going back to public school

[mountains27]

Hi, just looking for some advice and experience from people who have transitioned a kid from homeschooling to public school. My 9 year old who has been homeschooled since 1st grade has expressed interest in going to our local PS. He is a shy kid but recently he has become very social and made some friends at soccer. I told him those kids all go to the school he would go to and be in his same grade and he was all about it! He has never had any friends to speak of besides his sister :/  We live in a rural area that doesn't have homeschool coops or any kind of homeschool organizations so his only time with other kids is through sports which is about to end until spring time (we don't have a lot going on in this neck of the woods!)

 

I have always wanted both my kids to feel they have a say in how and where they get their schooling so I am on board with him giving this a shot. I also have felt a little overwhelmed having a 4th and 6th grader this year while working full time and being a single parent so I think it's a good time to try this out. 

He would be joining 4th grade and I am really not sure what they are covering right now at this school in this grade but am hopeful he could adjust to the pace and curriculum. Does anyone have experience or advice on this that they could share? thank you :)

[Pen]

He'll probably be fine transitioning.  He might mention it to his soccer friends who may have some ideas for him.

 

Maybe practice getting up at right time, thinking through clothing, breakfast, lunch etc. routines that will be needed.

 

Be sure you know correct start times, school bus info if needed, etc.  

 

You can probably visit the school, find out what supplies he needs, get a school handbook if any, take a tour to learn the lay out, maybe have him visit classroom(s) and shadow for a day before enrolling to make it a little smoother.  

 

He'll need to do things like write his name on papers which may not have been needed at home, but for a neurotypical child it should not be a major adjustment, and at that age if he forgets sometimes so probably are other kids who've been there since the start.

[Ellie]

Hi, just looking for some advice and experience from people who have transitioned a kid from homeschooling to public school. My 9 year old who has been homeschooled since 1st grade has expressed interest in going to our local PS. He is a shy kid but recently he has become very social and made some friends at soccer. I told him those kids all go to the school he would go to and be in his same grade and he was all about it! He has never had any friends to speak of besides his sister :/  We live in a rural area that doesn't have homeschool coops or any kind of homeschool organizations so his only time with other kids is through sports which is about to end until spring time (we don't have a lot going on in this neck of the woods!)

 

I have always wanted both my kids to feel they have a say in how and where they get their schooling so I am on board with him giving this a shot. I also have felt a little overwhelmed having a 4th and 6th grader this year while working full time and being a single parent so I think it's a good time to try this out. 

 

He would be joining 4th grade and I am really not sure what they are covering right now at this school in this grade but am hopeful he could adjust to the pace and curriculum. Does anyone have experience or advice on this that they could share? thank you :)

 

Well, it might have been better to have started at the beginning of the school year. :-)

 

Before you go to the school, you would want to make a report card for him. Yes, even if you haven't done one before because it isn't required of homeschoolers in your state. I would also have recommended that you give him a standardized test, because the more information you give the school about his academic achievement, the better (the school might just place him at his age level, but some schools still give homeschooled students grief and want to place them a year behind. Don't let them do that.). At any rate, do a report card, and have his immunization records, and maybe a photocopy of his birth certificate; put those in a folder and give it to the school. It is his cum (cumulative) records.

 

I'm sure he'll be fine. And if it doesn't work out, you already know that you can homeschool, so you'll be ready to do that if necessary.

 

[mountains27]

I did think about putting him in school at the beginning of the year but at that time he was very against it and then all of a sudden it was the first day of school and so we just continued the homeschooling :) 

He went to this same school for Kindergarten and we are there a lot for various reasons so I know the school fairly well, I actually went to school there too! So we have that advantage anyway. He just took a CAT standardized test and scored pretty high for 3rd grade so according to that he is 4th grade ready but I do worry this school might try and put him a grade behind. I had testing done at the school for him last year to check for learning disabilities and they thought he seemed behind (this was last October). Since then he seems to have moved forward at a more rapid pace so I am hoping he is caught up enough to be at the level they would expect a 4th grader and place him in that grade. If they were going to say he needed to start in 3rd grade this would all be a no-go for me and I'd just continuing his home school. The main reason he is excited about school is the idea his soccer teammates are all in 4th grade and would be in his class so i'm pretty sure he would hate being in 3rd grade. He's also as tall as a 5th grader so he would stick out pretty good in a 3rd grade lineup! :)

[Targhee]

My DD was homeschooled until 4th when we moved out of state and she started public full time. She transitioned well. She had a bit of trouble turning stuff in and leaving stuff at school, and she had to learn the small things like always putting her name on her paper. But habits formed, and this year in 5th she's really on top of things. Best wishes!

