From Public School to Homeschool: How to Transition Smoothly

The transition from public school to homeschool can be accompanied both by excitement and eagerness, as well as fears and frustrations. You might be thinking that these feelings are felt solely by the parents, but often, the students experience this same mixed-bag of emotions as they make the big transition, too. After all, the homeschooling experience is drastically different than what they have come to know and expect each day.

Giving yourself and your child grace through the transition phase is paramount for setting yourselves up for success as new homeschoolers. While it may seem like you should jump right in on day one, often this is not the best way to begin the transition. Sometimes, a small, unstructured break is the most helpful way to reset and start fresh with homeschooling.

One of the best ways to foster a healthy transition is by unschooling for a little while. Although you can, of course, unschool for any length of time, the general rule of thumb is to unschool for one month per year of public school. So, if you pulled your child out of school at third grade, you’d want to plan to allow a three-month gap, or break, to simply unschool your child and ease the transition.

Unschooling doesn’t mean doing nothing, rather, it simply means you are following your child’s lead and learning through life experiences and natural learning opportunities rather than following a set curriculum each day. This might mean exploring interesting places, museums, or galleries in your city, or it might mean hunting down a bunch of beautiful hiking trails behind your house. It might mean watching documentaries together, or helping you plot, shop, and cook for the dinner menu for the week.

Unschooling in the transition phase will allow you and your child both to ease into your new life as homeschoolers, reduce the amount of stress and pressure during this stage, and allow you to really connect with your child on a new level as you embark on your homeschooling adventure.