, they arn’t given the option to fail, yet if you talk to highly successful people, they will say that it took many, many failures until they could get to the level of sucess they are at now. In fact, when you think about it, failure is really an important path to true success – success that builds on something meaningful, not simply a number on a piece of paper.

]]> Comment on Better Test Scores Don’t Lead To Success by Laura Weldon http://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/01/30/better-test-scores-dont-lead-to-success/#comment-2259 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:15:49 +0000 http://lauragraceweldon.com/?p=1664#comment-2259 Each state has different regulations. In our state (Ohio) we can either submit test scores (most people use IOWA basic skills tests) or a letter from a certified teacher saying the child is working up to his or her ability level (usually done by reviewing a portfolio). I know some other states are much stricter.

]]> Comment on Better Test Scores Don’t Lead To Success by Carole McNamara (@cjbmc) http://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/01/30/better-test-scores-dont-lead-to-success/#comment-2258 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:52:30 +0000 http://lauragraceweldon.com/?p=1664#comment-2258 Thank you for posting this. Every year our school district puts pressure on me to get my children tested – preferably by a NYS certified teacher, since I am not one myself. It is my goal to resolve our differences amicably, but our conversations often leave me frustrated and defeated.

I’m curious about other home school educators – are you also experiencing pressure to test under a district’s narrow interpretation of the law?

]]> Comment on Better Test Scores Don’t Lead To Success by Kimerly http://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/01/30/better-test-scores-dont-lead-to-success/#comment-2250 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:59:28 +0000 http://lauragraceweldon.com/?p=1664#comment-2250 Amen! Forwarded this to many, whether they are ready to hear it or not. One never knows when someone is ready for a change, big or small. Your posts are always so informative and honest!

]]> Comment on Better Test Scores Don’t Lead To Success by Laura Weldon http://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/01/30/better-test-scores-dont-lead-to-success/#comment-2249 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:08:23 +0000 http://lauragraceweldon.com/?p=1664#comment-2249 Love your description of Z-boy as loving electricity, satellites and surrealism. Sounds like my kids. Well, maybe they love the first two and are themselves surreal!

]]> Comment on Better Test Scores Don’t Lead To Success by lucypith http://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/01/30/better-test-scores-dont-lead-to-success/#comment-2248 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:53:19 +0000 http://lauragraceweldon.com/?p=1664#comment-2248 Reblogged this on Z is for Zener and commented:
I want to share and archive this for myself – some great information and links here that I definitely want and need to follow up on.

]]> Comment on Better Test Scores Don’t Lead To Success by Jamie McMillin http://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/01/30/better-test-scores-dont-lead-to-success/#comment-2246 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:00:16 +0000 http://lauragraceweldon.com/?p=1664#comment-2246 I wholeheartedly agree – I wish we could stand on the rooftops and spread this message across the world! I’ll do my small part by spreading your post, but most of my friends have already been converted :)

]]> Comment on School ADD Isn’t Homeschool ADD by Laura Weldon http://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/01/02/school-add-isnt-homeschool-add/#comment-2234 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:27:09 +0000 http://lauragraceweldon.com/?p=1587#comment-2234 I’m glad this solution worked for you. Meds of all kinds certainly have their uses, the problem in our culture is over use and inappropriate use. I have a friend with a son who had such serious problems that many days she longed to put him (or herself) in an institution. Eventually they found (through an elimination diet) that he had some major food intolerances, the kind that weren’t picked up by allergy testing. http://lauragraceweldon.com/2011/09/19/yes-diet-can-affect-a-childs-behavior/ Even with those modifications he did best in school on a low dose of medication. Everyone is happy. Thank goodness we can all make the choices that work for our families.

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