How pulling your kids out of school now can be a good thing!
Are your kids in a less than ideal situation in school right now? Well, you are not alone! Here at Heart of Dakota (HOD), our phones have been ringing off the hook with parents pulling their kids out of school now. So many families are excitedly beginning their homeschool journey right now with HOD, and you could be one of them! First, be sure you know how much notice you need to give your children’s school. Usually, you can just ask other parents or your school. However, if you’d rather not, you can click on your state here for more details. Assuming you are able to pull your kids out of school now, I bet you are wondering how to start homeschooling in the middle of a semester? You’re probably also wondering how that could possibly be a “good thing”! Well, it can. Let’s see how!
Start now with your kindergarten through third grade children to get ahead for next school year!
Did you know you can start now to get ahead for next school year? We can place your children with next year in mind. For help with placement check out our printable placement charts, order a free catalog, or just give us a call (605-428-4068) and one of our placement specialists will gladly help. Placing your children now gives them the advantage of getting ahead for next school year. How? Well, HOD’s younger guides utilize 5-day a week plans. Little Hands to Heaven (LHTH) through Bigger Hearts for His Glory (BHFHG) all have 5-day a week plans.
By starting LHTH through BHFHG now, you can shave time off your next homeschool year! So, for example, if your kindergarten through third grade-aged children began HOD now, they would be able to complete enough of next school year’s work to be ahead enough to only homeschool 4 days a week next year. This gives parents and kiddos a day off each week! It also gives kiddos a head-start on next school year! Now, those are two good things about pulling your kids out of school now!
School for 30 days now, and school just 4 days a week next school year!
So, if you start homeschooling your youngers now, and you make it through about 6 units/weeks of plans, you can homeschool just 4 days a week next school year and finish your guides! You can do this either by homeschooling 5 days a week for 6 weeks, or by homeschooling 4 days a week for about 8 weeks. I often did this with my younger sons, once my oldest son had moved into 4-day a week guides. This was the best of both worlds in my opinion! My youngers still had shorter days, had more days of school to cement skills, and had me all to themselves when I needed to be with them anyway – but, during the school year their days matched my older son’s schedule… and I loved a day off each week!
Start now with your fourth through eighth grade children to get ahead for next school year!
Did you know you can also start your fourth through eighth grade children now to get ahead for next school year? We can place your children with next year in mind. (Reminder: For help with placement check out our printable placement charts, order a free catalog, or just give us a call (605-428-4068). Placing your children now gives them the advantage of getting ahead for next school year. How? Well, HOD’s fourth through eighth grade guides utilize 4-day a week plans for many reasons.
Taking 5 days’ worth of work and condensing it into 4 days means students have a free 5th day each week. Longer homeschool days fit older students better. Longer days match their increased attention spans. Likewise, longer blocks of time help students have enough time to truly complete their more in-depth, independent work. Having one free day each week fits older students better. This format allows older students to have free time for extracurricular activities, outside interests, and work.
By starting HOD’s fourth through eighth grade guides now, your children can get ahead for next school year! Make this transition to homeschooling a positive and easy experience by starting next year’s guide slowly. Since each guide has daily plans on a two-page spread, simply do the left side one day and the right side the next day. We call this ‘half-speed’ pacing, and half-speed pacing is an excellent way for older kiddos and for parents to start homeschooling happily and successfully!
Start now with your high school age students if pulling them out of school now is the best decision!
Can you pull your high school students out of school and start homeschooling them now, mid second semester? Well, many families are doing just that! However, be sure to check your state’s requirements, as high school can be a little trickier. Be sure you know what credits your high school student has already earned. Homeschooling in high school is easiest to do when students are going to finish the rest of their high school years by homeschooling. HOD’s high school guides are complete and include all typical credits and electives necessary for high school exit requirements and college entrance requirements. So, if you pull your high school student out now, we can figure out a plan to get them to the finish line!
In Christ,
Julie
This Post Has 2 Comments
Our area of Pennsylvania does not allow us to count days for next school year until July. So while we might only need to do school 4 days a week to keep up with course work with a strategy like this, it would be important to make sure that we still get our 180 days in. Personally, we school year-round and mix in unstructured learning when we need a break. That way we still get our days in.
You bring up a good point, Charity! Homeschool families should always check for homeschool requirements in their own states. There are many ways to homeschool enough days, as you mentioned. Thanks for the comment!