Are you a short-term homeschooler?
Some people know they will homeschool before their children are born. Some begin homeschooling after their children spend some time in school, but then they decide to homeschool "forever" -- or at least, for years. Others decide to take it "a year at a time," but the implication is that if it works out, homeschooling will be ongoing.
And then there are short-term homeschoolers: people who homeschool for a summer, a semester, or a year, knowing their children will return to school. Many of them consider themselves accidental homeschoolers.
What are the reasons for short-term homeschooling?
- Negative school situation. Parents often want to do short term homeschooling in order to get their children out of a negative school situation that has shown no promise of improvement, despite concerted efforts on the part of parent and child. This can include homeschooling because of bullying by other children, humiliation by a poor teacher, a dangerous atmosphere, poor grade placement, exceedingly long bus rides, or failure of a school to carry out IEPs for children who have special needs. In other words, it's situational, and parents want to do something else because the current situation is untenable.
- School refusal. Some kids are so uncomfortable with school attendance that they refuse to attend. Homeschooling may be seen as a short-term measure that can continue a child's education even as the parent hopes that the child will be willing to attend school in the future.
- Academic remediation. Homeschooling is efficient and effective. Some families want to homeschool only because their child is considered behind by school standards in specific academic skills or knowledge, and they feel extra time working one-on-one with a parent or tutor will provide the academic boost that is needed. Their plan is to re-enroll their child in school when she or he has "caught up." Many people who are homeschooling for remediation will take it on as "summer schooling" if not for a full semester or year. If you are interested in homeschooling to remediate academic problems, you will want to read about homeschooling the child who is behind in school.
- Special needs. Some families may homeschool when their child's special needs are not being met through a specific school. These parents should consider whether their child is being encouraged to homeschool and pushed out by their school. However, sometimes bypassing a particular school that has been more uncooperative or has fewer resources may be an overall benefit, even if the child will be re-enrolled when she or he ages into a different school. Homeschooling children who have been labeled as having ADD or ADHD may give those kids an environment that is more conducive to their learning style.
- Parent's health. When a parent has a serious health problem or terminal illness, maximizing a child's time with the parent may make a lot of sense. That parent may not be able to be the one who is "in charge of" the child's homeschooling, but a family may benefit from time spent together during a special few months or an uncertain year. Of course, the adults need to consider the child's desires and ability to be in a situation that may feature frequent crises, suffering, and hard times. Still, there may be no substitute for having generous time to love one another when time is not going to be so generous in the long run.
- Child's physical health. Homeschooling children who have chronic illnesses or serious injuries can make a lot of sense. While public schools do offer homebound instruction, some families find it inflexible and unrealistic, or not enough resources are provided because of a school's financial limitations. Some families simply switch to homeschooling while their children heal or recover strength. Homebound and homeschooling are distinct and are governed by separate laws; if you plan to homeschool a child for health reasons who was previously receiving homebound instruction, in most states you cannot simply "unofficially slide" from one to the other. You should learn your state's laws for homeschooling.
- Child's emotional and mental health. This has been alluded to earlier -- a child who is bullied at school or who is refusing to attend school may have emotional challenges that will be helped by getting them out of the school situation. However, there are also other mental health challenges, such as depression, anxiety, and other conditions which may be difficult to treat when a child is in school. Homeschooling allows a family to prioritize emotional health, even over academic achievement.
- Reconnection. Related to emotional health, some parents find their children in school are drifting away from valuing family relationships. They spend a lot of time with peers and adults who are not part of the family, and they are busy with friends, homework, or activities -- some of which may be positive and some of which may be negative. Parents want an opportunity for their kids to reconnect through generous family time.
- Behavior problems. Related to the need to reconnect, emotional health, and possible peer dependence, some parents want to address a child's negative behavior that has been occurring in school. It can be difficult for parents to know the full situation around behavior problems they can't see. Having a child at home can provide valuable information about the root of behavior issues, as well as time to help a child learn to manage. Some parents see that schools are dealing with many children and may take an adversarial role with kids who do not behave as expected. At home, parents may choose to be allies with their children in helping them learn more positive behavior. Some children benefit from extra time to work with therapists or be in an environment that is less stressful and more likely to reinforce positive behavior.
