We were told up to 45 mins of homework per night. DS was concerned about leaving friends, but he'll see some friends by doing a few days of morning care at his home school and we'll keep up with playdates for a few others. He seems fine with it now, and was very excited about the academics after the OH.

I have already passed on even considering HGC. My kid is a year ahead (skipped a grade) and is in the top groups in class for reading, writing, spelling and math. The challenges are built-in for us, we don't need to go outside of our home school as needs are being met.

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you have her try it for one quarter? That's what we did, and DC never looked back. We kept telling DC that DC was young and will make new friends because most of the kids at HGC are new in that school. Sure enough, DC made some really good friends.

Workload can be manageable if your DC keeps ahead of projects. They usually give a few days/weeks for HW to be completed. If they procrastinate, that's when it gets hard to manage.

My dd is not at Pine Crest (she's finishing 5th at Barnsley) but I second this recommendation. Let your daughter give it a good try -- and if she doesn't like it, she can leave. But she (and you) won't know until she tries.

We had similar discussions because dd had only been at the home school for a year before HGC, and she was stressed about starting all over again at a new school. But once she was past the first couple weeks of newness, she has never looked back. We did promise her that if she really continued to be unhappy, she could leave and come back to the home school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: Pine Crest. And I need for this decision process to be over, so barring a crisis we are giving ourselves to the Friday deadline

My child is in 4th at Pine Crest. Usually doesn't have much HW at all. Typically it's a math worksheet. The only stressful time was during the 1st Q Native American project, other than that child has not had more homework than at our home school.

By the way, do you mean the HW that they said was required at the open house? I think that they said one hour a night (this was last year for us because child is already at PCES). That has not been our experience. Almost all work has happened at school. I don't know why the teachers try to scare people off at the open house.

Anonymous wrote:OP: Pine Crest. And I need for this decision process to be over, so barring a crisis we are giving ourselves to the Friday deadline

My child is in 4th at Pine Crest. Usually doesn't have much HW at all. Typically it's a math worksheet. The only stressful time was during the 1st Q Native American project, other than that child has not had more homework than at our home school.

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you have her try it for one quarter? That's what we did, and DC never looked back. We kept telling DC that DC was young and will make new friends because most of the kids at HGC are new in that school. Sure enough, DC made some really good friends.

Workload can be manageable if your DC keeps ahead of projects. They usually give a few days/weeks for HW to be completed. If they procrastinate, that's when it gets hard to manage.

This. She can always come back but she won't be able to go if you decline now.

Why don't you have her try it for one quarter? That's what we did, and DC never looked back. We kept telling DC that DC was young and will make new friends because most of the kids at HGC are new in that school. Sure enough, DC made some really good friends.

Workload can be manageable if your DC keeps ahead of projects. They usually give a few days/weeks for HW to be completed. If they procrastinate, that's when it gets hard to manage.

OP: Pine Crest. And I need for this decision process to be over, so barring a crisis we are giving ourselves to the Friday deadline

Which HGC? I think some HGCs have a much greater workload than others and sometimes people exaggerate. Also, keep in mind that you don't need to decide yet. You really have till the end of the summer.

We were in the opposite position from 9:54. First DS's entire peer group went to the HGC so we did too. 4th grade at the HGC was amazing. 5th grade was NOT amazing but it was better than our later experience with 5th grade at out home school.
We found that the amount of homework was generally determined by the kids. Certain assignments our DS worked on 6 or 7 hours a night AND ALL WEEKEND from dawn until dusk. Other assignments, he chose to do just barely more than the average HGC kid and was done in a couple of hours.

MS was pretty much the opposite. First DS and his peer group stayed home and every single kid HATED it. After his bad 5th grade experience, our second DS did the MS magnet. He came to the conclusion that he would rather be miserable and busy than bored and miserable. Both ended up in HS magnets but the jury is still out on those. Despite the cut and dried answers I listed about each experience, it really depends on your kid and how their mindset changes over the years.

Abhor is a very strong word. I would stick with your home school. Your child can apply for a middle magnet in 2 years if that is more appealing.

Are your fourth grade and fifth grades really good/strong for advanced kids? Will your child be challenged at your home school? Have you talked to parents of 4/5th grade kids who are similarly bright to be sure your child will be challenged? I say this as the parent of a child who was not accepted to the HGC and has been bored to tears and far underchallenged (except in compacted math) at home school. It's true there seems to be a significant amount of homework (and some stress) in the HGC, and hard to leave friends and home school, but I'd encourage you to pass on the HGC program only if you are sure your child will have a solid peer group at home school and will be challenged. (My view from the other side of the HGC program!). Good luck in making your decision!

If your child is happy and challenged, then I agree that there is no reason to move her, especially if the HCG program is far away and thus logistically difficult. Good luck with your decision!

We declined for DS. The fourth grade team at our home school is particularly strong, fifth is also good, and there is a peer group of bright, academically minded boys. If the home school were different we might think differently.

My DD was accepted at an HGC. We are struggling with whether or not to send her. The program looks great, but she is happy at her home school, performing well, and not bored. Curious if others are planning to pass or have passed and what your reasons were. I really wish MCPS could program IN THE HOME SCHOOL for kids instead of making them go to a whole new school for 4th/5th. I also abhor the amount of homework they say is required. But it is a hard choice to pass on what looks like a really nice opportunity...