we were in the same boat as you with DS7...The best advice we got was to make the transition and spend some time "deschooling" our son. Basically that means to allow a transition time between PS and homeschooling. Allow your child to take a breather and unwind from everything that occured in PS. we spent about 2 months deschooling - where we just woke up in the morning and I would let my son plan out what he wanted to explore...we spent many days just hiking in the woods, driving to places to ask if we could have an inpromtu field trip of their facility, just goofing off at points and unwinding/destressing.

We were also told to not jump into stressing about the ins and outs of homeschooling...don't go crazy and purchase all the curriculum right away...take your time and watch/observe your child to see how he learns best- see what they are really interested in and plan your first few activities/lessons around those topics. After a period of time, you will see what method of homeschooling will work best for your child...unschooling, traditional, a mix....

Just use it as a time to reconnect with your child and help them gain back their love of learning and self-confidence

Here are some sites that explain the process of deschooling

http://sandradodd.com/deschooling

http://www.homeschoolingonashoestring.com/deschooling.html

http://www.homeschooloasis.com/art_deschooling_tips.htm

Last edited by Belle; 02/23/10 08:37 AM.