Going from Elementary Public School to Homeschool Middle School

The middle school years may find a parent deciding to homeschooling when just the year before, they had labeled homeschoolers crazy and dysfunctional. The tumultuous pressure-filled years of middle school however, can break the most die-hard public school parent and make them consider a homeschooling. But how do you get a kid who has been in public school from Kindergarten through 5th grade to get the hang of homeschooling? How do you change your own mind-set from public school to homeschooling.

The first thing you need to do is to understand that homeschooling is nothing like homeschooling. While they may be helpful at first, desks, and class-day schedules detailing the time for each subject and how long it will last are unnecessary. Children don't need to be excused to go to the bathroom, and they don't necessarily need a lunch break and snack times, and they can eat while they are hungry and often while they continue to work. Since the child is at home, it is important to let them act as if they are home; wearing pajamas well past noon, and making a blanket fort in which to do their work.

Once the child is aware of the fact that school is at home, and they can relax and be comfortable, you need to get them to change the way they think about learning. New homeschoolers, especially those who have been to school for several years, have a mindset that learning should be done from the hours of 8-3 on weekdays and will often refuse to work outside of that time. I like to shake that theory up immediately by scheduling outside activities like sports and music lessons for traditional school hours so they are forced into a flexible schedule. They may homeschool 8-3 on Tuesday and Thursday, but on Monday, and Wednesday, they will work from 1pm till 6p. They may take Thursdays off for a field trip and do some school work on Saturday evening as well. By shaking up their school schedule, they will get the message that there is no such thing as school time and home time. Any time is a good time to learn.

Next, you need to tackle curriculum for the middle school child who has been previously in public school. Since the child has had a traditional curriculum for the past few years, it is easy to stick with a traditional curriculum like Alpha Omega, A Beka, or School of Tomorrow online curriculum. Still, it is not necessary. It might be more beneficial to the child to spend a great deal of time doing math and reading in preparation for high school. The middle school years are a great time to stop and evaluate a child's strengths and weaknesses, and get them up to par in areas where they need extra work. During these years, you can fill any holes a child has in math, even if they don't know how to multiply, and you can take them through Algebra, if you make math a priority. You can also spend countless hours reading and working on reading comprehension to make sure your child is set up to "read to learn" for the rest of their lives. As for other subjects like science and social studies, if you pick your reading material carefully, these subjects will be covered, plus field trips will bring many opportunities for hands-on exploration.

In summation, relax. Homeschooling beginning in the middle school years can be laid back and stress free, while allowing plenty of time to work on skills that will be needed for high school level work. Spend that time on math, reading, and hand-on activities, especially in 6th and 7th grade, at which time, you can begin to move to a more formalized course of study for high school.