When to pull ds out of school?

[Stardustmom]

We are thinking to homeschool ds after New Year. He is in 2nd grade and on Christmas break now until January 4th. We were going to homeschool him after break but found out the quarter is not over yet -the last day is January 13th. Is it better for him to go to school for another week to get his report card and grades for 2nd quarter or is it better not  too?

[Red Pajama]

If you think that you are homeschooling long term, I don't think it matters. If you think that this is just a few years, I'd let him finish the quarter.

[laohaire]

Unless there's a good reason otherwise, I think if you've decided to homeschool, just yank him out whenever it works for you (such as, now).

"Good reasons" I can think of to keep him till Jan 13:

• He enjoys school and wants to go until Jan 13
• There's a special event or something he is really looking forward to (end of term field trip or something)
• You're not really sure about homeschooling and have a decent foreseeable chance of putting him back into 2nd grade or 3rd grade later.

And, that's pretty much it. If he's ready to get outta there then I'd just pull him. If there is a lot of stress involved in school (bullying, him feeling bad about his work, whatever) then I'd pull him yesterday.

[aHikaru]

I would let him finish school because as soon as you start home schooling there is an de schooling phase (which usually takes a year), so it depends if your ready to be as committed as possible.

[AAK]

I would just pull him.  The winter break is a great start to deschooling--I wouldn't interrupt it for a few day at the end of the quarter.  

Amy

[ameliabedelia]

I would just pull him.  Quarters and grades don't mean much in the 2nd grade...  IMO, grades for the early elementary years are pretty meaningless, and it's really easy to "evaluate" your child yourself to see if they are learning what they should be.  The winter break seems like a natural time to pull him, and I think it would be harder (on him) to go back for a week or two and then get pulled.  I think it is easier to start homeschooling after a school break as the deschooling period has already started a bit with the break.

[Stardustmom]

I don't know if he ever have to go to elementary school again (I hope not) but his sibling will still be at that school. We are going to take one-year-at-the-time approach and see how it goes.

I was going to deschool for 2-3 weeks, start doing something he likes to do for 2 more weeks and after that return to  math-LA. This break would work great as deschooling time...

Edited by Stardustmom - 12/27/11 at 3:42am

[aHikaru]

De schooling takes about a year, not 1-2 weeks.

[AAK]

Originally Posted by cassandraz 

De schooling takes about a year, not 1-2 weeks.

I disagree--it is very individual.  Some people need more time than others.  Also, I think that just because you need to "deschool" that doesn't mean you don't learn.  You just go approach it differently.    

Amy

[moominmamma]

Originally Posted by cassandraz 

De schooling takes about a year, not 1-2 weeks.

Totally individual. An oft-touted rule of thumb is to allow a month for every year of formal schooling the child has experienced. They may be ready to return to structured learning before then, but it's worth preparing yourself for the possibility that it might take that long. So if this child started school in KG, 10 weeks might be necessary.

But it could be considerably less. Or considerably more.

Miranda

[mattemma04]

Unless there is safety issues I would say to let him finish the quarter. During that time you can submit the intent to homeschool to your district/county,and wrap things up with the school.

[CariOfOz]

We just did this in November with our 9yr old.  I withdrew him the first of November, despite only 6 weeks remaining of school for the year.  We had already made the decision that he won't likely be returning to school during his primary years so I didn't see the point of making him endure 6 more weeks of mean kids and feeling singled out by the staff.  If you're planning to home school for the long term, then just do it now.  Btw, I have 2 younger children that will both be at the same school next year as well... but I didn't let that influence my timing with my 9yo, I did what was best for him at the time :)

[Stardustmom]

Originally Posted by CariOfOz 

We just did this in November with our 9yr old.  I withdrew him the first of November, despite only 6 weeks remaining of school for the year.  We had already made the decision that he won't likely be returning to school during his primary years so I didn't see the point of making him endure 6 more weeks of mean kids and feeling singled out by the staff.  If you're planning to home school for the long term, then just do it now.  Btw, I have 2 younger children that will both be at the same school next year as well... but I didn't let that influence my timing with my 9yo, I did what was best for him at the time :)

 I wish we did it in November...How long did it take you to deschool?