• Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Subscribe
  • Shop

Real Life at Home

  • Learn
    • Printables and Worksheets by Age and Subject
    • Homeschooling
    • Book Lists for Kids
    • Play
    • Teaching Life Skills
  • Create
    • Crafts and Projects for Kids
    • Easy DIY and Projects
    • Homemade Gifts
  • Holidays
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Lent
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • Independence Day
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
  • Printables
    • Printables and Worksheets By Age and Subject
    • Exclusive Printables for Subscribers
    • Terms of Use
    • Coloring Pages
    • Word Search Printables
    • Crossword Puzzle Printables
  • Recipes
    • Easy Recipes Index
  • Catholic
    • Catholic Printables
    • Catholic Activities
    • First Communion
    • Catholic Monthly Activities
    • Catholic Word Search Printables
    • Saints and Heroes Printable Packets
You are here: Home / Homeschool / First Year Homeschooling / How to Transition from Public School to Homeschool: 10 Do’s and Don’ts

How to Transition from Public School to Homeschool: 10 Do’s and Don’ts

July 19, 2017 By Kris Bales · Disclosure: This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. {I may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.}

5.0K shares
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter

advertisement

How to Transition from Public School to Homeschool: 10 Do’s and Don’ts is a post from Kris of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Right now many of you are where I once was – you’re at the beginning of your family’s homeschool journey, preparing to homeschool, rather than return to public school in the fall. It’s a scary, exhilarating time, filled with hopes, doubts, and endless possibilities. Let me offer you ten tips I wish someone had offered me back when we were doing our transition from public school to homeschool.

Beginning to homeschool can be challenging, but when you transition from public school to homeschool, there can be some unique concerns. Here are ten do's and don'ts for your transition. | start homeschooling | beginning homeschooling | begin homeschooling

advertisement

How to Transition from Public School to Homeschool: 10 Do’s and Don’ts

1. Do take a little extra summer break.

My daughter was excited about homeschooling when we started, but she (along with her mother!) was also a bit apprehensive. I decided to offset those doubts and fears with some positive excitement in the form of an extra week or two of summer break.

I am now a huge fan of year round homeschooling, but this extra time served both to allow us a little extra time for deschooling (What is Deschooling and Is It Important?) and to immediately demonstrate one of the big benefits of homeschooling – flexibility.

Learn More: 6 Reasons We Homeschool Year Round

2. Do give yourself time to adjust.

Homeschooling is about much more than where your child is educated – it’s a lifestyle. As such, it does take some time to adjust and find your groove.

Don’t expect everything to go perfectly right out of the gate. Realize that you and your child are adjusting to a different lifestyle and different roles. She is adjusting to you as her teacher and you are adjusting to her as your student.

Homeschooling 101: A Guide to Getting Started

3. Do maintain friendships.

Your child is most likely going to miss his public school friends. Make an effort to maintain those friendships by arranging play dates and staying in contact with parents. Those first few months can be a bit lonely for both of you, so be sure that you also make an effort to get involved in your local homeschool community so that you and your child have an opportunity to make homeschooled friends.

Learn More: How to Cultivate Friendships as a Homeschool Mom

4. Do take your child’s input on your curriculum and your schedule.

Two of the biggest benefits to homeschooling are a customized education and flexibility. Listen to what your child has to say about the curriculum you’re using, your learning environment, and the order in which you tackle his daily school subjects. Allow him to take ownership of his education rediscover his natural curiosity and love of learning.

How to Add Child-Led Options to a Traditional Homeschool Approach

5. Do tweak your schedule to fit your family’s schedule and rhythms.

Nothing says that learning only happens Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. If your kids are morning people, by all means, start school early. However, if you have night owls like I do, it’s okay to let them sleep in a bit and start your school day later.

If you or your spouse have an atypical work schedule, it’s okay to do school on the weekend and take days off during the week. Tweak your homeschool schedule to fit your family’s needs, rather than trying to force your family into a traditional school mold.

