MAG What do you do for school to help with the crazy gymnastics schedule?

[jenjean70]

What about taking one of his online classes over the summer? DS is only in middle school, but we finished one of his semesters of his online class last summer, so he only had the 2nd semester to complete now. He gets out of PE too, so he leaves 2 periods early. He tends to do all his online class work over the weekend.

Our district requires a semester of health in 7th grade so the first semester will be difficult....I wonder if he could take a different class early over the summer and still get out early....That's an idea. I might have to ask about it!

 

[LilHawkMom]

Through middle school I homeschooled since that school got out so late and he would have been over hour late to practice everyday. (we also live over hour from gym) When he went to 9th grade I talked to the school counselor about only doing the exact number of credits/required classes to graduate. Most schools offer kids many more credits than needed to graduate. Even though this has been a good option it is still very hard to get things done and not be so tired and going to bed late every night. Though he has fewer classes, the classes he takes are the harder core subject classes and not easy elective kind. He also did AP classes since they give more credit and potential for college credit with the exam. First and second term he goes whole day, 3 term goes three fourths of the day, and last term half day. This schedule is helpful since it coordinates with the competition schedule getting more intense and needing more days off for meets/travel. I will say I was miffed when they didn't let him out of PE. Our state has a "must take PE half credit every year to graduate". My son also works on weekends (when no meets or extra practice) to help pay for gymnastics. I pray everyday he doesn't get burned out.
One thing to note, if your son wants to do gymnastics for college make sure all his classes are NCAA approved. They are especially known for not taking many online classes. Also, if you homeschool you have to have all your ducks in a row documenting things. And if you choose a online school make sure they are approved by NCAA because not all are. And to check it each year as one popular online school lost theirs after having it. The NCAA eligibility website has specific info about this.

 

[Mom2twingymnasts]

Thanks for all the input. I need to spend some time digging into this some more. I'm meeting with his school counselor in January. I wan't to understand all the options that are available for him through the school first. He is in an accelerated honors math class, honors chemistry, and honors english. I would like him to keep math, science, and english through the school. I'm going to ask for that - those 3 classes in classrooms and the rest of the courses done online. Again, I need to do some digging before I meet with the counselor to know what I really should ask for.

My son wants to do all online because he hears it is easier when all is online. He is just not good at pacing. He is also not great about reaching out to the online teacher when he has questions. I understand that currently his 2 online courses are his lowest priority but I don't trust that he will know how to pace himself with everything being online.

 

[MILgymFAM]

My son wants to do all online because he hears it is easier when all is online. He is just not good at pacing. He is also not great about reaching out to the online teacher when he has questions. I understand that currently his 2 online courses are his lowest priority but I don't trust that he will know how to pace himself with everything being online.

I have no experience with online high school, but my DD tried some online college classes this semester after doing only in person previously, and they were SO much harder. It wasn’t hard to read expectations, there was so much busy work, and much less learning. Again, this is according to my DD, but it lines up with my experiences in online learning as well. I’m not saying that distance ed isn’t a viable and important option. Just don’t expect it to be easier.

 

[skschlag]

Thanks for all the input. I need to spend some time digging into this some more. I'm meeting with his school counselor in January. I wan't to understand all the options that are available for him through the school first. He is in an accelerated honors math class, honors chemistry, and honors english. I would like him to keep math, science, and english through the school. I'm going to ask for that - those 3 classes in classrooms and the rest of the courses done online. Again, I need to do some digging before I meet with the counselor to know what I really should ask for.

My son wants to do all online because he hears it is easier when all is online. He is just not good at pacing. He is also not great about reaching out to the online teacher when he has questions. I understand that currently his 2 online courses are his lowest priority but I don't trust that he will know how to pace himself with everything being online.

