Moving with Two Months Left of school...Do I Homeschool?? Help!!!

Personally, I would really consider staying, even if that means "renting" a month or two from the new owner. We did that. It happens ALL the time. Good luck!

If it's really only two months until school is out I would probably stay behind. Even if they house sells within a few weeks you could probably negotiate a closing a few weeks later and then you are already pretty close to two months. If there are still some weeks to go I would arrange for temp housing until the end of the school year or to the date that's close enough that he has the 90%.

18 days is just under a month because they don't count weekends. Are you sure you can't just suck it up for a month? Seems like such a short time for such a big deal.

You don't want your litle boy to be the 'lonely new kid' all summer. Get him enrolled in his new school and some activities for the summer so he can get to know some of the kids.

It's only 1st grade. I say homeschool and enjoy the time with your son and family. Just because your son doesn't sit in a classroom for the final two months does not mean your new school will not accept him into 2nd grade.

I myself missed 2 months of 5th grade in order to travel with my grandparents. And I can tell you that the time with my grandparents has impacted my life much more than the missed school.

I would probably stay. Even if it sells today (unlikely) I would assume it would take about 30 days to close. If that happens is there a friend you could move in with for the second month? If not, possibly you can rent a room or find a hotel that rents by the week.

Personally, I would wait til the end of the school year to pull them out of their old school, start fresh in the fall. If that's in any way possible.

:)

I would enroll him in school in the new town. That way he will get to know the kids and have friends to play with during the summer. He will be a part of the system by next fall.

I would stay where you are at and have hubby check out the new area. Even if you list your house tomorrow you have to figure it will not likely get an offer in the first 30 days (the market is not like that anymore with so many houses to choose from). If you do get an offer it will take at least 30 days to close and/or you can have an addendum that you need 60 to 90 days to close. I would let your son finish out the school year where he is. Moving causes a lot of stress and switching schools now will just add to it and possibly keep him back a grade.

My family was in that predicament about 12 years ago, and we decided to stay a month longer to finish it out. We actually moved on the last day of the school year. Our house was sold at the time, but it was part of the purchase agreement that we stay a bit longer and would be out that day. It would be much easier to stay and wait it out, IMO.

Why would you need to home school? Families move all the time. Just call the new district and get him enrolled right away so he doesn't miss any days (other than the few days he may miss while you are physically moving.)
The sooner he gets started at his new school the better, he'll make new friends and so will you :)

My son had a sweet little girl move in a month before school ended last year. The mom reached out right away to other parents (including myself) with the teachers help in finding her some playmates over the summer. The teacher also assigned students in the class to be this new little girls lunch partner and playground pal. She fit right in in such a short time, but I also think it had to do with the teacher and mom being so proactive. This little girl is in my sons class again this year, and she is always with friends whenever I go to the school for any reason. I think it's more hard on the parent than it is the child (unless it's high school, I think that's another story:)).

Having moved 17 times with children....I am thinking that it would be best to keep your family together, move together, go through the process together and enroll your son in the new first grade. He'll get a feel of the new curriculum and most importantly, he'll make friends for the summer.

I would look at the new school experience as just that - a place to learn the social differences and make a buddy. Teachers are extra sweet to new kids and usually make a big deal out of them in front of the class, and they instruct the kids to help him out when they have extra time.

Play this scenario forward, he'll start 2nd grade with a good foundation and understanding of his new school.

Believe me, I have done this late move with 2 kids and transferred them after the spring break, and I am so glad I did. Just for the friend factor.

Another important factor, is that when the school staff knows you already, they can place your son with the best teacher, and not the low on the totem pole teacher who gets all the newly transferred kids at the beginning of each year.

GL!

I'd move him into the new school so he has a chance to make friends before summer break. That will make next fall easier.

honestly, I believe your starting point is whether or not you can handle things alone. Your 1st grader is adaptable....& all will fall into place if you make the right decision for you personally. Peace to you.

Hi Rita,
I have not read the responses, so I apologize if this is a repeat.

In my opinion, I would take my son out of school and relocate with my husband. You can easily homeschool him. He is what, 6 or 7? Does he know how to read? I assume he has mastered that by now. You can give him good books to read to increase his reading level and comprehension. You can go to a homeschool supply store (or order online) comprehension guides for books that he can read and do. I suggest these: http://www.veritaspress.com/prodinfo.asp?number=000705
that goes along with this:
http://www.veritaspress.com/prodinfo.asp?number=000710
Of course, you can buy the books separately (or you may already own them), but this is a nice way to have them all in one spot, especially for moving. We love these comprehension guides!
You can do any number of things for whatever other subjects you want to cover. You can do a unit study on bugs or spring or the new state you are moving to! You can accomplish way more in those two months with him at home with you than he would accomplish otherwise. And, you will have the great bonus of being with your family as you go through this transition. Please, consider this for him and for you. So much less stressfull! And, so rewarding all around!
Where are you relocating to? You might check with the homeschool laws there before you go just so you know what to expect and what your legal rights are. When you move, you will not be under Texas law anymore. Your new state will undoubtedly have different laws requiring attendance, etc. And, homeschooling laws in TX are different from ps laws. I don't think TX has nearly as strict laws concerning homeschoolers as they do ps children. They rightfully give the jurisdiction to the parents rather than the state. I wish all states had laws as wise as the ones in Texas!