Learn More: How We Do a Four Day Homeschool Week (and Why You Might Consider it Too)

6. Don’t feel like you have to replicate a public school classroom.

Along the same lines at #5, don’t feel that your homeschool has to look like a public school classroom. You don’t need desks and textbooks and a scheduled time for recess.

Learning can happen curled up on the couch with a great book or sprawled across the bed with pencils and paper. You most likely pulled your child out of public school because it wasn’t working for her. Don’t bring a broken model home.

The Confident Homeschooler: How to Thrive in the Day-to-Day

7. Don’t take it personally when you child compares homeschooling to public school – even if it’s negative.

Chances are you’re going to hear, “But that’s not how Mrs. So-and-So did it.”

Don’t take offense. Just as you may be inclined to model your homeschool after the familiar – a public school classroom – your child is comparing the learning experience to the familiar.

Hear the comparisons for what they are. Take them into consideration and if something needs to change to teach your child more effectively, make adjustments. If not, move on.

8. Don’t expect homeschooling to look like it did in your daydreams.

Does anything in life every look like your fairy tale daydreams? Surely when you envisioned being a parent, your daydreams didn’t involve cleaning up after a kid with the stomach bug at 3 a.m.

Guess what? Homeschooling rarely looks like that mental image of your children all gathered around, cheerfully waiting for you to impart knowledge. Homeschool, like life, can be messy. That’s okay.

Learn More: Learning to Accept Your Homeschool for What It Is

9. Don’t feel like you have to start every subject on the first day.

Just like most anything else, homeschooling takes longer until you adjust and find your rhythm. There is no sense stressing yourself and your kids out with an eight hour school day trying to cram everything in at once. I like to ease into the school year, starting with two or three core subjects and adding one or two more each week until we’re at a full course load.

The Unhurried Homeschooler

10. Don’t freak out if your child wants to go back to public school.

Again, homeschooling is a big change for everyone. If your homeschooled child wants to go back to public school, get her talking. Find out what she’s really missing. Discuss the pros and cons – or cons and cons – of both homeschool and public school.

Remember that you, as the parent, ultimately have to make the decision you feel is best for your child, but take his concerns and input into consideration. There may be adjustments when you transition from public school to homeschool that you can consider doing to make homeschooling a better fit for both of you.

I know that beginning to homeschool can feel a bit like preparing to jump off a cliff. However, if you take these suggestions into account, it can all be a little less daunting.

If you have a homeschooled child who was previously in public school, what tips would you add?

Other Homeschooling Posts You May Like:

When Homeschooling Doesn't Look Like You Thought

Are you a new homeschooler? Here are tips and encouragement that should help you during your first year of homeschooling. | Real Life at Home

Reasons why it is a good idea to choose either a school name, colors, or a mascot for your homeschool. Plus tips for how to choose a homeschool name. | Real Life at Home

When you are moving from public school to homeschool, there are unique challenges for new homeschoolers. Here are ten do's and don'ts for your transition. | Real Life at Home


Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. They don’t change the price you pay. However, when you shop through them, we may receive a small compensation.

How to Transition from Public School to Homeschool: 10 Do’s and Don’ts was originally published on August 5, 2015. It was last updated in July 2017.

Join 35,000+ Other Awesome People

Subscribe to the Real Life at Home weekly newsletter to get our latest content, exclusive free printables, learning activities, and ideas for celebrating with your kids all year

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription. P.S. It's important that you confirm or you won't receive any more emails with free printables, fun tips, and other helps to make your life just a tiny bit easier.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit
5.0K shares
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter

Filed Under: First Year Homeschooling

About Kris Bales

Kris Bales is the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest voice that founded Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She and her husband are parents of three amazing homeschool grads. Kris has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. She also seems intent on becoming the crazy cat lady long before she's old and alone.