We are meeting with D's counselor in Jan as well. This year is set, but next year has me worried. This was his first finals week and it has not been easy. He has had 2 migraines, but will not miss practice so we have to figure out something! (He is just in AP Biology)

 

[Seeker]

I have no experience with online high school, but my DD tried some online college classes this semester after doing only in person previously, and they were SO much harder. It wasn’t hard to read expectations, there was so much busy work, and much less learning. Again, this is according to my DD, but it lines up with my experiences in online learning as well. I’m not saying that distance ed isn’t a viable and important option. Just don’t expect it to be easier.

Agree — do not expect it to be easier. Teachers often make classroom decisions to cover some assignments verbally in class, skip certain assignments, etc. Not in an online class. The student must do EVERYTHING.

 

[Mom2twingymnasts]

Agree — do not expect it to be easier. Teachers often make classroom decisions to cover some assignments verbally in class, skip certain assignments, etc. Not in an online class. The student must do EVERYTHING.

I agree with you both. That has been our experience too but try telling a 15 year old boy who is convinced that the grass is greener for those who take all online.

 

[Madden3]

When my older son and I were deciding whether or not to have him go back to his old school or keep homeschooling for 8th grade, we sat down together and he wrote out all the pros and cons and we discussed each one. Interestingly most of the pros were balanced by a similar pro in the other column. Eventually the con of not enough sleep was the deal breaker - there was no way around the fact he would get 2-3 hours less sleep every night with the practice time, school start time and homework time factor, and because his body and mind are very sensitive to lack of sleep, he chose to continue to homeschool. Right now we are exploring options for HS and we will probably be doing something similar for making a decision on next year. It was a helpful exercise for both of us to get clarity on what my son was looking for/needing in an educational and life experience.

 

[raenndrops]

In Ohio, they are getting really tough on Online schools. They were even trying to shut one down because they couldn't PROVE that students were working 5 hours a day / 25 hours a week.
The online school I recommend in our area (I am currently working with 2 boys that use it) have changed their rules. The students had to download tracking software (even though they can also do their work on other computers). They have to account for offline time / activities. In younger grades, the parents have to fill out a form every 3 weeks accounting for their child's educational activities offline. This school is good, BUT it is NOT NCAA compliant due to the fact that they do not require completion of a year long class in 36 weeks / semester class in 18 weeks. However, being able to complete classes early is an advantage if a child is behind.

As their adult learning partner, I plan their weekly schedules.

I am working with a 4th grader. He has 3 required SUPPLEMENTAL online activities daily, totaling 2 hours, because of his IEP. In addition to that, he has his core classes and art (almost done with art though- should be finishing today).
LA and Math are supposed to take 45 minutes each per day. Science and Social Studies are 20-30 minutes 3-4 times a week each.
His offline activities that count include speech therapy, reading, and 4-H. He does his morning work every day. He doesn't complain. He tries really hard. He has the discipline needed to do online school. His teacher was awesome and has things labeled for each day (Week # and Day #) for each subject.

His older brother started the year as an 8th/9th grader because the year before, he had a head start (began online in 6th grade and started 7th grade that year because he finished 6th grade early - thinking that he could CHOOSE to be done with the school year over 1.5 months early.) and completed 2 years of LA and Science and a little short of 2 years in Math and SS because of the 5 hour/day requirement.
He is now in 9th grade in all 4 core classes plus Art. Since he is in High School now, we can add electives if he finishes a class before the end of the school year. They limit you to 5 classes at a time, so when he finishes Art next month, we will add Health. I am NOT having him start the "next" core class if he finishes one of them early because I WANT him to go back to the brick and mortar school next year because he tries to take too many short cuts and refuses to follow my directions when it suits him. This leads him to having to stay here for up to 8 hours in a single day instead of the scheduled 3.5 hours. He is SUPPOSED to do 1.5 hours a day at home, but neglects it when the spirit moves him.
I plan his assignments so he is doing something in each class (taking notes on lessons - which he often refuses to do) and / or taking a quiz on the information. He just arrived and didn't do what he was supposed to... it is going to be a long day.

