Tips for a Summer Homeschool Trial Run5 min read

Many people are skeptical about homeschooling when they are considering it. Some of them tend to go for a trial run before entirely adopting it and it is fair enough. A basic summer trial will not be able to show you or tell you everything about homeschooling but yes it can provide the idea of it. It is not a bad idea to try it once before going in full-fledged.

It is not enough to judge the whole concept of Homeschooling by just one trial run but it can work for you if done the right way.

So if you are really going for a trial run, that too in the transition period or summer break, consider the following points.

Deschool Before Homeschool

Deschooling is basically the process of giving your child a little time to decompress the initial schooling system and get ready for the homeschooling experience. Now, it can vary from a month to a longer or a shorter period of time, entirely dependent on your child and your will and comfort.
Since it is already summertime and a time for outdoor activities with a more relaxed and flexible schedule, it can be the perfect time to deschool.

Deschooling gives your kids a chance to rechannel their creativity and rediscover their natural interests and curiosity. Since homeschooling is more of a one on one and personal system it is a very important part for the kid to break free from the conventional system. Summer break is a great opportunity for you and your family to check if it suits you.

Make sure that you do not start off with heavy and full-fledged learning. Because if you are opting for homeschooling then you will have a lot of time for the same but if you think it is not for you, you would not want your child to go back to school totally exhausted rather than being happy and content about how he spent his summer and cherishing what he did.

Explore More Ways of Learning

After deschooling, it will be hard to digest for every kid being homeschooled and every parent who is homeschooling is that there are more than just the textbook way of teaching and learning. You need to go out and explore the ways you feel are the best for your child and you and then move on.

SOME OF THE WAYS AND METHODS YOU CAN EXPLORE ARE

• Nature Study

Keeping children close to nature has innumerable benefits. It makes them feel fresh, good and also being away from the city hassle reduces all the amount of unnecessary health damage they are facing. Nature study is highly informative for the kids it includes, bird watching, rock collection, etc. which firstly makes the kids feel closer to nature and secondly makes them learn a lot of new things.

• Read

Explore the libraries of your city and check out the summer reading program. It is also a great place where you can meet kids who are being or have been homeschooled for further help.

• Make it more practical

One of the biggest drawbacks of the conventional school system is that it provides more abstract knowledge than practical, homeschooling can provide you a great opportunity to make your kid’s education more interesting and reality-based.

• Check out some fun summer learning in the Science and Social Sciences horizon

• Try to inculcate more writing and reading habits in the kid.

• Go for field trips

Field trips are the most fun part of educating your kid because they are engaging and refreshing.
As a homeschool parent, you should take advantage of this time and educate yourself about homeschooling to your maximum extent, from homeschool laws to homeschool styles, start researching, reading, and doing your homework. Check what style best suits you, what laws are not appropriate for you in your area, although methods and styles change it is always better to have a look and just know the stuff you are getting into beforehand.

Act upon and Development Routines

As already mentioned above, instead of going overboard on the full fledged learning during the trial run, try to set up routines and act upon them. Routines should be the ones which you are going to set if you are homeschooling your kids, keep those exact same schedules and try if they work for you and make them a habit.

Take the morning hours for the light learning activities and succeedingly the afternoons for free time. When the school year is about to start, try to get into a more stringent and well packed schedule.
Also try and teach your children the life skills ad important habits you would need them to know if you homeschool them, like cooking, housekeeping, etc.

Become a part of the local Homeschool Club/Community

You should utilize this time in getting involved in the local homeschooling community of your area. It is important to get to know more people and make connections if you really want to go on with homeschooling. With that being said, it is equally important to stay connected with the former schoolmates. Even if you are opting for a new method, do not let go of the friendships you made in the previous school.

Most homeschool groups put a halt to their activities during summertime so it is something which you need to take care of. You might have to see if still, any field trips are going or if there is anything else planned.

Give your child time to explore himself, spend time with the homeschooled kids and learn and discover the ways and methods they have and what is similar and what is not.

Ask your Child

Since your children are the ones being homeschooled it is very important to ask them what are their expectations from this. What they liked and what not about their former education system and what they liked while they interacted with the homeschooled children.
Then set your goals together, what you want to achieve and how.