Previous Post: « Saint Pope John Paul II Printables and Worksheet Packet
Next Post: U.S. State Facts Crossword Puzzle Printable »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Alison Walsh says

    August 5, 2015 at 10:01 am

    I really like the last one! One of the most positive things I remember about my years as a homeschool student is the high level of input my mom let me have in our schedule. At public school, I had no real freedom or say in anything that happened. Just the fact that I got to take part in the decision process was a big deal to me! 🙂

    Reply
    • Kris @ Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers says

      August 5, 2015 at 11:55 am

      That’s great, Allison! I think giving kids input in and ownership of their education becomes more and more important as they get older. With 2 teens now, my kids have chosen their own curriculum (it isn’t what I would have chosen), and they choose when and how they get it done (within reason). I think those are fantastic lessons in work ethic and time management.

      Reply
  2. Renee S. says

    August 5, 2015 at 4:32 pm

    I really like giving the child input into their own curriculum and their own schedule. We just began homeschooling in March of this year and while it’s still very early to say, I’ve found that doing those two things have made things so much easier. Maybe it’s just my daughter’s style but she loves the subjects she’s studying and because she’s choosing when she studies I don’t have to always be saying it’s time to sit down and work, she just does it. Some days that’s at 9AM some days it’s 9PM. But it always gets done. She has ownership in her education, that makes a difference.

    Reply
    • Kris @ Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers says

      August 6, 2015 at 1:16 pm

      Exactly. I have one child who often likes to do her work late at night. She’ll leave it on the table for me before she goes to bed for the night, letting me know that the next day’s work is complete and she’d like to sleep in. Works for me! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Mirela says

    August 6, 2015 at 5:29 pm

    I start reading your blog and I like it very much. I’m from Poland and here we don’t have such thing as homeschooling. Tell me, is it hard to start to teach your own kids? I think it has to be tiring, but how do you see it? Do you think that your kids learn faster or are they more eager to learn than other kids in school?

    Reply
  4. Karen says

    August 16, 2015 at 12:05 pm

    This is our first year of homeschool. My son has always been very docile and sloth-like, but eve he needs to get up and move every now and then. No matter how lazy you think your child is, be prepared to take a short walk, act out a lesson, make a ‘what you’ve learned’ poster, listen to a speech about that poster…Another mom bought an exercise trampoline and lets her daughter jump her heart out during instruction. Such a wonderful idea!

    I had so much stress about starting homeschool. Would I be a good teacher? Will my son listen to me? Will he retain that information? What if I miss something he’s supposed to know? …SO many worries! What I don’t worry about is his safety, how he represents our family, and how people might treat him because he is a naive child. If I’m not with him, I have confidence in the people and location he is in. That’s something I didn’t have with every single teacher and staff member when he started middle school.

    I was sick with worry when my son went to public school. He spent most of his time in ISS and his peers were so conditioned to treat him badly that he couldn’t walk three foot in front of me at the local store without some kid saying something hurtful to him because they formed their opinions of him in school. Now the kids who know him associate him with church and social groups. His supervisors rave about his confidence, leadership, and creativity. It helps when nobody is telling him to shut up and sit down. The other day, I was to,d that my son won a game and the other kid was a little upset, so my son said, “Now you know my strategy. Wanna play again?” Id rather have a dumb kid than a depressed kid (or worse), but neither of those things will happen on my watch. Nobody will take this job more serious than me and therefore, I am the best person for this job.

    Reply
    • Jolynn Hegsted says

      August 26, 2015 at 3:09 am

      Yes, you are the right person for the job! Your son is blessed to have such a wonderful mother and homeschool teacher.

      For the past 18 years, I have homeschooled all of my children (6) from kindergarten on. I have found that when they are teens and want to go to the local school for a class or two, they are so confident and happy with themselves, that they don’t even care when they are bullied. In fact, they look around them and reach out, trying to be friends with the bullies and those who are being bullied.

