Deschooling the Easy Way for Successful Homeschooling after Distance Learning: Part 1

Kids are unique, so why shouldn’t their education be, too?

Have you decompressed from last spring’s distance learning yet? It was a harrowing experience for parents, abruptly thrust into a teacher role for the first time. Kids also had a really tough time, thinking that doing public school at home wasn’t any fun. (Not that it was fun before schools were shuttered.)

I know your intentions of not doing a repeat of that are good. But you wonder if it’s even possible to do distance learning “right.”

Take note: The very fact that you doubt whether remote learning can ever go well is very telling. It’s your intuition talking. Your inner voice. Your gut feeling. Listen. It’s time to change course.

Really, how could it be possible that virtual learning could succeed if you’re following a digital script — complete with video lessons, assignments, projects, assessments, etc. — given to your child by someone else? And you’re supposed to be the mind reader, fact interpreter, support person, the go-to problem solver, and the surrogate teacher all rolled into one?

You have a choice. Take matters into your own hands by directing the education of your child through homeschooling. You won’t be the middle person trying (and usually failing, as you already discovered last spring) at bringing your child’s level of understanding up to where a virtual teacher wants it to be. Instead, you’ll be in the driver’s seat, taking cues from your child and guiding their learning experience. It can work!

But before you get started, there are steps to take that will greatly ease the transition from public (or private) school to homeschool. Please take the time before you get started homeschooling to complete these steps. (This prep time counts as “school” time for your kiddos, too. :)) It will make the entire transition a whole lot easier.

Shrug Off Outdated Ideas

The most fundamental place to begin is to shed the notion that the best form of education is institutionalized, one-size-fits-all, government-directed, boxed knowledge.

Telling yourself this is one thing. Really believing it is an entirely different ballgame — and a long process that could take days, weeks, or even years to fully appreciate. (This is why it’s so important to get started immediately.) To help you make the mind shift, begin by changing your physical environment:

• Put all textbooks, study guides, grading rubrics, completed homework, tests, and projects from past years when your kids were informal school out of sight. (You may wish to recycle all or most of it.)
• If you’ve already purchased any boxed homeschooling curricula or workbooks, please put them in storage, too. (This may be hard to do, but trust me, it’s important. You might use them later, but for now, nothing schoolish should be visible.)
• If you’ve signed up for any video classes, webinars or online educational packages, do not begin. Do not even read through introductory material. In fact, pretend that it doesn’t exist. (You may use them later, but maybe not. Please be patient. Adopt a “wait and see” attitude for now.)

Now, when you’ve done all this, take a walk with your kids. Or bake cookies. Maybe a night game of laser tag? Or all three.

School’s done for the day. Doesn’t it feel liberating? Your family-wide deschooling — and everybody’s gotta do it for it to work — is off to a great start.

Note: Rinse and repeat for at least three days with the goal of getting institutionalized “school” out of your minds and far from your lives.

Make Your Home into a Curvy, Brightly Colored & Safe Haven

I’m not saying that you have to totally redecorate, renovate, or redesign your home. You don’t have to spend a lot of money. But a few minor tweaks here and there can transform it into a learning paradise full of warmth and vitality. Totally non-threatening, inviting and even…magical. A happy place that’s great to work in or just hang out in.

The keys to the deschooling redo are curves and color.

My suggestions are based 100% in science.

1. Curves not Angles. Neuroscientists analyzed the brain activity of people shown photos with angular images. Like 90-degree angled buildings with triangular metal plates on the sides and tops. They also showed photos of circular, curvy objects like balloons and balls.

Which do you think elicited fear and dread in people?

The amygdala, a part of the brain stimulated when you experience scary images and feel fear, lit up (i.e., showed activity) only when people viewed photos of pointed objects. There was no significant amygdala activity when people viewed curves (any kind, anywhere) and round things.

This means angle and points evoked fear or unpleasant feelings. And, you definitely don’t want to provoke negative feelings in your kids when they’re learning. So, fill your home with lots of circles and curves that will make them feel unafraid, maybe happy — even joyful — to be where they are doing whatever educational activity they’re working on at the time. Create a space like it’s the only place they ever want to be in and never leave. So, for instance:

• Posters of roundness (e.g., if you have little ones, roly-poly teddy bears holding balloons or clowns with big red balls for noses, floppy round shoes, and red dots on cheeks in polka-dotted outfits).
• For older kids, try paintings of islands, lakes, fluffy clouds, bubbles, hot air balloons, rainbows, or the moon and planets will work.
• Or spend a couple of days creating the artwork yourselves!
• A bouncy balance ball to play on.
• Fruit bowl with lots of roundish, curvy fruit.
• Cookie bowl with circular cookies and a round lid.
• Round carpet piece in the living room.
• Circular stools or chairs.
• Rounded lampshades or glass fixtures.
• Circular tables in the kitchen and the backyard.
• Bean bag chairs in dome-shaped tents functioning as reading nooks.

2. Bright colors. Did you know that brightly colored walls promote mental health? They lift spirits. Inspire creativity. They convey a sense of peaceful well-being. Get your kids involved! Paint your house — or maybe just a few rooms — in bright colors as a family project. Painting hot air balloons, rainbow arcs, or multi-colored round cat faces like the one in the photo above would combine the positive effects of curvature with bright colors. Give it a try!

Putting this idea into action, the nonprofit Publicolor is committed to brightening up the surroundings in the neediest of places — many of New York City’s schools. Publicolor invites at-risk students from underprivileged neighborhoods to get involved in painting projects at their schools. A sense of camaraderie and belonging results. From their work of painting interior and exterior spaces, including walls, sidewalks, parking lots, metal bars, etc., in a rainbow of colors:

• The students’ attendance increased.
• Suspension rates decreased.
• The number going to college skyrocketed compared to kids graduating from non-painted schools.
• Students also reported feeling safer.

Although you may not have at-risk kids and your home is not a drab, impoverished institution, the same positive effects on their learning will result from making your home brightly colored.

There is also some research showing that different colors promote certain emotions and work habits. To inspire growth and creativity, and enhance concentration choose bright greens. On the other hand, red is associated with negative emotions like anger and anxiety, so don’t make it the major color in your room (although some red in a rainbow, for instance, is okay). Red has also been associated with impaired analytical ability — which you definitely don’t want in your learning environment!

Transitioning to Homeschooling after Distance Learning

And that’s it for the first part of deschooling! Two steps:

1. Put out of sight and mind any and all remnants or symbols of institutionalized school.
2. Add curves and bright color to your living space, especially where your kids will be doing most of their educational activities after this decompression period.

These steps could take a week or more. That’s okay. If everyone’s participating, these certainly count as “school.” (I’m thinking ahead of your eventual homeschooling reviews. You can find out more about reviews in my previous article titled 3 Things Homeschoolers Won’t Ever Tell You about Homeschooling (But You Should Know).

I hope you find decompression (i.e., deschooling) liberating! It is fully intended to open a clear passageway into creative education 100% personalized to fit your unique child.

During this phase of deschooling, you are casting off the old, outdated mindset of institutionalized education to prepare for your own program that’s child-created and child-centered. You and your kids will design it together. I’ll flesh out what it’ll look like in my second part of the deschooling transition from distance learning to homeschooling. Stay tuned.