I'm Home Schooling Two and Have Baby Due in August. What to Do Next Year?

I would look into the various charter schools in the area. They are still public schools but are not governed by how to teach.

Hi V.,
Congratulations on baby #5! I am a homeschool mom of 4 and had the same question when I was pregnant with #4. I would recommend reading Ignite The Fire by Terry Camp. She gives a totally different approach to "school" that works so well with a family. My youngest is now 4 and we are in our 9th year of homeschooling.

There are some good charter schools in portland that are free there is a waiting list to get in them so I would look into it now. I would also just check out the schools around portland some of them are very good. The good thing about portland public schools is you can send your kids to whatever one you choose as long as it's in the district and you have transportation to get them to and from school. I have a grade school 1 block away from me but choose to take them to another school that has higher academic ratings. I think you can check out the ratings for the schools online.The only obsticle I face sometimes is that we are christian and I have to equip my kids each day to not listen to evolution theory and junk like that that may come up at school other than that I really like there school it is called Arlita there is another one called woodstock that is very good to! good luck and God bless you!

How about sharing the home schooling with another mom, or moms. A friend of mine home schools her two children and they are part of a neighborhood home schooling where for some days and some subjects, they meet as a group or one parent takes that time period.

The charter school lotteries are loading up NOW ... do definitely get on the websites and print your apps and apply!!! I'm at Portland Village, and I know the due date is soon, I think March 24 (since we are in from last year, we don't face the lottery). The different chrater schools have slightly different timelines, but they are all NOW.

I recommend the Creative Science School in SE, the Opal School (in CM2 by the zoo), PVS ... but those are my preferneces ;).

If you are in one of the many grade schools that is failing "No Child Left Behind," you can apply to any public gradeschools you want (although they might not accept you based on room). There are also magnet programs--like Chinese immersion, Japanese immersion, Spanish immersion ... I think Russian now too ... most of those are in SE, and need to be applied to now as well (they take their neighborhood kids first and then fill spots from other applications).

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added since your what-happened:
We are in the same neighborhood. Trillium and Portland Village are both N Ptld; I think a couple of others, too.
I don't know if Woodlawn is failing NCLB, but the PPS website has links for each school (talks about population, scores, special focus if any, address and contact info, etc.), and also links or blurbs for each charter school, and links for the magnet schools.
http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools-c/
(scroll sown past the first visible stuff to find the specialty stuff).
That site should hopefully answer all your questions. I don't always like how it's set up (PPS has extremely mixed emotions about the charters, and so of course kind of downplays them), but I've never not been able to find the info I needed.

You might have to skip a couple of Mamasource days, though, to get oriented on the school situation ;).

My oldest is only 4 yrs old (she'll be 5 mid Sept and will miss cut off for school this year) We have been trying to decide the whole public vs private thing. While I think home school works great for some, it just won't work for us. Our elementary school is great, lots of parent involvement, high test scores, ect... We are looking into several charter schools in and out of our district. So far charter schools seem to be affordable and a nice blend in my opinion.

HTH
E.

Hi V.,

You might look in to Village Home. They are a great resource center based loosely on school, in that there are other teachers, and the kids get the opportunity to work in groups just as they would in classrooms in public/private school. You can check them out at www.villagehome.org and see what they might have to offer.

Good luck,
T. Nelson CD, CLD

I suggest you look into a virtual academy. Both Oregon and Washington have online public schools. They use the K12 curriculum. So basically, you are homeschooling them (with a lot of independent working with the older kids), but the materials, lesson plans, etc are all provided free of charge. This frees your time up so you can spend it with your younger 3. The work the children are assigned takes them an average of 4 hours per day. If there are any assigned lessons you object to them learning, you can opt out of that specific lesson no problem. You can do the work whatever days you want, so you can take off Tuesday and Thursdays and do school on Saturday and Sundays when hubby is home to help out. Also, you can do the schooling in the evening after hubby gets home from work. All of the children are tested at the beginning of the year, so each subject is tailored to exactly where your child is at acedemically. If you request it (they recommend it), you can have most of the lessons set up so you teach the same lesson to both kids instead of two different lessons.

Just something to concider. It seems like the best of both worlds to me because you still get to homeschool, but it is free, you don't have to comit as much time to it, you don't have to prepare lesson plans, and you can do it whenever it is convenient for you.

Luckily we have some great options in Portland. There are at least two charter schools that I know of and I'm sure there might be others too...one is Montessori (The Ivy School) and the other is Waldorf (Portland Village School) but both are free because they are funded by the public school system and your children will keep pace with the standardized testing, etc. while enjoying the benefits of these special programs.

Hi V.,
I respect your desire to homeschool, but Portland has some incredible schools. Mine went to Buckman and Sunnyside and I'm sure everyday that they got better there than I could have ever given them at home. Especially Sunnyside. I can't imagine a more nurturing, holistic and interesting place for them to learn. A friends kids go to Trillium charter school. Small classes totally child-centered learning. There are great schools out there, don't be afraid.

Dear V.,
Take a break. Public School will not harm your children. I have done both homeschool and Public School and so has my daughter, who is raising three children. You are the teacher! Bottom line. Your children will learn in school and you can add to that learning at home. You have your hands full and having your two oldest in a learning environment part of the time can only help your situation.
My best to you.
J. S

Hi,

Have you looked into the charter school system? My only child is 2, but we have alot of friends who have children in the free charter schools around Portland. They offer a great curriculum, and diversity, and there are a bunch to choose from. I'd suggest getting their info quickly though, strange as it may seem, the next school year is right around the corner. Good Luck! K

Here is the link I found:http://www.osba.org/hotopics/charters/progress.htm

look into charter schools. there is cascade heights and sojourner in milwaukie and another one in tualatin that i know of. my son is on the wait list for 6th grade at cascade (k-8) and my daughter is on the list for k at both cascade and sojourner (k-6). their academics are far better than anything i've seen from portland or north clackamas school districts.

i'm with you on the public vs. private cost and i think charter's are a great third option. once my twins are nearing kindergarten i plan on home schooling the three youngest. good luck to you.

Relocating back to Washington (specifically Vancouver) would be a very positive option as the VSD is a very strong school district. Having taught in the VSD for the last 5 years, I feel very confident in having my children attend these public schools!