Deschooling is a period of time a new homeschooler should take to decompress from the stresses of traditional school. Taking some time off from ‘education’ is especially important for a child who had a particularly hard time in school.
In searching for the right amount of time a child should deschool when transitioning from traditional school to homeschool, I found that the consensus is that a child needs one month for every year that they spent in regular school.
For a first or second grader, I suspect this deschooling time could be completed over the summer or even by just extending the summer just a little, but for an older student, I have to wonder if such a deschooling period is not a overkill. For example, if a child is going to start homeschooling in the 9th grade, should they really take 8 months of from traditional learning? This is almost a year’s time!
While I am sure that many students have a great deal of stress built up and really need a break before beginning the homeschooling process, allowing older kids to take nearly a year off may be counter productive.
Still, there are ways you can allow them to decompress while they are actively homeschooling.
Give the students control of their own education (within you guidelines) of course. For a homeschool students, you can just lay out a typical course of study and have them decide what they want to study for the year. You can also have them choose from online programs, local workshops and classes, and other homeschool resources available in your area. This article will help you find out what is available in your area.
Keep the education process fun. Look for ways that your student can learn while having fun. This blog mentions fun ways for an elementary student to learn. For older students, look for group competitions that your homeschoolers can do with other homeschooled kids. Also, take advantage of every learning activity you can find in the community such as museum trips, art workshops, and other activities.
If you find that your new homeschooler is to stressed for even these kinds of activities and is not interested in anything that resembles traditional learning, encourage him or her to unschool for the deschooling period and to keep a daily journal of what they have learned.