<p>I have a child who is the youngest in their class and not ready to consider going away - though will want to later. S is an outstanding athlete and student and will be a solid applicant – when ready. S will finish up at current day school in 8th grade this coming year and we are thinking about what to do next. Home school for a year? Commute to private high 50 miles away for a year or two and then red shirt? Any thoughts or other experiences here?</p>
<p>From a parent who home-schooled from 6th-8th grade, if he isnt opposed to the idea, let him home-school and allow lots of activities in his sport. I allowed my d to stay home and dance about 15 hours/week. She was not pressured with the school work just an average pace, but was able to follow her passion to study Japanese on her own and read a lot. I was happy to have more control over who she interacted with during this time frame due to living in a big city. She later made the decision to return to regular school for the first year of high school (hated it) and now is off to Deerfield–extremely excited. She has a late August b-day (8-25) thus very young and I can relate to your situation.</p>
<p>I offered/discussed being a repeat freshman with my d and with schools and neither felt she needed to, though I would have said yes, to delay college until she was older. Instead we are considering a gap year or just a year abroad after finishing high school just to explore.</p>
<p>I would agree, homeschooling is the best option. Especially if your son wants to pursue a particular academic interest as well. If he suddenly wants to know all about South American history, he has the freedom to do so instead of being forced into any particular class.</p>
<p>I would also recommend he apply to a few schools, maybe only his top three choices. It would be a shame if come Spring and your son wish he had applied this year.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. Homeschooling will be a challenge, but as long as it doesn’t impact his viability later it seems like the best plan. We will visit schools in August when we are near them, but are reticent to interview until we have a definite plan. But Yummy, I like your idea of trying anyway, just in case.</p>
<p>Consider K-12, the curriculum met the needs of my d. You can pick and choose the courses and the level. K12.com</p>
<p>Also check out welltrainedmind.com for great recommendations for rigorous high school homeschooling if you want to pick and choose your own curriculum. This is how we did it–gets more difficult though, as kids get older.</p>