Deschooling

What is Deschooling?

Deschooling is the process of adjusting to a learning environment outside of traditional schooling. It involves both children and parents transitioning from the structured and conventional methods of traditional education to the more flexible and personalized approach of homeschooling. This period allows for the unlearning of school-based habits and the development of new ways to learn and engage with knowledge. Deschooling helps families adapt to the differences and challenges of homeschooling, promoting a mindset shift towards more self-directed and exploratory learning.

For many students, attending school daily is a routine. They know their designated classroom, their specific desk, and the teacher's expectations upon arrival. Teachers direct the class, organize group projects, call on students for answers, and have students' complete worksheets during class. In elementary school, students have one or two brief recesses, with younger students having a single teacher all day and older students having different teachers for each subject, structured in periods. Homework is assigned to be completed and submitted the next day.

When families transition to homeschooling, they may attempt to replicate this traditional school structure. While some families succeed with a school-at-home approach, many find it difficult. This is where deschooling becomes essential. Deschooling involves a period of adjustment where families move away from ingrained school habits, adapting to the more flexible and individualized nature of homeschooling.

Deschooling eliminates time constraints, proving that learning extends beyond classroom walls. It encourages students and parents to move away from the conventional school mindset, allowing them to tap into the broader opportunities offered by homeschooling.

It's important to verify with your state the specific time frame you have to begin homeschooling. Each state has different regulations and requirements for starting the homeschooling process.

Once you unenroll your child from school consider these activities and ideas before you start to homeschool.

Deschooling Activities for Younger Children:

• Allow your children to wake up naturally and decide if they want to get dressed for the day or have a pajama day—or even a costume day!
• Take a leisurely walk around the neighborhood, noting any specific interests your children may have, like insects, clouds, or construction, to explore further with library books.
• Engage in indoor activities such as coloring, playing games, or watching educational content on TV or YouTube, perhaps related to their outdoor discoveries.
• Spend time reading aloud together or allowing younger children to take a nap if needed.
• Plan a trip to places like the library, children's museum, science center, or playground, incorporating learning into fun outings.
• Involve your children in cooking dinner together, fostering both life skills and family bonding.

Deschooling Ideas for Middle School/High School Students:

• Let your teens sleep in according to their natural rhythm and encourage them to help make breakfast.
• Organize a field trip to places like museums, science centers, zoos, or volunteer opportunities to explore their interests.
• Support their special interests by working on projects like science experiments, driver's education, or building projects.
• Incorporate physical education activities into their day to keep them active and healthy.
• Have discussions about homeschool curriculum, schedules, and preferences, encouraging their input and involvement.
• Research local classes, elective options, and dual enrollment opportunities at community colleges, considering digital curricula versus textbooks.
• Explore virtual field trips and online resources, such as games and books to supplement learning experiences.
• Plan outings for entertainment and adventure, such as visiting the library, movie theater, mini-golf course, or trying activities like laser tag or geocaching, providing opportunities for fun while still engaging in meaningful experiences during the deschooling period.

This adjustment period will allow you and your child to bond. You will begin to discover your child's interest, likes and dislikes. Which will help you to begin to plan your homeschooling. Read this blog on Homeschooling 101 to help you get starting planning.

Determining the duration of deschooling involves patience and trust in the process. The timeframe varies among families—some complete deschooling in a few months, while others spend their entire first homeschool year deschooling. Comparing experiences isn't fruitful; deschooling takes the time it needs, whether weeks or a full year.

Transitioning from deschooling to regular homeschooling becomes apparent when certain signs of homeschool readiness emerge:

• Children recognize learning can occur anywhere and anytime.
• Parents grasp their children's unique learning styles.
• Natural curiosity sparks further exploration in children.
• Parents and children connect over educational tasks, easing any initial awkwardness.
• The value of supplemental activities like learning games, books, and field trips become evident.
• Parents understand homeschooling laws and have chosen a homeschool method and curriculum aligned with those laws.

If these signs resonate with your experience, congratulations on your homeschooling journey!

Quotes from homeschoolers:

"It has taken me years to deschool! I think a big challenge for me was that I love traditional school. I wanted to have control over how school was facilitated to my children, so I was looking for a happy median between tradition school and what I wanted for them educationally. It honestly took me to be overwhelmed many times to realize that what I was actually looking for was less hands-on structure and more independence in their education. I keep track of everything like a real school and even give progress reports, report cards, and bi-annual exams (all created by me). Being teacher and headmistress was a huge load to carry, so I decided that I only wanted to be headmistress lol.. Now my kids have much more independent learning and I can oversee them in a way that works for me. That is what deschooling looks like for my family. I may be in the minority when I say that I chose to homeschool because I felt I needed to. It wasn’t because I have an affinity for education through play or that my kids didn’t do well in school. I wanted a change in the schools that hasn’t happened yet. Education has generally been the same since it was created and I knew that I wanted to give my very bright children a better option. I’ve been homeschooling for about 4 years now(I have a 12 and 8 year old) and I do not plan on stopping." RaeVen C.

"Since all we knew was the experience of public school, we were automatically in that mindset - this meant planning out our entire day...what time we would do which subjects, what time we would have breaks, what time we would eat lunch and have snacks...every minute was scheduled. We tried to stick to the schedule, but it didn't work, and I felt like a failure. I felt like I was failing at homeschooling. What I didn't realize was that I WASN'T failing. But I had the wrong mindset and the wrong approach. Our days naturally leaned (and pulled us) toward being more flexible. We wanted to sleep in a bit later. We wanted to learn about things that weren't on our schedule. We wanted to learn in different ways than the boring textbooks we were using. We needed more breaks. We wanted to spend more time on projects and not have to stop because the schedule said it was time to stop, just like in school when the bell rings and you have to interrupt your work to go to the next class. We wanted to talk more, play outside longer, skip a subject we were supposed to do that day, go to the library instead of sitting home doing work, etc, etc, etc. I felt like a failure because my attempt at creating public school at home wasn't working. I didn't realize, that the way for us to have a successful homeschooling experience was for us to break that mindset. I didn't know about deschooling. I had never heard of it. And back then, I didn't know that I could find and join local groups to meet other homeschoolers. I didn't know where to go to for help. I was all on my own. But we kept at it, and we naturally moved away from our strict schedule and started doing things "our" way. We tried different schedules at different times throughout the years, and we always threw them out! I highly recommending taking some time to deschool. Even if you don't, the most important advice I can give you is do NOT try to create public school at home!" Bec • Co-Founder of Homeschool Connective