Requesting Homeschool Suggestions, Do's, and Don'ts

Hi all.   If you have reviewed my previous posts you know I am just beginning the process of homeschooling.   Please do me a favor when you visit this post and leave me suggestions in the comments section!!!   I would love any advice anyone has for me!!

Thanks!

Also I just realized I haven't posted any recent photos of my littles!!!

Meet my 5 year old Michael

...and my smallest little Tristan

Why We Made The Choice To Homeschool

My son has been diagnosed with ADHD and Pediatric Bi Polar Disorder.  He came into my home when he was about 18 months old. We have had many issues with the public school system and have ultimately decided it was in our sons best interest to pull him out.   The teachers did not seem to be trained to handle a child like ours.  Here is an example of what we saw:

We got a call and a letter home because our son spit on a child.  The school made a very big deal of it.  He was giving another child a zerbert and there was no intended bad behavior.  He was basically playing in a manner deemed inappropriate. We agreed with the school and counseled our son appropriately.    (Keep in mind the fact that we had talked to the school prior to this incident that our son had meltdowns when he thought there was something going on that was unfair. ) A few weeks later a child actually spit in our sons face.  No game or play intended.  Our son did what he was instructed to do and told a teacher.  The teacher said that it was no big deal and asked the other child to apologize to my son.   This of course kicked of a massive meltdown. He was upset because when he had spit even playing his parents were called and a meeting called and he was also put in time out. He was in all kids of trouble!  When another child spit on him it wasn't a big deal.

 We had noticed over time that the teachers began to not like our son and would let other children be mean to him because the couldn't be.  They would restrain him but would not lead him out out of the room by his hand or arm because they couldn't "touch" him.   Which made no sense since they would restrain him if he could be a danger to himself or others.   Why not walk him out the door to calm him down before an issue started!   They seemed want to get him out as quick as possible and  turned every issue he had into the biggest deal possible.  

Our  son is very bright but has a problem dealing with emotions.  He really tries to do the right thing but lacks coping skills needed to deal with problems and issues that come up in a classroom setting.

Big changes headed our way!!

So much has happened since our last post.  Our 5 year old has had some serious issues in school and we have made the decision to home school him.   This also means we will most likely be moving from a 2 income household to a 1 income household.  There are big changes on the horizon! I am hoping to document my progress here.

We will officially withdraw our son Friday (2/8/13) and will begin Monday (2/11/13) home school.  I am not 100% sure if we will do official lesson plans or do "online school".  I need to do a bit more research.   Today we submitted our "letter of intent" to the state of Georgia which is Georgia's requirement for parents who are going to home school.

Wish us luck!