If you started by homeschooling and then DC went to public school...

[Martha_2sons]

How was the transition for you and your DC? I am asking because I have a 4.5 y/o DS who I'd like to homeschool but my DH wants him to go to public school. (He's not old enough for kindergarten until next year.) So far he's never been away from me for any significant amount of time so you could say that so far we have "homeschooled." My husband contends that it would be easier to pull him out of public school and home school him if it doesn't work out versus needing to put him in public school at a grade above kindergarten.

Obviously my bias is that it would be easier to continue to keep him at home and if at some point it doesn't work out to then enroll him in the appropriate grade. I really am interested in all stories though, even if they don't support my current bias.

Thanks!

[Meli65]

I'm not exactly the voice of experience but after planning to homeschool, I enrolled my 5-year-old ds in kindergarten this year (he just started on Friday). The way I figure it, it's a pretty low-commitment way to tiptoe into "the system" and see how it suits us -- to see what we're NOT choosing, if that's what happens in the future. My ds is very sociable and he is thrilled -- he got fairly bored and lonely last year, despite my best efforts to get him out with other kids.

[elizam]

We've Done Both

pulled our oldest after K and 1st in PS (2nd child only did K). That transition ws pretty wonderful. They loved being hsed for several years (there were issues, though--it wasn't perfect).

Put oldest back in for 7th. Bad decision in a way. I've heard of HSed and private school dc doing better transtioning to PS in late elementary school. Middle school is the worst time. SOme kids wait till high school and are very confident and successful.

[Martha_2sons]

Thanks so much for responding. I really appreciate hearing from people who have already "been there."

[mattemma04]

The only problem I have seen with hs to ps with my dd is she really found all the tests frustrating.Constant tests,quizzes,and so on.Stressor on having *good* grades.This was 1st grade ps after hs K and part of grade 1.We did testing once a year at home,but no spelling tests weekly,or a grade on everything. Perhaps things would have been easier if she was used to those things,which ofcourse you can prep for at home before ps.

We go back and forth btw. hs and ps with neither providing a perfect fit for our dc. Our other child will start K ps first,so we will see how he does.With such individual needs/drives between the kids we can only compare so much.

Best wishes whatever you do!

[TiredX2]

We homeschooled until DD was in 2nd grade and wanted to go to school (she started at the beginning of a school year).

There were no problems w/her starting in 2nd instead of K. She did have some problems transitioning, but it would have been WAY worse if she had gone (unwillingly) into K. DS is going into 1st this year and there will be many children who did not public school last year (either homeschooled or Montessori Kinder).

That said, if my child were going to go to a school that only had one class per grade level, that might change my decision. The kids' school is large enough that kids change classes from year to year, so basically it's new for everyone (DS has two kids in his class this year that were in his class last year, for example). Esp in the younger grades friendships seem very fluid and being "new" doesn't seem to be a hinderance at all.

[Maggi315]

We've done both, my oldest daughter had no trouble going into school, our motto is that we only look ahead one year at a time and do what is best for each child at that time. that means we have done several things from unschooling, formal curriculum, virtual charter school, catholic school, no preschool, lots of preschool, 1/2 kindergarten, all day kindergarten, and public school! whew!

and now I am working to put together a waldorf co-op!

[eilonwy]

I know a kid who is in his second year of public high school after homeschooling from the beginning. It was his decision to go, and his parents say that the most difficult thing for him was learning to wake up every morning early enough to get there. He really enjoys it, but again it's his decision; his sister (sixth grade this year) is still at home.

[lactivist]

We unschooled my daughter until we moved and she requested to attend a public charter school. She started midway through 8th grade (school is 7th to 12th) and has absolutely thrived. It hasn't been an issue at all. She is doing great, trying to get extra credit so she can graduate early. She loves her school and has never looked back. I think the fact that it was her choice made the transition pretty easy for her. She is also very social and she loves going to school to see her friends. I am continuing to unschool my other kids until they request to go to school or I will continue through graduation.
Wendi

[ManiacMama]

I have 2 ds ages 8 and 6 who have previously been homeschooled and are now in PS as of last week. My oldest ds has been in ps previously (K and part of 1st) so knew what to expect. My middle ds had never been to school of any kind.

Our transition has been very difficult. Neither child wanted to go to school, so that is a big part of it. They both enjoyed being homeschooled and now find school long and boring. Also, my oldest child, who has tested several grade levels ahead of where ps placed him (3rd according to his age), is bored to tears. He is re-doing work he completed at home 1 1/2 - 2 years ago. I am not sure what we are going to do. We have to give this a few months but there is a strong possibility they will come home and homeschool again because it seems like, for these and other reasons (pending budget cuts that will cut out advanced placement programs and electives like PE, art & music), the ps cannot meet their needs.

On the positive side, my oldest, who is very social enjoys being with all the kids each day. Even so, he really wants to come back home.

I don't know how much of this would be relevant to your situation, but I just thought I'd share as you never know what can happen. It can be hard for gifted children to find their place in PS and once you as a parent are able to customize their education to fit their learning level and style, it can be difficult to adjust to the "one size fits all" way of ps. Fwiw, the schools in our state are supposed to be among the best in the nation, but I am shocked at the low level of academics they are providing: . Course it's only been a week and maybe I expect too much

[michelle1k]

This is what I posted in the homeschool forum:

We have gone the other way: homeschooled for 3 years and this year my 9-year old is attending school for the first time. He is by nature a very solitary child, academically at 6th - 9th grade level and hence doesn't really "fit in" with the other kids at school (doesn't watch tv, reads obsessively, does fencing and plays the violin). BUT he *loves* school, loves the social aspect of it (who would have thought???!), loves the bus rides, loves knowing all the work and loves recess.

He used to get depressed / moody every year at the end of summer when all his friends in our community would go to school. I tried to fill the gaps with field trips, fun things to study and do, but it seemed to him (as best he could verbalize) that there was an undercurrent of "something missing".

I guess for now, the school milieu is that "something" and so far so good.

[foehnjye]

This was exactly the thread I needed to read--thanks!!

After three harrowing weeks in ps Kindy, I pulled my DD out and I am just beginning the process of realizing I am going to be a homeschool mama!

I have been amazed that how 1 week ago, I said "I cannot homeschool my DD because I am the primary source of income for our family, and there's no way we can do it" and how this has changed to "I must do the best thing for my DD, and I must NOT violate the trust we've built over the last 5 years just because of school policies and rules."

Sometimes there is nothing more important in life than a simple change in perspective. What was "I can't" has become "I will" and I believe strongly that we are making the best choice for DD.

It is good to see that others have been able to make this transition back to PS if necessary, and out of PS as well. As Maggi315 said, I will take this a year at a time.

Now...how to deal with all the opinions that have begun about pulling DD out of Kindy? Hmmm...perhaps there is a thread on that in the homeschool forum?