Grade 3

This picture was taken in June 2025 at the beginning of grade 3. Who would have known that just a month and a half from that day, we would be pulling our son out of school...

Z has ADHD. What this basically means is that he struggles with Executive Functioning skills that may come easily to other children his age- this includes:

1. Task initiation

2. Inhibitory control

3. Working memory

4. Planning and prioritizing

5. Organization

6. Managing time

While these are important for academic success, they are also highly teachable and stratgies to support him can be easily implemented. However, despite being in school for three years, and many inputs from us and other experts, his school was unable or unwilling to teach him these skills or even acknowledge his neurodivergence.

This meant, Z got into a lot of trouble at school, which also they were unsure how to deal with. There were increased suspensions (yes, for an 8 year old!), and no real understanding of what restorative practices and dialogue looks like. It was beginning to affect Z's self-image as he would often say things to me like, "I am a bad kid, I am a dumb kid." Broke my heart.

So, when the school called us in to let us know that they feel he "doesn't belong in a public school system," we let go.

And we decided to homeschool.

It has now been three weeks since Z has gone to school. We haven't really said anything to him, and surprisingly, he hasn't asked. Last week, when I asked him if he was happy at home, his response was, " I am much happier being homeschooled." I wasn't surprised that he knew the term, as we have used it in context of another classmate of his who is also being homeschooled now... I was impressed though that he had made that connection with respect to himself.

So, here we are! I hope we do justice by him and help his amazing self thrive in our love and with the help of actual experts who can help him!