- A break. Some parents simply feel that their kids will benefit from a break from regular school. They want their children to have an opportunity to get away from school requirements and constraints, so they can experience a more relaxed schedule or learning dedicated to their own interests. Parents might sense their child is losing touch with authentic interests or burning out from having nose-to-the-grindstone. They want their child to take a leave of absence and return to school refreshed after a long break, with renewed curiosity.
- Unique opportunity. Sometimes a special opportunity comes along that school simply cannot accommodate. Perhaps your family is going to travel cross country in an RV. Perhaps a special mentor is going to become available in your child's special area of interest. Maybe there is a life or learning opportunity that a parent wants to create -- or that a child is seeking -- that will be unique and valuable. Learning within the family often fits these opportunities far better than attending the same brick and mortar school on the same schedule each day, week, and month. Homeschooling can flex around these opportunities.
- Frequent moves. Military families and others who know they will experience multiple short-term moves sometimes choose to homeschool during the period when they expect the most transitions. While they intend for their children to attend school in the future, they believe their children will do better with the consistency of homeschooling through the physical moves, rather than starting over at multiple schools within several years. Read more in my article about homeschooling and moving.
- Natural disaster. Schools are not immune to hurricanes and fires. While communities often try to rally quickly to hold classes in alternative locations when schools are damaged or destroyed, some parents prefer to keep their children home until a new school setting becomes permanent. They want to spare the child the numerous transitions or help deal with a child's anxiety about the hurricane, earthquake, flood, or fire.
Some of these reasons for short-term homeschooling may be born of desperation; others may be born of optimism. For some, homeschooling short-term is a decision of last resort -- parents do not see another option that is positive for their child, and they are anxious to have him or her back in school as soon as possible. For others, homeschooling is seen as something they'd love to continue to do, but financial obligations or other scenarios block consideration of longer-term homeschooling.
In all cases, parents should be aware of the limitations of short-term homeschooling, even as their children may also reap some potential benefits. We'll look at some of that in my next article about short-term homeschooling.
In the meantime, if you are considering short-term homeschooling, you can know that other families are also homeschooling for a specific duration, although their reasons may be different. Many people meet their children's educational needs with an interlude of planned homeschooling even though their children will spend most of their years attending public or private school.
And beware: some short-term homeschoolers I have met during my twenty years of homeschooling have ended up homeschooling a little longer than expected! You never know.
A popular speaker at homeschooling conferences, business groups, and parents’ groups, Jeanne Potts Faulconer homeschooled her three sons in North Carolina, Mississippi, and Virginia for twenty years. Jeanne is director of 
Hi,
Me and my husband concerning to take 3 months off next year (June-August) from work and go for trip around the world. We have 2 kids (one is in Primary School and second one in Secondary School). Primary School already said that we need to withdraw our son from school and they can't guarantee that they will have a space for him next year. I haven't ask Secondary School, yet. What is the best way to do it to make sure they still have a space at school? Thanks
This is a question that only the school can answer for you.
Hi I have 2 kids who missed out on their 2nd term, and have not been attending third term and I want them to finish this year and nxt year get registered at public school
I feel slightly better that there is a phrase to describe me as a soon-to-be new Homeschool Mom!
Thank you for such a wonderful website. I've been overwhelmed for the past few weeks, but am finally getting my arms around some of this.
Hi Ro - I'm glad this was helpful!
Dear Mary Ann Kelley
I am a health assistant in a small community school. my grandson is living with grandpa and I and he is 7 with special needs. I have asked for almost 1 1/2 years for a testing on him. His teachers, counselors think as I do that he has ADD and Dyslexia. They have not responded to my request at all. We are comtemplating homeschooling him but I will need to transfer to another job that lets me be home with him but it will be at the cost of 5000. dollars and we are desperately trying to retire in 2 years. we are in our mid 60's and 2 years will get us out of debt with monies for other beginnings. I need some advise . He needs special help and I am caught up in his needs and our retirement which monies should not matter but I dont want to have to work till i am 70.sos
Hi Joette,
Schools are often reluctant to spend money on testing and providing services. I personally had the experience of a school continually putting off testing in favor of "let's wait and see" and "let's try this." If schools do testing that shows a need, then they may be required to provide services, so from a budgetary point of view, it's better if they don't know. This may not even be purposeful on the part of the school administrators; it may be because they have such limited funds to help students that they really must triage to serve the students who need help the most or whose parents are most demanding.
