| Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp |
| Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp. All rights reserved. |
| about the book |
| The Homeschool Diner's Guide to Homeschooling Basics Getting Started De-Schooling: Getting into the Homeschool Groove by Julie Shepherd knapp, copyright 2006 De-schooling, de-toxing, decompression time ... what's it all about? Most homeschool books talk about children needing to "take a break" after leaving school and before beginning to homeschool... is this really necessary? You'll probably read that children need to deschool for a period of one month for every year that they were in school! Won't the children "fall behind"? Will you be able to get them back into doing school work, if they get used to doing nothing all day? Does taking a break mean watching TV or playing videos all day? (...cuz my husband's not going to like that! ;-) The answers to this question depend on your particular situation. You'll need to consider what type of school experience (good or bad) your child is leaving, what is your child's current attitude toward learning, and what type of homeschooling approach will you be starting out with. Most homeschooling parents would agree that if your child has had a really difficult time in school, and you are seeing signs of stress, anxiety, or depression, then YES you need to let your child take a break. Your child needs some time to recover, both physically and emotionally... and may possibly need some professional help to deal with what he or she has been thru. If your child is already stressed out by school, it won't help matters to jump right in with school work on your first day home. Does decompression time include TV and video games? That is a personal choice for each family. Some parents feel that it is important to allow the child some time for "zoning out" and doing nothing... others never have allowed much "screen time" and never will. What is important, is that children be given the opportunity to relax, do pleasant things, get some sleep, and find their way back to being happy. If your child hasn't had a rough time at school, is in good spirits, and is actually looking forward to the educational freedom that homeschooling can offer -- he or she may not deed any decompression time at all. Though I highly recommend taking at least one day off just to celebrate your new journey -- go to the movies or the park, or to a museum or the library -- and mark the beginning of your homeschool journey with a joyful day of fun or exploration. Will your child fall out of the habit of "doing school"? Well, for many families, that is the whole idea. Homeschooling offers many options to traditional school... some time to "break out of the mold" may be a good thing for all of you. If you plan to recreate traditional school in your homeschool (an approach often called "School-at-Home") then your concerns are valid -- after taking some time off, your children will probably need a few days to "get back in the swing". You have no doubt experienced this after summer or winter holidays, too. They will re-adjust after a break, just like they did in school. As for "falling behind"... there will be plenty of good days ahead to get in your formal learning. But, to succeed in the long run, your children really need to have reclaimed their love of learning, and their joy in discovery. These are two qualities that make good students -- and give adults the edge they will need to prosper in our ever-changing world. As the homeschooling parent you are the one in charge of your child's education. You need to decide, for your family, if it is worth trying to recover and foster those qualities in your children. Here are some good articles on de-schooling that may help you decide: Deschooling is for the whole family, Mom included! Take a look at this thoughtful blog, More About Deschooling, by Tammy They're not really doing "nothing"... Older Children need some "Decompression" time, an article by Cafi Cohen Making the Transition to Homeschooling by Serena Stout for ClubMom Finding My Deschooling Path by Stacey Clarke for Natural Life e- magazine, "A 15-year-old from Victoria, BC describes her deschooling experiences. She says, “This is for all my friends who still hunger to know what it is I do all day and why.” Deschooling for Parents by Sandra Dodd -- children aren't the only ones who need to get away from the whole "school" thing ;-) Certificate of Empowerment from Sandra Dodd Related issues Many school children show signs of institutionalization. definitions of institutionalization -- Biology-Online definition, Adoption.com Harm in the School System by Shaun Kerry, M.D. Institutionalization and Deschooling: The Death and the Resurrection of the Self by Kah Ying Choo Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich -- complete text free online |
| "Become the change you want to see" ~~ Oprah Winfrey (1954 - ) Glorify who you are today, do not condemn who you were yesterday, and dream of who you can be tomorrow. -- Neale Donald Walsch |