Hello,

My name is Joan and have become the new step-mother to my husband's 13 yo daughter.  She comes into our home from another state and she has had limited success in public school.  She is struggling in APS and her testing indicates some big gaps in her abilities.  I am considering home schooling.  I'm interested in learning if there are other families that are home schooling teenagers in Albuquerque?  I would really need a support group and to feel confident that this is aviable option for her.  I read about the park days and that sounds like fun, but maybe moreso for younger homeschoolers.  I would love your input.  Thanks, Joan

Hi Joan, we have a couple of families with some teenagers but it is hit or miss if they are at the park or not.  The general age is baby to 12 or 13.  You are welcome to come and chat with us parents though.  We would love to meet you and we all have a variety or experience and styles of homeschooling.  I go to the east side park day so I don't know the ages of the kid over onvthe west side park day, but one of them I know has a 12 yr old girl.

Karen

Hi Joan,

I have a 12 year old daughter.  We attend the West Side Park Day and I'd love to meet you.  We actaully have 3 twelve year old girls and one thirteen year old girl who regularly attend the West Side Park Day.  We meet at Santa Fe Village Park on Tuesday mornings from 10am to whenever.  We generally all bring a chair or blanket as most of us also have younger kids who play on the playground.  We sit close to the playground and we women chat about everything from Albuquerque's best restaurants to our decision to homeschool.  We have about 6 regular families that come and we'd love to meet you.  You can email or call me privately if you'd like my email is jenidlg@msn.com and my number is 452-1588.

Jenifer

Hi Joan
I home school older boys.  I  have found that it is a little harder to connect with families with older kids. but it is possible to do.  The Mid Rio Grande Home School Band has a lot of older kids in it.  I have also found that making my own opportunities is a good way to connect.  You can try scheduling and "advertising" classes, clubs, field trips or other activities for the kids you are hoping to meet.  It takes a little more effort but you can create a social network of your own.

As far as the academic problems, APS actually offers testing for learning disabilities for home schoolers.  This is a valuable service as it will help you identify problem areas.  Although they will not offer you services as a home schooler, they will give you advice as to what types of therapies or programs might be useful.  There is a private "school" called Joiner Academy in the valley, which offers various services such as Orton-Gillingham" for dyslexia, speech therapy, etc on  a pay-by-the-hour basis. I have had great results with them.  The testing through APS is at the Aztec Center and it may take awhile to get in for the testing so I recommend starting on that right away if you are interested.  The other suggestion is demanding some testing while she is still in school if you suspect learning disabilities.  By definition, a disability is when there is a discrepancy between IQ and certain abilities.  So if you think she is generally bright but struggles with certain things that is a sign of a true disability.

Hope this helps.  Home school is a great venue for kids that need to catch up or don't fit into the mold.  I encourage you to check it out an consider it.

Rebecca

What great info on this thread . . . Joan, it's great to meet you and thanks for your openness on your journey . . . wishing you great things!  

(My kiddos are younger)  I really appreciate knowing what's going on in the teen homeschool scene in ABQ . . .

Hello, My name is Melissa. I have a 13 year old daughter that I started homeschooling this year.  I am new to homeschooling also and I am also looking for a support group for teens.  I am not sure if there is one here or not but I was thinking about starting one or something. If you want you can can contact me at mclark723@yahoo.com.

Thanks for everyone's input,

I appreciate the encouragement and the valuable information!  We are in the process of demanding testing through APS and our family counselor is coming up with a list of low and no-cost tutoring options for this interim phase.  Park days sound like a wonderful opportunity to meet like-minded parents and learn more about the challenges and rewards of home school and get some concrete information to digest.

I am several months from even being able to make the decision about homeschool; but Melissa, I would jump at the opportunity for a teen support group (even if I'm technically not up and running yet).  What better way for a potential new student (and a new facilitator) to interact with peers who may soon have more in common than they realize.  Parents of teenagers know that it's sometimes easier for a child to buy into a new idea if they know other kids that are doing it (I have two grown children and 3 grandkids).

What a wonderful forum, I am so glad to have found this site and am already seeing the value of the co-op.  With each post, I'm feeling more confident that this may be the right decision.  Thanks again.

Joan

I don't have anything new to add, but wanted to wish you and your family well whatever decision you finally end up making!

There is a Christian Teen group that meets every other Friday.  Its called DRIVE and you can visit http://www.abqteendrive.com for more information.

Hi
I homeschool twin boys that are almost 11 yrs old, as well as a 4 1/2 yr old daughter.

There seems to alot of interest in a teen support group for homeschooling  families.
I'd like to offer the forum I started up in Sept 2006. It is called "New Mexico Homeschool
Tweens and Teens" and is for all children age 10-18 yrs of age.

I'll pre-warn you that the group has been stagnant most of this year because of people
moving and busy schedules. And I haven't been organizing much either because we have
had a busy year traveling and we just moved to the East Mountains recently.

But I would be very happy to have some new families involved and participating, especially
organizing get-togethers, parties and other social gatherings.

So, please do consider joining. We'd love to get to know you and your tweens and teens  

Here is the link for the Yahoo mail group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homeschool-Tween-Teen/