Deschooling Q

[poppy]

We're starting HSing in September. Does the summer break count as deschooling? Or do we have the break, and then take time off in September?

[HomeAgain]

Well, it depends on your kid.  Some do fine, some may need a little longer.  You could always plan the first semester to be a loose structure, partway between the freedom of deschooling and jumping into a new program, where the kids pick what they want to learn about each week.  That way you can adjust as needed and you have the freedom to develop that new relationship slowly.

[Pen]

You might not even want to deschool in the usual sense. You might want to have some great fun things to do this summer and call it "homeschool" to get your child used to the idea that homeschooling can be fun!

 

I cannot recall the issues you said you were dealing with, but sometimes not taking time off (especially if you are not trying to get away from some bad experience that needs some down time) can be better.  But having it be very light and mostly fun to start can be a great help IME.

[OneStepAtATime]

Maybe start by sitting down and discussing each of your goals and brainstorm ways to accomplish those goals.  

 

Also, find things that each of you would like to pursue (area of interest, existing skill to hone, new skill to start honing, etc.) in addition to standard academics and put that on the schedule as an important priority.  Support each other in those pursuits.  

 

If you both do better with structure, set up a schedule but keep it light for a while.  Add in things as you go.  

 

One thing that helped here was when I had the schedule set up for academics 5-6 weeks in a row then a full week off to pursue outside interests, listen to audio books, etc.  Knowing we had that break built in helped when we ran into challenging areas.  Of course, some people have a hard time getting started again...  

 

For a while we also had a schedule of 4 days a week of more academics and a 5th day for documentaries, reading, science experiments, hanging with friends, playing, etc.  I started with where I wanted us to take a summer break and worked backwards to when I wanted us to start.  I looked at lessons and plotted it out ahead of time.  It made it easier to adjust as we went.