parenting

5 Steps: How to Transition From Home-Schooling to Public Schooling

For some home-schooled children, the comfort and freedom of the home environment makes the idea of joining a public or a private school seem unimpressive at best. However, if parents begin to prepare them for the transition early enough, it goes a long way to allay apprehension. Both schooling methods have had their fair share of fierce and diverse critical views, but a change of heart is inevitable when such a transition is imminent.  The challenges related to both schooling methods are different for each family, but there are a few ways to help ease the transition. Here are 5 steps that will help your child make the move from home-schooling to public system smoothly.
5 Steps: How to Transition your Home-Schooled Kids to Public Schooling
1. If the home living conditions have changed and you now find that public schooling is the next viable option for your child, it is good to reinforce the positive attributes that public or private schooling has. Remember, it is likely your child might have come across some negative attitudes from you or someone else about public or private schooling. Lately, schools have positively embraced home schoolers; especially because a good number of such students have gone on to excel remarkably after such a transition.
 2.  To acquaint your child with the feeling of joining a public school, you can take a drive by the school together, or better still, arrange with the school for your child to visit his/her future classroom. He can sit at a particular desk in his future class, walk around the school and talk with his/her teacher-to-be. This goes a long way in helping your child become relaxed and expectant of the environment of his new school.
 
     3. Depending on the age of your child, you have several options when it comes to keeping systematic academic records from his home curriculum. On one hand, you might have chosen a curriculum that is in tandem with that of the schools in your area, or you might have personalized your own. Regardless of your home-schooling system, it is important to show a chronological record of your child’s achievements. Such scores come handy for school officials to assess the academic progress of your child.
 
    4. It is important to keep records of other academic competitions that your child has taken part in during the home-schooling experience. For example, The Ayn Rand Essay Contests or The National Peace Essay competitions. Such achievements go a long way in facilitating school placements for your child. Older children (11th or 12th grade) ought to have sat for the SAT and ACT exams independently since those qualifications are a key prerequisite for a child’s acceptance into the school of their choice.
   5. Together with academic achievements, home schooling families should include any sporting activities their children have taken part in as well. These can include the daily sporting activities, such as, playing football, soccer, swimming or playing tennis at the neighbour’s tennis court. Other similar activities such as organized hiking expeditions, volunteering or a visit to a historical site or a museum are beneficial, and the parent can award a certificate that shows such accomplishments.
Many children are quite resilient. The attitude they possess towards any change in their environment largely depends on the preparedness instilled in them beforehand.

Mom of two beautiful active girls, traveller, fitness junkie, social media consultant, and keeper of the sanity.

One Comment