transitioning from homeschool into 5th grade

[elizawill]

my daughter is 10 and in 4th grade.  next year, for 5th grade, she is considering public school for the first time.  i feel like she will be okay both socially and academically.  *i* have a little anxiety of course, but i would never let her see this. i really want to support this decision, should she choose to pursue public school.  my question is, what should i be focusing on now to make sure she is ready for 5th grade.i want this transition to be as seamless as possible.  my son will definitely continue to homeschool. my daughter has the option to try this and return to homeschooling as well. we only asked that she try it through at least christmas break (does that sound reasonable??).

thanks for your insight, words of wisdom, and thoughts. especially if you have BTDT.

amy

[moominmamma]

Three of my kids have opted to try public school after unschooling. It worked out well in all three cases, though so far two of my kids have chosen to go a half-and-half mixture of part-time school. We did essentially no prep when they transitioned in, although my eldest opted for an accelerated grade level in math, not one of her natural areas of interest, and I think she spent a few hours over the summer boning up on the grade level stuff.

My attitude with my kids was that they were smart kids and while I knew there would be big adjustments in terms of lifestyle and a few little gaps, I was sure that they were well prepared for the academic demands. We really didn't do anything to "prepare for the transition" and I think that was a good decision, because it fed their confidence and avoided creating any anxiety about the transition.

As it turned out the biggest "gap" they had was in not knowing what a poster assignment was. As in, a "show what you know about the subject of ____ by creating an informative and graphically interesting 8 1/2 x 11" coloured page to be posted on the wall of the classroom." It was not a big deal to help them come to terms with that type of assignment.

Miranda

[Linda on the move]

My kids homeschooled until they were 10 and 12. The biggest issue for them with the transition was handwriting. They knew how to write, but we had never done that much of it and they both wrote very slowly compared to their peers, which was an issue.  At first they both really struggled with the volume of work because it took them so long.

They were also very tired at first, but they adjusted within a couple of months.

I think that letting her knew that she needs to stay through at least Christmas is wise. Most kids have a few bumps when they try something new -- it's good to work through those.

We eventually opted for an alternative school rather than traditional school, but overall, being in school has been GREAT for my kids. They've learned tons and made lots of new friends. 

It's been great for me as well. My life has more balance and I'm happier this way.

[elizawill]

thank you both!

miranda, excellent points. i do think my daughter is smart, so to make a big deal about the transition might make it more stressful for her.  i definitely don't want that to occur, so thank you for pointing that out. 

linda, i defintely think my daughter's biggest hurdle will be the long day. we do have a schedule here, but it really flows and caters to her, so i know that will be the biggest adjustment for sure.  i imagine the whole process in the beginning will feel very foriegn to her (and me!).   as for writing, we tend to follow a public school scope & sequence for grades 3 and up, so i *think* she will transition fairly well in that regard.

another thought i'm considering is calling to see if she can just take a class or two. in florida, homeschoolers can take classes at the public school.  we had already planned to do that in sixth grade.  i'm not sure if they can do it in elementary, but i thought i'd call to find out. it will give her more options.

thank you both for replying.  i just want to support her in the best way possible as she figures this next stage in her life out. i feel rather anxious, so i'm probably over-thinking it all.

thanks again.

amy

[Linda on the move]

I was very, very anxious before the switch, too. It worked out GREAT for my kids in the long run, though. 

I'm really glad that we homeschooled when they were little, and I'm glad they started school eventually. Sometimes along the path I found it hard to talk about what was going on and how I felt because it seemed like the word was divided into "schoolers" and "homeschooers."  I see good (and bad) in both options. I needed to honor both what we had done while being really positive about the transition.