Transitioning from Public School to Homeschool
Transitioning from public school to homeschool is an adjustment for everyone involved. When we transitioned from public school to homeschool, I think I know I made it harder on all of us. I kept trying to keep up appearances and do as much schoolwork as we could in our four-hour school day. Knowing how to make the transition would’ve helped. Here are some tips to help make your transition a little smoother than mine.
Take time to deschool.
Homeschool and public school are totally different, aside from the fact that your children are learning. Homeschool should be more relaxed. Deschooling allows for reprogramming. It allows time to come to the realization that homeschool is not governed by a clock, or textbooks, or a strictly structured day.
You must take time to leave the old way of thinking behind and prepare for your new journey. The rule is to deschool for one month for every year your child was in a public school setting. Don’t worry about your child getting behind. Very seldom do children “get behind” in homeschool. For more info on deschooling, read “What is Deschooling and Why Should I Start?“.
You’ll need to document the activities you do while deschooling and I have some journals for different age levels in our Resource Library. You can gain access by joining our email list below.
Expand on the interests of your children.
Take time to learn more about your children’s interests and expand on those. Study your kids and find out what their God-given talents and gifts are and work on developing those talents and gifts. This approach is called Lifeschooling. Helping your children find topics and activities they’re interested in could lead them to an occupation where they never feel they must “work” to be successful. They’ll just be enjoying what they do for a living.
Lifeschooling also helps you think more about putting life before schooling, instead of schooling ahead of life. Homeschooling parents, myself included, sometimes forget that homelife needs to come first, before studies or tests. We need to know who these children are as people so we can help them become better adults.
Focus on life skills.
Life skills are important. And they are extremely important to time-stretched, homeschooling parents with multiple children. (Slowly raising my hand.) Kids need to learn how to help themselves. Teach yours to do their own laundry, to sew on a button, to sweep the floor, do the dishes, clean out the refrigerator, the list goes on. These are things kids need to learn to do.
If you have younger children, teach them to clean their room properly, make their bed, to put their clothes in the dirty clothes basket (we’re still working on this one with my 13-year-old), to clean up after themselves, and to leave things as they find them.
Those are all things that your children will need to know, so teach them early.
Have some fun!
Homeschool isn’t all books and tests. It’s fun! Or, it’s supposed to be.
Do some experiments! Take a nature walk! Work on a Lego build! Construct a Minecraft project! Learn a new craft! Take a trip to a museum or art gallery!
Those are all avenues of learning and they’re not boring.
Homeschooling is learning to do life, to be fully involved with life, while learning to be an adult and a productive member of society. All while learning some academics too.
To find out more about how to begin homeschooling, get your free guide, Begin Homeschooling in 8 Steps. It breaks down all the information for you that can be a bit overwhelming when you are trying to get started. There’s even a checklist to help you keep up with what you’ve already accomplished.