Many parents and guardians have to become quite learned in the ways of the school system, educated about student rights, and very vocal about their children's needs.
This article does not fit your scenario perfectly because you're not describing the school as suggesting you homeschool, but I think there are some ideas and links in our article about Pushouts that might help you think this through. The bottom line is that the school is responsible for meeting the needs of your student. The other bottom line is that they may not meet their responsibility. Whether you will homeschool or whether you can engage the school in a way where they meet his needs remains to be seen. You may need a school advocate who can help you navigate special needs laws, which is outside our expertise here at TheHomeSchoolMom. If you decide to homeschool, which I know is a big decision with financial impact, we do have a lot of resources that can help you.
Thinking of you,
Jeanne
Hello,
My 8th grader is having anxiety issues with 1 particular teacher. We've gone the route of talking to the teacher - we were shut down and dismissed. We've had to take her to therapy, pediatrician - it's all documented. My husband is a mathematician and wants to homeschool her in the 1 subject, Algebra 1. Is it possible to do 1 subject and keep her in school for the remaining subjects?
Kim, if you want your daughter to receive school credit for work done at home, then you have to meet the requirements of the school division. Thus, your question is best directed to school administrators. While homeschooling is legal in all 50 states and many countries, that doesn't mean that public schools are required to accept for work done at home.
Another option that may work is homebound instruction. If your daughter has a documented medical problem, she may qualify for homebound services provided by the school division, which schools provide to students who have illnesses and injuries that make it impossible to attend school. Homebound instruction (which could have a slightly different name where you live) is completely separate from homeschooling, which is independent from school. Homebound instruction is expensive for school divisions, and they may be reluctant to offer it. Some students struggle with homebound instruction because, depending on the level of service, a teacher may only be checking in periodically and students have to do a lot of work on their own at home. If your school division agreed to provide homebound instruction, your husband could essentially tutor your daughter through the material, and she would receive school credit.
The problem is, the school is likely to state that if she can attend other classes, she does not qualify for homebound instruction.
Another angle may be to work with the school to establish and IEP or 504 Agreement that would require the school to make different arrangements to accommodate her documented anxiety. TheHomeSchoolMom does not have expertise in these public school programs, so you need to do some research to find out how they might help your daughter. Again, these are expensive for schools, so some parents hire advocates who specialize in helping students get the services they need. Other schools are more helpful, working with parents whose kids need some accommodations.
Your questions are more "school questions" rather than "homeschooling questions," though I understand why you are looking outside the box. If you have not spoken to an administrator or guidance counselor at the school, that would be a good next step.
Jeanne
I am seriously thinking of starting to home school my 14 year old son. He was born with a cleft lip and palette and in the 6 years he lived with his father he was barely at a kindergarten level in reading. I've had him back 3 years now and we're up to 4th grade level and climbing. So with both these issues he is bullied and teased by peers and has even had teachers that treat him negatively. So he has started to have anxiety based stomach problems and hates school. In the last school year just over 2 months I tried to get an IEP set up at the beginning so we had a plan from the get, but it turned out to not be a priority for the faculty. Now he's been out for 3 weeks and I've made repeated attempts, 3 emails, 4 phone calls...all asking for an IEP meeting to try and get him back on track, with NO response, except the threats of him being dropped or legal implications. I feel I'm at a point in my life where this is actually feasible and looking for some...validation I guess. I was a good student, did some tutoring in high school, was a substitute teacher for a short time and have a certificate for book keeping. So I feel I am capable. Now my concern is the cost in doing it. I also want to put him back in school next year for 10th grade since we found my older son an awesome high school, since he has similar issues. I just need to get my son through this year and want to make sure I help him thrive as much as I can for this time. So I guess my questions/concerns are 1. Validation 2. Cost 3. Temporary Home schooling.
I appreciate any help you can offer to help me get started.
Amber,
Many parents homeschool successfully without specific educational background or teaching experience. If you qualify under your state law, you can homeschool. If you pay attention to how your child learns best and research different ways to homeschool, you can help him learn. Many "regular ol' parents" do an amazing job with their kids, and that's possible for you as well.
