update on IEP

Several weeks ago I posted concerning ds5’s upcoming IEP meeting because of the preschool program he’s in. Several of you suggested I cancel it; I just didn’t get around to it. It went as well as expected; the preschool teacher, the principal, and the SPED coordinator all tried to change my mind about hsing. The only advantages they could give me for kindergarten were in the socialization area. Surprise, surprise. They finally gave up and wrote an IEP for two speech therapy sessions per week (which is all I think he needs, anyway) and evaluation for their summer program next year (two days per week in June). They also wanted a chance to talk to my husband and try to change his mind. I delivered the message, but he’s not going to contact them.

I think the worst part is that I couldn’t articulate very well the reasons we want to homeschool. I’m not sure it’s something I can articulate; it’s just something we think we need to do. I’ll admit I haven’t been praying about it as much as I should be; maybe if I had I’d have done a better job at expressing myself. They’re all Christians, so it should have occurred to me to say that we think it’s something God wants us to do. But I never even thought about saying that. All I could do was point to the poor socialization experiences I had in school and point out that I didn’t want him to be bullied because of his size (he’s small for his age) and his speech impediment. The principal said that they don’t have bullies at the K-2 level; well, somewhere they do. They still have drugs, sex, vandalism, and phony bomb threats at the high school.

At least I didn’t have to threaten to call HSLDA.

Thanks for your prayers,

Karen