Tag Archives: deschooling

Are You Ready to Quit?

I went to go visit one of my homeschooling forums this morning to discover not one, but four posts from moms who are ready to toss this whole homeschooling thing in the garbage. Their children don’t love it, they don’t love it. . .and well, it’s hard. There’s no ‘mommy time’, there’s tears and fights over school work, and these moms feel like they’re just not reaching their kids. This blog (and maybe a few more) are dedicated to those moms who are ready to throw in the towel on the whole homeschooling thing. Why Did You Start Homeschooling? I … Continue reading →

Considering a Trial Period

I recently wrote an article entitled The Dangers of Short Term Homeschooling where I advised against pulling one’s child out of school for a short while just to put them back in. I failed to mention however, that there are some circumstances where possible short-term homeschooling is a good idea. Such a circumstance would be a trial period, which many prospective homeschoolers start now, in January. Homeschooling for a trial period often gives people the courage to “try it out”. Though making a solid decision to homeschool or not is wise, homeschooling is not like the army. Once you start, … Continue reading →

Deschooling: The Fallacy of Comparing Children

One of the boldest arguments that I’ve ever heard against homeschooling is to compare children. When my son did not know how to write his letters or the sounds of the letters by age 4, people around us were up in arms about our homeschooling practices. One particular acquaintance pointed out that her son was in an all day preschool program and he could write all of his letters and numbers and knew most of their sounds. Perhaps it was time to admit that I’m not so good at this homeschooling thing after all. Meanwhile, my poor illiterate son was … Continue reading →

How Not to Grade Your Child

If you read my last blog about traditional grades, we learned that traditional grading systems in short, don’t meet the needs of homeschoolers and in fact may even be detrimental to the overall learning goals. We are talking more about an attitude change defining what we think of, when we think of a “good education.”, rather than never assessing your child. However, not grading your child can present some problems when it comes to record keeping. Regardless of your state laws, it is my opinion that everyone should keep at least a record of what their child has read, what … Continue reading →

The Deschooling Series: The Fallacy of Good Grades

If you’re just joining us, we’re talking about the things that hinder us from breaking away from our notions of what school should look like. Learning can and should happen in a variety of ways and through a variety of different media. However, we seem to have it so engraved in our minds that school should look traditional. On the contrary, many parents find, particularly those transitioning from a traditional school setting, that they must almost entirely abandon their notions and spend a year deschooling. I have now read in several sources that deschooling is definitely the way to start … Continue reading →

The Deschooling Series: The Fallacy of Traditional School

Welcome to the first of our series where we will be talking about and exploring ways of thinking that inhibit deschooling. Deschooling is the process by which our kids (& us) “unlearn” school behavior. Why is it important in home schooling? It is likely that if you’ve pulled your kids out of public school, it’s because something was wrong. Your child’s needs were not being met. Throwing out misconceptions of how kids should learn and beginning to understand learning is the first step in deschooling. While my own kids have been home schooled from the beginning, I understand from talking … Continue reading →

Eclectic Schooling, Unschooling, and Deschooling – New Age or Long Overdue?

In my last few blogs I have discussed many options for you and your homeschoolers regarding curriculum. There are a few more that I would like to mention that seem to be growing in popularity and that you may want to consider. The first one is Eclectic Schooling. This means that homeschooling families use parts of preplanned curriculum along with supplemental workbooks purchased from local educational vendors. This also means using educational games on the internet, maybe using a virtual school or a co-op for more supplemental classes. It could also mean that you may use Alpha Omega for English … Continue reading →

What Is Deschooling?

If you are considering Homeschooling your child and begin to look into Homeschooling options, it won’t be long before you run into the term “deschooling”. Understanding the deschooling process can save everyone frustration and will definitely increase the likelihood of a successful Homeschooling experience for your child and yourself. What is Deschooling? Deschooling is the process of disengaging from the expectations and learning style that children (and parents) come to expect from a public or private school setting. In order to Homeschooling to be successful, children will need to recapture that natural-born love of learning. This is the passion that … Continue reading →