decompressing

[~*SugarMama*~]

I have heard a lot of talk about children coming out of public schools and going into homeschooling will need to do this before starting. : So....can someone explain to me what decompressing entails and a rough estimate on how long it takes?

Reason that I am asking is my dh has agreed that it would be better for our DS to not go into first grade next year but for me to homeschool him. We had already agreed not to send our DD to preschool and I had been doing everything with her at home that a regular preschool would be doing. And its gone so beautifully that we want to continue with that.

In short, DS has been in school for one year....kindergarten. But will not be returning in the fall. We want to unschool him as this method appeals to me the most and to dh somewhat (eh, at least he is responsive and willing to give it a go ) but I am unsure of how long to allow DS to decompress from his bout with schooling and how I will know when he is *ready* to begin again.

(Yes, I do know that its when natural curiousity returns....but I want to finish out DD's curriculum with her but don't want that to step on DS's toes, so to speak)

[Sijae]

I can't speak from experience as I am about it go through it myself. I have heard and read that how long it takes is related to how long they have been in school. For instance having been in only one year of school your son may be ready to jump into unschooling a lot faster than mine who has been in the system for 6 years plus pre-school. I've also been told that it is different for every kid so just go with the flow

Laura

[oneotamama]

I'm not sure either, but I would think it would depend on how much he was "pushed" in kindergarten. I mean did they have a lot of time for free play etc., or was it pretty much go, go, go..push, push, push.

Did he like kindergarten?

[papayapetunia]

I'm about to do the same thing with my dd. She's just finishing 1st grade. Her last week of school is next week. Yippee!!! I've been saying we'll "deschool" for a while. I don't think I mean the same thing as "unschool," but I will just take her sues for a while. She really enjoys academic work, so I'll give her some. But mostly we'll just play for a while. I'm due with dd #2 in a few weeks, then we're moving from Hawaii to Oregon in August or September, so the deschooling will probably last at least until we're settled over there this fall. So basically, she will have about 3-5 months to learn how to be a kid again. If she needs more, we'll do it. I want her to be ready and excited to learn.