Good luck to everyone trying to figure out schooling options.

 

[Mom2twingymnasts]

When my older son and I were deciding whether or not to have him go back to his old school or keep homeschooling for 8th grade, we sat down together and he wrote out all the pros and cons and we discussed each one. Interestingly most of the pros were balanced by a similar pro in the other column. Eventually the con of not enough sleep was the deal breaker - there was no way around the fact he would get 2-3 hours less sleep every night with the practice time, school start time and homework time factor, and because his body and mind are very sensitive to lack of sleep, he chose to continue to homeschool. Right now we are exploring options for HS and we will probably be doing something similar for making a decision on next year. It was a helpful exercise for both of us to get clarity on what my son was looking for/needing in an educational and life experience.

My son's major focus is about getting more sleep too. I'm looking into the home school information that was sent to me. It just scares me a bit because I feel like it requires the parent to be the teacher. I know there are lots of options with the home school route and I'm trying to figure them out.
With the online courses through the school, there are teachers to answer questions/grade the work/tests but they are remote, and the parent involvement isn't any different than a normal class room course. Through the school you can take 2 classes online to be considered a normal full time student. You are allowed to take a third class per semester online but then you are a different designation of student. I'm now aware that at least one student got to take more courses online through out school but that wasn't originally offered to me.

I like the idea of doing pro's and con's and will do that once we know all our options.

 

[Madden3]

Yes online school is not at all the same as homeschooling. However, online classes can be part of homeschooling. There are many ways to homeschool and many possible ways for students to learn. It is not necessary for the parent to teach every subject to the student, and in some cases the parent is not ever the direct instructor.

Since you are at least considering homeschooling, I will offer my general thoughts having homeschooled two gymnasts for several years (but not yet HS.) I am not at all trying to be all rah rah homeschooling. Homeschooling is not the right choice for every family or student, just as “school schooling” and online schooling are not the best choices for every situation. Just offering some info.

The major benefit of homeschooling from a time management perspective is the student can eliminate the busywork and still learn. Learning does not require that a student produce a mountain of work. There are of course many skills that require repetition to master and when learning, it is often the case that writing about, drawing a picture about, making a movie about etc. the material one is learning helps the student absorb the material. And these processes generate work product. The problem with regular school (including online school) is that the work product expected frequently ends up being so much, it overwhelms and could even undermine the process of actual learning.

Also it is individual how much work product a student needs to do for any particular subject or skill in order to grasp the subject or become facile with the skills. Homeschooling allows a student to adjust work production accordingly.

Based on the homeschooling families I know who have homeschooled HS students, homeschooled high school students overall tend to become more self directed in their studies. Obviously this varies student to student. A parent certainly needs to be sure their child is learning what they are needing to learn, (no matter how the child is being educated.) But while the parent could be their child’s primary instructor, in many cases, this is not needed. ( This is aside the assumption some make that being a primary instructor is not possible for a parent who is not a credentialed or trained teacher. For most homeschooling families, the parent is not an accredited or trained teacher. And what I have been told by my friends who are credentialed and trained teachers and who homeschool, the skills needed for teaching in a classroom do not help much when teaching one's own kids.)

Depending on where you live, there may be classes aimed at homeschoolers, (including both online and in person courses) community college courses (that may fulfill both HS and college credit at once) etc. Also it is amazing how much instruction, resources, tests, syllabi, etc. are available entirely free, online, and of course curriculums and text books can be purchased.

There may be more than one way to legally homeschool as well. (And in some states it is very hard to legally homeschool.) It all depends on what state you live in. If your son is looking at college gymnastics, I also suggest call the NCAA as I have heard that they will offer parents information about what NCAA compliant homeschool paths are available in their state.

It can be exhausting looking at all the possibilities and figuring out what works best. The best advice I got when I started homeschooling my sons was that “if it is not working, you can always try something else.”