Parents Alternative schooling to accommodate gym?

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GymnastMomX2

Proud Parent
First off let me say we've been in Texas almost exactly a full year and gymnastics is no joke down here :p

We just found out a spot opened up in a local charter school for my DD that would allow her to go to school 7:45-11:45 and gym every week day 12-5. Instead currently she has gym 4-8 4x a week and then 5hrs on Saturdays.

Pros, she would get way more family time, and we would get to eat dinner together. Cons, she would miss out on band and theater and other stuff like that.

Also, she's a 7th grade level 7. There's no elite aspirations here, and honestly college gym is probably a long shot. She is a strong level 7, has most of her 8 skills already.

She wants to give it a try, and I ultimately want it to be her decision. I'm just not sure if giving up normal school stuff is worth it??

Thoughts?
 
Will she be giving up anything she will actually miss? For instance, my one DD would never want to do band or anything like that and my other couldn't in public school because the performances interfered with meets. It's awesome there are educational options to try out. What is there to lose in trying it for a year? That would be how I would look at it. I let my kids guide their education, although I understand that some people don't give their kids that level of involvement.
 
The fact that she is wanting to give it a try tells me that she is ok with missing out on those other things. And unless you live in the sticks like we do (where any kind of extra curricular after school program means driving a horrific mtn pass, which incidently I do five days a week for gym, don't get me started on that one...), well, there are probably other opportunities for those activities should she desire them.
I say go for it! And this is coming from someone who has been a public school educator for years. :)
 
I wouldn't consider it SOLELY for an activity, no matter how timeconsuming, but if there are other reasons and she is wanting to do it, why not? I think the additional family time is very valuable. I would LOVE to be able to sit down with all of us at least a couple of times a week to have dinner!!

Only you know if she would miss out on the social aspect and school involvement. My own kids, at this point, are so heavily involved with their passions (one L7 gymmie + one dancer, going into 6th and 8th grade this year) that they have zero interest in school activities and wouldn't miss those whatsoever. I just know myself and our dynamic and no matter how well intentioned, I don't see home schooling working well for us plus their respective teams/studios/gyms don't offer daytime alternatives anyways other than for the TOPs kids..!
 
I completely agree w/ Bookworm's sentiment that you shouldn't negatively rearrange your life for a gym schedule. However, I personally might pick the shorter school day regardless of gymnastics. These are just my biases, but I tend to feel like shorter days end up being vastly more productive, I'm a sucker for charter schools, and when my own daughter's schedule was switched to an earlier slot, the new "family time element" was amost lifechanging. Also, as others have said, you can pick up theatre or band somewhere else if she has an interest, and probably at a much higher level.
 
That is pretty common in Quebec. Certain students at a higher level of sport do enriched classes in the morning and their sport of choice in the afternoon.

I would want to know that she was going to be able to satisfy her educational requirements and to be able to rejoin her mainstream peers without any gaps in her education.

Parents here really enjoy having their evenings back.
 
Go for it! It might be great for your family, allow her to get more rest and spend more time socializing with the friends she cares about. As long as she can keep up academically, it sounds like it would be worth a try.
 
Thanks everyone. The only thing she would really miss, according to her, is band. We could do lessons of course, but not the same experience as playing with a full band. As we've only been here a year, most of the friends she's made have been at the gym anyway.

She came to me last night and said if I hate it I can always go back right? So I think we might give it a go. This summer she had gym during the day/week and it was so nice to have that family time after work.

Of course I'll still be driving my 5 year old to gym twice a week in the evenings. Can't win ;)
 
Oopski, if you are where I think you are based on some of your past posts, then we are in the same city / at the same gym (though my DD is not on team (yet? ever? Who knows)) - this town has so many interesting opportunities in music and the arts, including band/orchestras not tied to schools - the devil would be in the scheduling, of course, just like in public school.
 
Regardless of gym it sounds like a great opportunity that some of my kids would jump at.
If she loves band I'm sure you can find her a band to join that is likely to be of a higher standard. And that would be good for building outside interests and friends.
 
If the curriculum's as strong, I would do it. My DS is at gym 5-9 monday through friday and it feels like I hardly see him during the school year. I'd love to have family time back!
 
Nothing is set in stone. Why not try it for a year? I think it sounds like a great opportunity worth trying. We decided to do something similar this year (no Olympic aspirations here either). DD loves it, and we love having her home with us in the evenings. I'm having to drive my 5 yr old two nights a week to gym still too, so I feel your pain there. But overall, it has been very nice for our family so far...
 
I think you have nothing to lose overall. I'm a public school teacher yet I'm also a great believer in charter schools and, essentially finding the right fit for the child.

Where I live, charter schools are required to have the same curriculum so if it's the same in Texas, your daughter wouldn't miss any curriculum. Therefore, could go back to her public school if its not a good fit. And the way I see it, she doesn't have to stay the whole year. If you find come January that she isn't happy there, you can go back to public school.

One question is will she miss out on band and theater because it meets in the afternoon at the charter school? If so, would they be willing to have her give it a try and maybe go to band once a week (missing practice part of that day??) Just a thought.
 
We moved to a modified virtual schedule 2 yrs ago and I'd never go back to a traditional day. Dd was exhausted all the time and I never saw her. This is waaaay better!! Good luck!
 
My daughter is in a high performance school that caters to athletes. Unfortunately its only from grades 5-8. She does love going to school for only 4 hours a day and yet it still fits within the school curriculum.

Some of her cons have been.
  • School and training with the same kids is a lot of "together" time
  • The school is a lot of independent learning and if you are not a strong student it could be tough. She's ok but they do go through some sections pretty darn fast.
  • She has 10 times the amount of tests then her friends in regular school
  • There is no extra after school activities. No volleyball, etc.
  • She misses her non gym friends
  • Lots of project

Pros:
  • School is only 4 hours
  • Evenings free - as she trains until 5:30
  • So she can see her non gym friends in the evening
  • Not as long of a day when she went to school from 9-4, then gym until 8:30
  • They cater to when she is off for a week at a meet. They don't expect her homework to be done on the day she returns
  • Projects are never due in one day. Usually lots of time is given
  • Everything is done in an oral presentation - so helpful for self esteem

When she goes into high school - her school is also a high performance but not structured the exact same way....but very workable.





First off let me say we've been in Texas almost exactly a full year and gymnastics is no joke down here :p

We just found out a spot opened up in a local charter school for my DD that would allow her to go to school 7:45-11:45 and gym every week day 12-5. Instead currently she has gym 4-8 4x a week and then 5hrs on Saturdays.

Pros, she would get way more family time, and we would get to eat dinner together. Cons, she would miss out on band and theater and other stuff like that.

Also, she's a 7th grade level 7. There's no elite aspirations here, and honestly college gym is probably a long shot. She is a strong level 7, has most of her 8 skills already.

She wants to give it a try, and I ultimately want it to be her decision. I'm just not sure if giving up normal school stuff is worth it??

Thoughts?
 
I know that charter schools are different depending on the part of the country you live in. Here, there are a few very good charter schools. However, the majority of the charter schools here are not places I would send my children. They te d to come and go. They do not have the same requirements for teachers. They are very often run by corporations and I find that the for profit education model tends to favor profit over education. Now, that said there are some good ones. And, there are many alternative public schools and private schools that are fantastic institutes of education.
 

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