Transitioning from ‘Traditional’ School to Homeschool Mid Academic Year
With the new year just days away, I wanted to discuss transitioning from ‘traditional’ school to homeschool in the second half of the academic calendar. FYI, this is how my homeschool journey began. I am a very active parent regarding my child’s education. I was not very pleased with how my school district and my son’s school were administering his education and educational needs at the time. This, along with other incidents, led me to the decision to homeschool. This also happened to be right at the end of the first half of his academic school year.
I would like to first start by stating that only you, as the parent, will know when’s the best time to transition your child from onsite school (brick and mortar) to homeschooling. For this article, transitioning your child into homeschooling in the second half of the school year will be discussed.
Typically, there is a winter break between the first half of the school year and the second. I would use that time to research your state’s requirements for homeschooling. You first want to know what kind of parental rights you have, if any, before you deregister your child from school. Also, use the break to research a lot about homeschooling. Join groups, research different ways people homeschool, and determine if homeschooling is reasonable for your child and you.
Consider when you’ll have time to homeschool. I don’t believe homeschooling is just sticking your child in front of a device and letting independent curriculums do all the teaching for them. Successful homeschooling will take a great deal of effort from you. You are now your child’s learning coach or onsite teacher and you do not want to slack off in these roles. Go above and beyond with their educational experience because you don’t want this transition to feel negative to them.
Children, especially young children, may not understand why they are now completing school from home. Be transparent with them on why you believe this is the best decision for their educational and learning goals. Get feedback from them if they are mature enough to express. And even if they are not, make sure you help them understand the reason or need for this change. Talk about the pros and cons of homeschooling. One thing I discussed with my son is that homeschooling allows us to get through schoolwork faster thus allowing us more play or ‘free’ time for fun activities we cannot do during traditional school hours.
The most important thing is that you involve your child in the transition process. Overall, they are the ones who will be affected by the change in some way. Highlight the goals of this new educational journey with them and allow them to be heard if they are struggling. You can come up with an effective solution to help them cope with the new transition. Help them see the positives in homeschooling.
If you are considering starting your homeschool journey in 2024, please join us for our Homeschool is Cool: Getting Started Webinar. This is a FREE webinar and will discuss some basics for starting your homeschool journey!