Homeschooling does not have to be expensive. There is some opportunity cost if you have to cut back on work hours. There can be childcare or supervision cost for working parents who can no longer count on school as childcare or to occupy a teen's time. This may or may not apply with your son. Many people homeschool extremely frugally, using a free curriculum or putting together their own studies and getting resources from the library. Of course, other people spend money on tutors, activities, packaged curricula, new books, community classes, and programs. This is something that varies so much that there is no way for me to tell you how much it will cost you. You have to do the research on curriculum , think about any activities or services he would participate in, and decide what he needs and what you can afford.
If your son is 14, there are some pros and cons to starting to homeschool if he is considered to be in high school. Please read my article on the Bad News and Good News of Homeschooling High School. In many places, schools do not have to accept credit for work done at home. If he is in 9th grade now and you withdraw him to homeschool, the school may say he has to repeat 9th grade because they do not "recognize" the work he did while homeschooling. This is a concern to take very seriously. On the other hand, if you simply want him to improve his skills and both of you recognize he could have to repeat a grade once he returns to school, it might be worthwhile. You need to talk to school officials about this and get any agreement you make in writing, understanding that even that may not be enforceable if school personnel change.
If your school is not following your son's IEP, you have to consider whether your son is actually being quietly pushed out of school. Please read my article on push-outs from school. Some parents decide to threaten or commit to legal action to require a school to meet IEPs; others decide to homeschool because their child goes so long without their needs being met.
Good luck! You sound determined, and your son is lucky to have you on his side.
Jeanne
I am going for home school for my daughter 5 yrs just because we moved to a new place and county referred us a school for her around 6 miles away although they providing pick b drop too , but problems is that my daughter has got motion sickness . She need to take medicine in that situation . I informed my prob with them but they said the only option is that home schooling . I m so worried for her n trying to move some where else just becaus of school but afraid that can she start her school again after some time or she have to wait till next year.
Hi: I am homeschooling my 9 and 8 years old daughters , my first language is Spanish and they speak English because they learned English when they were going to public schools. But I am worry they will loose their English because even though I try to speak English ( with an accent) they now don't have an English speaking teacher even though the curriculum I use is only English. Thank you for your help.
Lourdes, speaking both English and Spanish should be an advantage to your children. To insure they continue to grow in their English, you could take them to activities where English is spoken. For example, storytime at the library, volunteering, 4H meetings, church services in English, etc. You could also take them to the park or invite English-speaking children over to play. They don't necessarily need to be taught in English if they get exposure to English through immersive activities.
Jeanne
My son will be a senior next year and we are thinking of homeschooling him because of a medical procedure he will be having. We want him to have a normal senior year. Is it possible to homeschool him for a year while he undergoes the surgery and recovers and then send him back to school the following year as a senior?
This is in Arizona.
Also, he is a good student 3.85 gpa and I'm not sure if doing a 5th year of high school will look bad on college transcripts. Any thoughts on that?
Thanks!
Hi Jaime,
You should talk to homeschool experts in Arizona, and you should talk to administrators at your son's school. In Virginia, where I live, we could take a year off to homeschool and then send a child back to school, but there would be few ways to insure a student would get credit for work done at home, and most students who homeschool for a year of high school do NOT get credit for work done at home. If you don't mind that, because you are essentially expecting him to "repeat" 12th grade anyway, I think you will have fewer issues because you're not trying to get a public high school diploma with one year's worth of credits done through home education. The problem would be if you were attempting to have him "graduate with his class" that he has been in throughout high school.
Is it possible that instead of (or as part of) homeschooling, he could take a community college class or two through dual enrollment? This may not fit with his medical needs, but it would certainly look good to colleges. You might also give him the year to do some really unique project rather than traditional credits, if he will actually be completing all required credits at his high school. You should certainly contact college admissions offices at his potential colleges to ask about this, but I think that taking community college classes and doing some special project during a medically intense year between junior and senior years of high school would probably enhance rather than detract from his applications. Some homeschoolers do five years of high school without ill effect, but you could also position it as an early "gap year," taken due to medical need. If he has some passion that he could explore during that year, that could be amazing. For example, if he's a musician, he could try to produce original work. If he's into the environment, he could conduct research on local streams. If he's into coding, he could try to create apps, and so on. Again, not saying the HIGH SCHOOL would accept this as credit-worthy, but it sounds like he may not need the credits if he's actually going to end up taking all his classes at school anyway.
Again, talk to homeschoolers in your state, to your school's administrators, and to college admissions reps.