      Reply
    • Patti says

      March 20, 2018 at 2:02 pm

      I know this is an old post but I love your reply! The reason I started looking into homeschooling is because my son who is about to enter middle school gets bullied EVERY SINGLE DAY non stop.. although he has a small group of friends the mean kids always find a way and I’m just so tired of the teachers, school, district not doing anything about this! Last year we had to get help because he was so depressed he was making suicidal comments… this year he has tried standing up to the bullies and he always ends up getting in trouble for defending himself.. I’m just so sick of it.. it’s cause him low self esteem and bad grades.. But as long as I’m alive I will be there to help him succeed!

      Reply
  5. Paul Milas says

    January 4, 2016 at 6:39 am

    Having a handy list of DOs and Don’ts is a very important part of Home Schooling. Thanks Kris for this.

    And you’re very correct about the 10th point. Kids give up very easily. So, it’s our duty to keep them motivated about home schooling. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Jack Stephan says

    July 6, 2016 at 7:49 am

    “Don’t expect homeschooling to look like it did in your daydreams” – Well said. This is an important point where many children and parents get confused – and finally loses interest.

    Reply
  7. Angelique says

    January 22, 2018 at 1:23 pm

    I am thinking very seriously about homeschooling my son. Currently, he is in special education classes in which he says feels like he is locked down. They are not on a campus with the other students and he says they make him feel inadequate. My son has a temper and is easily distracted which keeps focusing level very low. He says he feels like he will never get out the class and that makes him depressed and unwilling to learn. He is in middle school now the first year and he is not a happy child. I just want to do whats right.

    Reply
    • Brittany says

      February 22, 2018 at 10:53 am

      I’m with you here! I found this article because I’m home with my son today who “isn’t feeling well” but I know it’s because he is constantly getting into trouble. There are certainly things he and I need to work on as far as behavior goes, but I just keep feeling like I need to be the one to do that, not the school. It’s so hard to watch them be unhappy! Prayer in your decision making, and know that you are not alone!!

      Reply
  8. Lizzet Perez says

    May 22, 2018 at 9:32 am

    This was wonderful and reassuring to read. I am starting my journey this year and needed this. I am nervous and excited, but I truly believe that with God all things are possible.
    God Bless, and have a great summer!

    Reply
  9. Karen Williams says

    September 3, 2018 at 10:47 pm

    Tomorrow is our first day of homeschooling and his first day home from public school {8th grade}…He loves the library so I thought that would be a great way to start. Any suggestions?

    Reply
  10. Rebecca says

    July 21, 2020 at 5:17 pm

    Do you have any new suggestions in regards to COVID 19? I am specifically wondering about socially, as my oldest is really hurting from not seeing her friends and has cried multiple times (we have some major anxiety issues all up in my house LOL) I am just not sure how to best accommodate her. We have signed up for the virtual schooling offered through the district due to my fear of messing up 2 gifted kids and not getting them where they should be…. and a kinder who TBH IDK if i should start her or not. She just turned 5 last week.

    Reply
  11. The Teacher Treasury says

    September 4, 2022 at 11:05 am

    Yup, the adjustment period can really take time, but everything will be worth it. The sudden changes might shock your child, so it is really best to take it easy, especially during the first weeks.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Meet Angie

Angie, mom to three very fun kids, is the founder of Real Life at Home.  With degrees in elementary education (B.A.) and special education (M.S.Ed.), as well as being a former homeschooler, she is passionate about supporting both parents and teachers by providing printables, crafts, and activities to help children learn and grow. Read More…

Search

Connect with Real Life at Home

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Footer

  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms of Use and Conditions
  • Disclaimers

Amazon Affiliate Statement

Real Life at Home is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Categories

© 2006 - 2022 Real Life at Home / Tiny Owl LLC. All Rights Reserved. | Built using the Genesis Framework and hosted on WPEngine.