Feel free to PM me about this. My husband was in the military for 20+ years, and we homeschooled all over the place, and moved often. We've homeschooled for over 14 years now.

Find out what you can do from the principal or guidance office. We finished a year once by correspondence (my mom homeschooled us with the packets the teachers provided) when we had about a month and a half left.

If the house has not sold, I'd stay until it does, however long or short it may be. Friend's house didn't sell for a YEAR after her husband moved.

If you are not going to homeschool after the move it would seem to be a whole lot of trouble for just a couple of months.
Let's say you got an acceptable offer on your house TODAY, it could take 30, 60, days or more to close that is granted there isn't ONE SINGLE snag, which almost never happens in a house sale.
We moved last summer, at the end of the school year. We had the house on the market when we left town and let it sell over the summer. We lived somewhat in limbo as you describe until we found the perfect area. In the meantime we explored Houston and ultimately found the house/neighborhood that worked best for us. We had a daughter that started K and a son going into 6th. Kids bounce back quite well and adapt quick.
I guess what I'm saying is I would let your son finish school in Keller.
Let the house sale run it's course and enroll in the new school at your pace, after having found the right area. Good luck.

If your child is lagging behind in his or her studies - stay where you are and make sure you get some guidance from staff for transferring to the new district. If your child is at grade level or above - then make the move fun and meet the new class. Again, when you arrive at the new school make sure you meet with the new school staff asap; chat with neighbors regarding the teaching staff; meet the new teachers - if possible! You will know right away the teaching personality that your child will work with and who YOU will be able to communicate with ease! The other response where they mentioned "your child will be put at the bottom of the totem pole" is correct. When staff is putting classes together for the new year - personalites and how they will work together is very important in deciding class makeup! Make a good impression when you are meeting the new staff - good smiles and that plate of cookies go a looong way. I am a retired elementary and middle school principal.. . . a flower - even if it is picked from your new neighbor's garden for the secretary's desk also goes a long way too - remember - a good secretary really runs the place!!! I had a lot of military families pass through my school halls....good luck!

I have stayed behind to sell/pack 6 houses. It's not fun. So my suggeston is to go with your husband if you can.

When moving to NC the first time we pulled our son out of 3rd and were told he would pass anyway so the teachers gave him a report card that stated that, He finished this much work, according to our records he will be placed in 4th grade next year, yadda yadda.

Going into first or second may mean just hitting the age cutoffs in the new state. There are really no tests or measures they will do for him. It's not like he's in 6th or 7th or high school where they would have to test his math and grammar skills.

Check the laws in the state you plan to move to. hslda.org will give you the state regulations for each state.
Check the standards of learning for the state you are moving to, if he has surpassed the 1st grade's criteria, then he'll be fine.
Get him lots of books to read at his level, ficiton, historical fiction, science, fun math books, the Skittles Math was one of my kids' favorites. You do math with Skittles. THere is also Cheerios math and M&M math.
Get the Summer Work books. THey are geared for the summer between the grades.

I seriously wouldn't worry about schooling him during the move. At 7 or 8 when you get to the new home, they'll put him in the grade appropriate anyway.

Is there a grandparent or aunt or uncle in town who he can stay with until the end of the year? I'd check that out first.

In the interim, check with www.hslda.org and see what you ought to do to with setting up a homeschool in your new school district and notifying your current district without a hitch. Homeschooling is a fine option, but often, problems arise when there is a miscommunication between you the parent and the school district you are LEAVING. You want to make sure you have all of your paper work and ducks in a row BEFORE pulling him out of school or risk facing truancy issues.

HSLDA is fantastic with helping in these situations, and if a problem should arise, their attorneys (specialize in education and homeschool law) will help you navigate until things are smoothed out. The key is to be sure you take care of things with your current district BEFORE you pull him out of school. As for the new school district you are moving into, USUALLY you have some time to get paperwork sent in and things straightened out, so a truancy concern is minimal. But of course, if you plan to homeschool in the new location, you will want to find out what the requirements are now so you can get them in place for the coming school year.

Finish out the year even if you have to live in a temporary place. If you let your child know that he can go to school at home, you may be looking a real hulabaloo once fall comes. That ship will have set sail, so to speak, the idea that one HAS to go to school, and you may find yourself fighting with him every day after you relocate to get him to go to his new school. Don't even go there!

Dawn

Is your house even on the market? Are you even under contract? Even if you get an offer on your house tomorrow, most people have 60 day closings. You can extend that a bit or just stay at a motel or extended stay while your son finishes school. I personally do not think I would start my child in a new school for 2 months.