[Sneezyone]

My DD was homeschooled until 4th when we moved out of state and she started public full time. She transitioned well. She had a bit of trouble turning stuff in and leaving stuff at school, and she had to learn the small things like always putting her name on her paper. But habits formed, and this year in 5th she's really on top of things. Best wishes!

 

This was our experience as well. DD transitioned last year and there were definitely some time/paper management hurdles. This year, there's been none of that and DD is doing great!

[Jean in Newcastle]

What grade would he be in if he had started public school from the beginning.  Most schools around here will just place based on birthdate and will ignore where he placed on the standardized test and wouldn't care if what grade his soccer friends are in.  Of course YMMV and it won't hurt to ask. 

[mytwomonkeys]

I enrolled my son in 5th grade (he is homeschooling again now). It was very easy to enroll him here. I just called the front office & explained our situation and asked what they needed from me. My son had to have his immunization records, birth certificate, a physical, and his most recent test scores (we had used SAT10 so I just gave them that). That’s all it took. He did very well & adjusted fine.

 

ETA- and yes, he was placed in his grade based on birthdate. Here kids take a STAR reading test & that will place them in their AR Level

Edited October 10, 2017 by mytwomonkeys

[mountains27]

thanks for all the replies, it really helps to hear first hand experiences! I called the school today and they wanted to get me in for a meeting right away (going tomorrow morning to meet with the principal and guidance counselor)  so he could start this Monday, like 3 days from now!!!! I think he will be fine to jump right in, he is excited, but I don't even have a lunch box for him! :) I was thinking they would want him to start mid-year after Christmas but I guess we will just rip that bandaid right off and see what happens :)

[PeterPan]

Why would they wait? They get money as soon as he enrolls. ;)  They may go ahead and do some intervention if he's behind on reading and see if he needs more evals and an IEP. As the others say, they'd be more likely to do intervention and keep him in his appropriate grade. My ds has an IEP and SLDs in every area, and he's not retained for grade at this point. Maybe someday we'll adjust, but not now. 

 

Hope he enjoys his new experience! :)

SaveSave

Edited October 11, 2017 by OhElizabeth

[Meadowlark]

My kids went to school this year, and one of them was a 4th grade boy. The transition has been pretty seamless for all, really.

 

I would suggest getting him typing. I've been amazed at how much technology is infused into their day. I would also talk with him about choices. My guy has needed guidance with choices on friends, literature, language, etc. I kind of wish I would've talked to him before, but I took a "take it as it comes" approach. It really depends on the kid though because I have not had to have any conversations like that with any of my other kids.

 

I also would make sure that he is placed according to his level right away. I brought my kids' ITBS scores with me to orientation, yet the teacher still missed that my son was reading at the 98% percentile. She put him in a grade level group and just missed it or forgot. I just found out last week and then he was switched to the advanced group. 

 

Have a plan for after school. I have 6 kids and the paperwork, folders, homework, lunchboxes have been pretty overwhelming. Just have a routine for what he does when he walks in the door.

 

Other than that-good luck! Sometimes change is for the best.

[serabi]

I have two elementary kids in public, one homeschooled right now. My 4th grader is in public school is doing a lot of writing this year, a lot of strengthening various math topics that were introduced in 3rd like multiplication and division - at least in our area, the stuff under 4th grade math in Khan Academy lines up pretty closely with what they're doing. History in our area has been early explorers so far but I know that can also vary. You can usually see your state's standards online, if you're in the USA, to get an idea of where they might be. I've also never had a teacher complain if I ask what they're doing/what they've already covered - they're usually quite excited to show me ;) so if you can have a quick meeting with his new teacher, that might help you get an idea of what he'll be covering, too. 

 

It may take them a couple days to get him into the right reading groups, etc and he may be really tired that first week. :) Definitely give it a few weeks before deciding if it's working or not. 

[MrsBasil]

I sent my kids to school this year.  My son entered into 3rd grade, based solely on age. They did STAR and DRA math and reading assessments once school started to place them in reading groups, but all kids get tested.   In my district the charters will test for placement, but regular district schools do not.  

 

I sent my kids to a small project based K-8 school and my son ended up knowing about 5 other kids from homeschooling.  He said it was great to start the year knowing people already, so I bet your son knowing the kids from soccer will be great for him. 

 

There hasn't been a lot of need for transition help at school, he got into the groove pretty easily.  I think that school is non traditional in many ways has helped him, they have flex seating, almost no worksheets, math is about 90% hands on....but the before and after school routines have been tough.  We had to get expectations and practices into place after the first week of what to do with stuff coming home, lunch box care, remembering coats etc.