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Alaskan
Herd Master
Yep! The kids all have dry erase boards and dry erase markers... use them oodles for math and for penmanship.
I hear that argument all of the time... and it never resonated with me. "Regular" school is ... odd.
My eldest has issues -sigh- some aspergers or autism or some such... plus some learning hurdles...as well as severe ADHD.
So I was very careful to properly socialize. So..... We had "play with kids you know" at church coffee hour; where most of the time I had to watch him like a hawk, since he needed to be taught how exactly all normal social interactions are supposed to work.
Then we had "socialize with familiar strangers" so, the weekly grocery store and post office (small town, so often the same checker).
Then we had "interact with complete strangers" which was harder... but once a week we would go to the park, or ice skating at the town pond... or the beach... and learn how to talk to complete strangers.
At the end... even with all of his many issues, he is better with socialization than most schooled kids (he is now 22). (Except of course for a few aspergers type things I just couldn't get him past)
As to speech... eldest also needed speech
I first took him to the free speech services at the school... waste of time. They worked hard at teaching him to stand in line and raise his hand. Not what he or I needed.... I finally found a private speech therapist, my insurance actually covered most of the cost.. and she was a gift from God. Not saying your kid isn't getting the help he needs at the school... I am just saying to make sure he is getting what he needs... and if he isn't, keep looking.
I looked up homeschool laws in Oklahoma. Law says they must be in school starting at age 5. And, if you do not want the kid in school at age 5, then yes, you have to tell them that you are homeschooling the kid.
Here is a Link
Homeschool isn't for everyone. There is a crazy amount of work involved. I had a mile long list of what I wanted to teach my kids. But from the start, I wrote down what was most important to me to teach my kids, and numbered them in order of importance. I definitely got those items on the top 5 firmly in my kids. But I did not get to everything on that list!
It turns out that academics weren't in my top 5. Maybe if they had been, eldest could have made it through college... but maybe not... he has a bunch of issues.
2nd is 19, finishing up his 2nd year of college and still all straight As. He did have to start with the lower level (below college level but taken in college) math in college, and it was hard for him... but he made it through. He is now taking his last college math class, college level statistics, still not good at math, still doesn't like it, but is making an A.
Kid 3 is 17, has one more year of high-school. (Late birthday) His mind isn't quite normal either... and really struggles with math and English. But... I have finally gotten him to write a good 5 paragraph paper... and he is finally, slowly, understanding Algebra. He totally understands practical "normal" math. Anyway, not sure he could make it through college... but he has been working at a dirtwork shop for over 2 years now, and is brilliant with his hands. He forges knives, welds trailers from scratch, repairs all mechanical things.
Anyway, he will do great job wise..just probably not college.
Kid 4 is almost "normal" and kid 5 is "normal" ... so both of those could probably go through college if they want... but they are grade 7 and 9 now... so still a ways to go.
I wrote that book to make clear that:
1. even with the same parents / homeschool setup, results vary WILDLY depending on each kid.
2. Each brain works differently, and learns differently. If you homeschool you can keep researching, learning and adapting your teaching methods to best meet the needs of the kid
My only big thing going for school is interaction with other people outside of the house. I leave for up to 10 (not often but possible) weeks at a time and they're here with mom.
