Too late to deschool? How to decompress from public school.

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What is deschooling?

Deschooling is when you first pull your child from public/private brick and mortar school and then give them a break from school completely. The break allows the kids to decompress from the stresses and rigidity of public school. That way when you start your homeschool routine that are more ready and willing to work.

With the influx of new homeschoolers over the last couple of years, many parents are jumping straight from a very regimented classroom or distance education scenario to a well-intentioned regimented homeschool scenario. Now, this isn’t a finger pointing statement, because once upon a time this was our family as well. Really at this point, it’s a result of sheer numbers and misinformation game.

Why are numbers and misinformation putting a damper on deschooling?

When homeshooling has seen a massive influx since the start of the pandemic according to the US Census Bureau, the information on how to start homeschooling is not getting to families quick enough. There is not a handout that someone gives you when you decide to homeschool that tells you every step that you need to take to start your homeschool journey. And if you have taken the time to find one that some amazing soul out there in Pinterest land has created, deschooling may very possibly not be on there or might be overlooked even if it is.

Did we deschool?

I’m going to admit right now that that is a very loaded question. My husband wanted to try it and I was adamantly against it. He did agree due to the fact that our first child that we decided to homeschool was our 14-year-old troublemaker at the time. We felt that deschooling would have been too much of a reward after the resistance he was showing at school.

Shortly after we started homeschooling our teenager, our 3^rd graders were begging to be homeschooled as well. I believe that if we would have deschooled them for even a short time, that we would have seen some better long-term results. They are natural learners so having an opportunity to explore some of their own interests for an allowed amount of time, they would have embraced their learning a little more.

We, instead, have explored times of no or limited school to allow them to get excited again. I do believe that this has worked pretty well for them in exploring the topics that really interest them.

How to deschool

There isn’t a set amount of time that is the golden number for deschooling. If I had the opportunity to do it again, I would somewhat model our decompression time. We start out taking one to weeks where we just sleep in, spend some time outdoors as a family, and just let them do whatever they want during their free time. Chores and family obligations are still required during this time. Towards the end of this time I don’t provide any form of entertainment. This beings on boredom. This back to summer break, week two is usually about the time you start hearing “I’m bored” every 30 seconds.

Strewing Everywhere!

At this point you have probably decided I’m crazy. I first heard about strewing from Coleen at Raising Lifelong Learners. She has some really great ideas for this concept, and my kids have fallen into the trap every time! Basically, strewing is leaving this around for the kids to find that will spart their interest in learning.

Some of my favorite types of strewing:

Playing documentaries on the TV without making them watch them
Open ended building toys like Keva Contraptions
Learning crates like KiwiCo
Recipes that they can do themselves of with minimal supervision like the projects in my Homestead Alphabet Coloring Book
Supplies for a craft project
Really the options are limitless, my kids found a duvet cover the other day and turned it into a rather elaborate fort with a trampoline.

Getting back into the swing of school

Once they get interested in something, exploring some curriculums or unit studies surrounding these topics is a great way to merge back into a school routine that works for your family.

I always get their opinion on any curriculum that I am going to consider purchasing. I definitely bring them back to a schedule that I have created with curriculum that I have deemed fit for their education, but I always hear their questions and concerns first. Here are some tips for selecting core curriculums and some great electives.

Is it too late to deschool?

NO! You aren’t married to any curriculum or schedule. Even if you’ve paid for a program with a schedule. If your kids need a break to be able to embrace your homeschool journey, then that is OK. Six years ago. I probably would have told you it was hokey. However, I recently suggested it to a friend of mine and she has never looked back!

Homestead Alphabet

The Homestead Alphabet associates farming facts with the alphabet using coloring pages and a variety of homestead activities. This is a great preschool through 2nd grade curriculum. The Homestead Alphabet purchase give you access to the Little Learner’s Library that is full of activities and pintables that make learning about homesteading fun and interactive.

This is a professional quality workbook, perfect for homeschool, preschool, after school, and on breaks from school! The paper is great for all coloring products and markers do not bleed through. There are multiple projects and free activities included in the workbook.

This is is an independent unit associated with the Build Your Own Homestead – Little Learner’s Edition. The alphabet workbook can be purchased on its own or it is embedded with the full curriculum. What to print yourself? Check out the printable version.

NOTE: If you have purchased or are planning on purchasing the Build Your Own Homestead Curriculum, this unit is already part of it and it is unnecessary to purchase both.

Too late to deschool? How to decompress from public school.

What is deschooling?