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transitioning from homeschooling to public school


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Any input on how to make the transition process easier for my 7 year old next school year would be appreciated. A little about my daughter. she is 7, will be 8 in November. Has never been to public school or in any type os school setting, besides one on one with me. We are considered first grade this year, so she will be going into second. It has been a rough couple of years for her. I got a divorce in July 2011 and then got back together with her dad until March 2011. Our life is better now than ever, but she has separation problems when it comes to me. So I am very concerned about that aspect of public school. She does go to her dads a couple times a week and was good with staying over night (did it for about 6 months), then end of last summer she had three bad nights crying wanting to come home. So no more overnights. And does stay here and there with her older sister and my friend if I need to a babysitter. Usually cries a little when I go to leave. But for the most part once distracted is fine. I am afraid of her crying and feeling scared when she starts school in fall and really want any ideas to lessen this feeling for her. Also I know how mean kids can be, I don't want her labled as a baby. So this is the socializing part.

 

Now onto the academic part of schoolin which she is ahead. But being that she is shy and has never done this. Any ideas or things I should be going over with her so that she will be comfortable in participating in class. What should i be teaching her or reinforcing? Any advice will be appreciated.

 

The reason for me putting her in school is that we are planning on moving this summer (in the process of looking). And financially I would like to be working while she is in school, so that I can give us financial security, I am looking at our future. This was a hard decision, but I know in my heart it is the best decision for both of us.

 

Thanks

Susan

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Another idea is for you to get a list of all the classmate's parent email addresses from the school (parent directory from PTA etc) and send out an email about setting up a playdate in the local park or some such place so that all kids can get to know each other and play with each other before the school term actually starts. Some parents in my child's class did this and we went and spent 2 hours in the park with all the kids in DS's K class and brought some snacks along. The kids got to meet everyone in their class, played with them and ate a snack sitting together on a picnic bunch while the parents introduced themselves to each other. This was a good idea because no one cried or had anxiety attacks on the first day of school (including the parents!).

As for how to transition to the classroom learning environment, shy kids have a big problem in that they get assessed below their level - this is usually because teachers ask questions and go by the answers they receive for the initial assessment. This happened a lot in my son's classroom where a few shy girls refused to even formulate answers and speak up. The parents of these girls set up a meeting with the teacher and asked her to reassess their child. You might want to coach your child to speak up and answer the teacher's questions without hesitation.

Good luck.

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Thanks, these are all great suggestions.

 

 

 

 

A couple thoughts off the top of my head:

 

Can you take her to the school and walk her through a day? Show her how lunch, recess, drop off and pick-up work? Let her meet as many teachers as possible. Knowing what to expect might help her feel more secure.

 

American Girl has some well done books that address making friends and bullying that might help prep her for the group setting. In our case, we had to discuss with DD what her teachers expectations were (that Dd was there to learn not do everything perfectly).

 

Also, let her know that you are excited for all the fun things she'll get to do at school.

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I just wanted to add that my Ds started school for the first time this year (3rd grade) and I was terrified that he would hate it. He has always been very attached to me and never desired to go to school. When I dropped my kiddos off on the first day, it wasn't my sweet little kindergartener that I was worried about; instead I was worried about my 8 year old son. That being said, he loves school. He still talks about homeschooling, but about midway through the year he (sadly) told me that he prefers school. Of course this broke my heart...but I am so thankful that he's happy.

 

I think all of the suggestions given sound great, but I didn't do any of them. I just spent the months prior to school starting talking school up in a big way. I mentioned all of the fun this he would get to do, the friends, etc. it worked for us.

 

This is a stressful time for sure. But in my experience, it was more stressful for me than it was for the kids!

 

Good luck!!! You'll get through this :)

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Thank you so much! I hope this my case as well, I will take all the burden of worrying about this. I am going to do everything in my power to make this the most positive experience for her.

 

 

 

 

 

I just wanted to add that my Ds started school for the first time this year (3rd grade) and I was terrified that he would hate it. He has always been very attached to me and never desired to go to school. When I dropped my kiddos off on the first day, it wasn't my sweet little kindergartener that I was worried about; instead I was worried about my 8 year old son. That being said, he loves school. He still talks about homeschooling, but about midway through the year he (sadly) told me that he prefers school. Of course this broke my heart...but I am so thankful that he's happy.

 

I think all of the suggestions given sound great, but I didn't do any of them. I just spent the months prior to school starting talking school up in a big way. I mentioned all of the fun this he would get to do, the friends, etc. it worked for us.

 

This is a stressful time for sure. But in my experience, it was more stressful for me than it was for the kids!

 

Good luck!!! You'll get through this :)

 

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We transitioned from home to school a few months ago.

My daughters are quiet and can be shy. My son is very talkative and more of a leader. Guess who likes school the best? It is actually my "shy" girls. They are both doing very well and made friends right away. You might be pleasantly surprised by how well she does! :)

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We homeschooled for kindy and then switched to public this year for first grade. DD is very shy and had problems with me even leaving her one hour a week for a church activity until she was 5 or so; she would cry when I left the room and refuse to talk to anyone until a couple of months into that activity. So I was worried that the same thing would happen at school.

 

Nope, turns out that she loves school. She is still very quiet, but she thrives on being around the other kids even if she doesn't interact a whole lot yet. We were lucky in that we ended up with a small class size and a teacher who is very sympathetic to shy kids and willing to give out hugs as needed when she was teary, and both of those things really helped.

 

As for preparing, I think what helped the most was the once-a-week activity that I mentioned above. It doesn't sound like much, but it really helped her to practice being away from me in a class setting even for short periods of time. I also talked up all the positive aspects of school (art, music, gym class, recess) and didn't say much about how kids can be mean beforehand. I figured we would cross that bridge when we came to it. We've had a couple of minor mean-kid issues, but most of the kids in her school have been great.

 

Good luck! :)

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Thank you to everyone! My daughter is warming up more to the thought of going to school more and more each day. I am actually now getting excited for her. All I ever want for my child is to be healthy, happy and well adjusted. I have no questions in my mind that this right choice for her and I can't wait to see what the future brings our way.

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My kids are transitioning right now. My 5th grader started PS this past Wednesday, and my 3rd grader and Ker are going on Monday. I took all of them in individually and showed them their classrooms and had them meet their teachers. On their first day, I took/am taking them to school early so they can get situated before the other kids arrive.

 

My older two have participated in field trips, PE, and extracurriculars through the school, so they know all of the kids in their class(es). They also recognize the teachers and are familiar with the building. I think having this familiarity is making/will make a huge difference for the transition.

 

My dd comes home exhausted after every day. We have to cram dinner, homework, and a little downtime into a short evening. I hate that part, but my family needs me to work so it must be done.

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Best of luck to you all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

My kids are transitioning right now. My 5th grader started PS this past Wednesday, and my 3rd grader and Ker are going on Monday. I took all of them in individually and showed them their classrooms and had them meet their teachers. On their first day, I took/am taking them to school early so they can get situated before the other kids arrive.

 

My older two have participated in field trips, PE, and extracurriculars through the school, so they know all of the kids in their class(es). They also recognize the teachers and are familiar with the building. I think having this familiarity is making/will make a huge difference for the transition.

 

My dd comes home exhausted after every day. We have to cram dinner, homework, and a little downtime into a short evening. I hate that part, but my family needs me to work so it must be done.

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